While general hot tub maintenance requires a little work and a regular schedule of care. Knowing how to easily maintain a hot tub is mostly about common sense. You want to keep it clean, paying special attention to parts like the filters and the hot tub cover to avoid build-up. You should check that everything is working properly before each use to ensure proper water circulation and correct readouts of temperature. One also needs to test the water regularly to keep the chemical balance just right. These are all things that most hot tub owners know they should do and hopefully have a routine for keeping on top of it. How else can you maintain your spa? Here are a six hot tub care MUSTS to help you keep things running smoothly and clean in your hot tub.
1. Float some tennis balls
It may sound strange, but these easy-to-find sporting accessories help keep body oils, hair products, lotions and more from going into a hot tub filter and clogging it up. Drop a tennis ball or two into the skimmer or directly into the hot tub itself once you’re done using it for the day. They then soak up everything you don’t want floating in your hot tub to help keep it clean and the water healthy. Just remember to change them out regularly.
Hot tub care tip 2. Check the inside of your hot tub cover
Hot tub covers have it rough. When they’re on your hot tub, they’re exposed to all the heat and moisture rising up from the water. When the hot tub is in use, they’re sitting out in any number of outdoor elements and temperatures. This constant exposure takes its toll, and if not cleaned properly, they can get musty and give off a mildew smell. Mildew can then permeate the hot tub itself. It’s important to keep your hot tub cover clean, and the best way to do this is by adding it into your quarterly deep clean. Use a diluted bleach solution to keep your hot tub cover pristine. A 9:1 mixture of water and bleach in a spray bottle, used on the underside of your cover every three months, will do the trick. Always speak with our trained technicians before trying anything new.
3. Break down organic compounds
Just like the tennis balls work in the water, using special hot tub enzymes can finish off the job of breaking down organic compounds in your hot tub. Everything that can clog your filter system like… Body oils, lotions, cosmetics and more. These are attacked with enzyme cleaner to help keep everything more sanitary and more efficient. The cleaner will also help prevent a scum line from forming on the water’s edge.
Hot tub care tip 4. Don’t forget your filters
Perhaps the most important part of your hot tub, the filters keep everything circulating and working as far as the water goes. To maintain that high quality of cleanliness, give your filters a weekly rinse and quarterly soak in special cleaner. You can even spray them monthly for an extra cleanliness boost. Whenever you do clean your filters, remember to rinse them thoroughly afterward to get all the soap put. A soapy filter creates foamy water in your hot tub.
You may also want to keep a spare filter on hand for when your current filter just can’t be cleaned enough to work at its best. That way, you don’t have to put a hold on using your hot tub while you run out for a replacement filter.
5. Avoid pool cleaners
You may see pool and spa cleaners and think, what’s the difference? A lot of pools have hot tubs attached, so it must be the same thing, but they’re not. Using pool cleaners in your hot tub can damage it. This is because most pool chemicals are measured out to deal with water on a pool-sized scale, but your hot tub holds only a fraction of that total amount. Using pool cleaners in a hot tub can create water chemistry problems that can be very hard to repair, which will delay your use of your hot tub.
Hot tub care tip 6. Watch out for the big freeze
It’s very damaging to have a hot tub full of water freeze. The issues that can result can be costly. Thankfully, it’s easy to avoid it, even if you’re up in New England. If you don’t use your hot tub in the colder months, it’s best to winterize your spa. You can do this yourself or have a professional come out and assist. This process involves completely drying out your hot tub, draining all the water in addition to making sure all the parts are totally dry.
If you, like many others, enjoy using your hot tub to warm up when it’s cold out, keep it running at its normal temperature at all times. This constant circulation will prevent freezing and the subsequent damage.
A word about salt water hot tubs
While each of these extra maintenance tips work great for a fresh-water hot tub, salt water spas are a little different. While they’re an option, if you want easy hot tub care, best to stay away. This is primary because salt is naturally corrosive. While most of your hot tub should be made from non-corrosive materials, using salt water does increase the risk of damage to certain parts such as rubber seals or metal fixtures. Having to replace these items more frequently can make general maintenance harder to accomplish. Over time, care costs slightly more than maintaining a regular hot tub.
Proper care does the trick
Proper care is an essential component to lengthening the life of your hot tub. Combining these tips with regular, basic maintenance means more serious issues will often be few and far between. Should something come up and you need the advice of a professional, contact the experienced team at Great Bay Spa & Sauna. Servicing hot tubs throughout the area around Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we can provide both standard hot tub maintenance as well as handle service and repairs. Contact us today to learn more and schedule a service appointment.
