Nothing is more enticing than soaking your stress away in a spotless spa’s bubbling water after a long day. Fortunately, keeping a hot tub clean only requires a few minutes with the right hot tub maintenance routine.
Draining the entire amount of water from the hot tub, cleaning the surface, and then refilling it is the simplest and most efficient method of cleaning.
For instructions on how to empty, clean, and refill your hot tub, follow this step-by-step guide. You can drain, clean, and refill your hot tub quickly and easily by following our instructions.
How to Drain a Hot Tub?
1. Add a Hot Tub Line Flush Cleaner
Your plumbing lines will be cleared of any gunk and buildup if you add a hot tub line flush. In order to ensure proper circulation, add the line flush cleaner before draining any water, turn your jets up to high, and wait at least 20 minutes.
As the cleaner circulates through the plumbing in your spa, you might notice an unappealing foam on the water’s surface. This proves that it is active and removing all of the foul biofilm in your pipes. With a small surface skimmer, you can get rid of that gunk before draining the hot tub.
2. Drain Your Hot Tub
Your hot tub should be turned off at the circuit breaker before draining. Your jets and pump shouldn’t operate without any water.
There are two options for draining your spa:
- To the hot tub drain valve, attach a hose. To connect the hose, unscrew the drain plug. Open the ball valve on your drain or turn the drain’s base to allow the water to begin flowing. Over the following few hours, the water will drain out.
- Use a sump pump that is submersible. It is quicker to choose this. Your sump pump should be connected to a garden hose. After that, put the pump in the hot tub’s deepest section. Pump is turned on after being plugged in. Simply make sure to monitor the water level. The motor may be destroyed if the pump runs dry.
Use a utility sink or a sewer cleanout port in your home to drain your water, regardless of the method you select. Never pour the water down a storm drain. Considering that the water contains chemicals, use caution when emptying it into your lawn or garden.
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3. Clean Or Replace the Hot Tub Filter
You have plenty of time to clean your spa filter while your spa’s water drains. They can get a thorough cleaning by soaking in our hot tub filter cleaner. Fill a 5-gallon (20-litre) bucket almost to the top with water. Add the quantity of hot tub filter cleaner recommended in the product instructions, give the water a quick stir to mix the cleaner, and then submerge the filter. Give it 24 hours to soak.
4. Clean the Hot Tub Shell
Your spa is ready for surface cleaning once it has been completely emptied and the sump pump has been taken out.
- Spray your hot tub shell with hot tub cleaner, diluted white vinegar, or diluted bleach. Pay special attention to nooks and crannies where mildew, algae, or bacteria could be hiding.
- Use a soft cloth or non-scratch nylon scrubber to remove residue.
- Rinse all the surfaces well, and drain all the rinse water to prevent foaming when you refill your spa.
- Double-check that all your jets are open after cleaning and rinsing. This reduces the risk of water pressure problems from trapped air.
5. Refill the Hot Tub With Fresh Water
Set aside some time for refilling the spa. You don’t want to leave it unattended and end up with a flooding situation, especially if your hot tub is indoors. And double-check to ensure the breaker is still off. safer to be safe than sorry.
- Insert the hose into the filter compartment, and turn on the spigot. This helps to force any trapped air out of your circulation system, preventing hot tub airlock.
- Turn your spa breaker back on.
- Start the hot tub, which includes adding sanitizer and other start-up chemicals. Turn off air valves if you have them so they don’t disrupt chemical distribution.
- Add a metal sequestrant, if necessary. This is especially important if you have well water, or even city water with high metal content, to help prevent stains in your spa.
- Test the water. Adjust pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness if necessary.
- Cover your spa for 24 hours to allow the chemicals to circulate and the water to heat up to at least 80°F (27°C), but no higher than 104°F (40°C).
6. Clean the Hot Tub Cover and Cabinet
As you wait for your hot tub to drain and refill, you can take on a few other tasks to get a fully clean hot tub.
If you’re using a hot tub cover, now is the perfect time to clean that, too. If your spa resides outside, you may also want to apply a protectant to the cover to help avoid sun damage.
Don’t get so focused on the inside of the hot tub that you forget the outside! Your spa cabinet puts up with a lot of abuse in the form of splash out, humidity, and sun if it’s outside. Take some time to care for it, and it’ll last much longer.
7. Start Up Your Hot Tub
- First, be sure you’ve replaced your hot tub filter.
- Then, turn your spa’s main breaker back on.
- Turn off the air valves so they don’t disrupt chemical distribution.
- Then turn on your hot tub and let it run for 20 minutes.
- Next, test the water. Adjust pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness and your chlorine or bromine one at a time.
- After adding your chemicals, allow the chemicals to circulate, and let the water heat up to at least 80°F (27°C) but no higher than 104°F (40°C).
- Then, retest the water to make sure your water’s balanced.
How to Clean Hot Tub Plumbing?
Over time, water-loving bacteria known as biofilm builds up in the plumbing of hot tubs. These bacteria cover themselves in a protective layer of slime that is resistant to sanitizers like chlorine or bromine.
Biofilm greatly decreases your sanitizer’s effectiveness as the residual in the water is constantly being used up trying to get rid of the biofilm. This means that your water will go through more sanitizer than it needs to and will turn cloudy very easily. You may also notice a visible ring at the waterline or discoloration on your filter.
While the standard drain and clean procedure does help to keep your water clean and clear, it doesn’t solve biofilm buildup in the hot tub plumbing. How do you clean the plumbing? For that, you’ll need a hot tub plumbing cleaner like Spa Flush.
To clean your plumbing with a hot tub plumbing cleaner, simply add the cleaner 30-60 minutes before draining your hot tub. Make sure your jets are on during this time to allow the cleaner to flow through all of the plumbing.
After a couple of minutes you should notice a thick foam start to build up on the surface of the water. This foam will be dark grey, brown or black in colour. Suck up this foam with your shop vac until it begins to turn white. Once the foam is white the biofilm has been removed and you can begin draining and refilling your hot tub.
How to Clean Your Hot Tub Filters?
Your hot tub’s filter is key to the overall filtration system. To keep your hot tub running efficiently, prevent water quality issues and avoid potential damage to the hot tub pump, you need to regularly clean the filter.
To clean your hot tub filter simply remove it from the hot tub every 3-4 weeks and rinse it off with a hose or in your laundry tub to remove any dirt or debris caught in the filter.
Along with these basic cleanings, you should also chemically clean the hot tub filters every 3-4 months to remove trapped oils and lotions. To chemically clean a hot tub filter you will need to purchase a hot tub filter cleaner, typically a powder.
Dissolve the cleaning powder into a bucket of water large enough to fit your hot tub filter. Put your filter in the bucket with the cleaning solution and let sit overnight. When the time is up, remove the filter and rinse it with a garden hose. It is then ready for use.
Key Takeaways
- Regularly draining and cleaning your hot tub is very important to maintaining hot tub water quality.
- Your hot tub should be drained, cleaned and refilled every 3-4 months, depending on use.
- Biofilm can build up in the hot tub’s plumbing. Biofilm buildup can cause water quality issues and will cause your hot tub to go through more sanitizer than needed.
- Your hot tub’s plumbing should be cleaned every 12 months.
- Hot tub filters should be regularly rinsed (every 3-4 weeks) to maintain their efficiency. They should also be chemically cleaned every 3-4 months.
- Hot tub filters should be replaced every 18-24 months.
FAQs
Is It Safe to Clean Hot Tub With Vinegar?
Harmful chemicals are absent from vinegar. Naturally safe to use around people and animals, it cleans and deodorizes. Vinegar can be used to remove bacteria, clean water spots, and other debris while preventing clogs in your hot tub jets.
How Do I Clean the Inside of My Hot Tub Without Draining It?
After removing any film or dirt with a soft brush, remove the leftovers with a skim net and spa vacuum. By adding water to a large hose, capping one end, and lowering it to a point lower than the other end, it can also be used as a siphon vacuum.
What is Safe to Clean a Hot Tub?
While it may be tempting to clean your hot tub with your favorite products, all you actually need is water and a little vinegar. Foamy water will appear when you refill your hot tub if you use harsh cleaning products. Any remaining buildup on the waterline can be removed using a product like The Tub Scrubber.