Advice for Owners

This page is advice for existing hot tub owners, but may also provide useful information for those considering purchasing a hot tub and will offer little tips that may prevent future problems. There is a huge amount of information on the internet already available, some of it is very useful indeed, so I suggest that you Google other websites too and learn about your hot tub. I will add further information to this page when I have the time.

Draining a hot tub

Draining your hot tub should be a task which we are all familiar with, in order to keep our hot tub water clean and safe to use, we must change the water periodically. Draining down the hot tub is usually a simple case of locating the drain tap, attaching a hose and then allowing the water to drain which can usually take anywhere between an hour and in some cases 2 days. There is however a quicker way. A submersible pump can be purchased for £45+ and if combined with a suitable hose (I personally use a 32mm roll flat hose) you can empty a hot tub in less than 30 minutes, which allows you to quickly clean out the hot tub and have it refilled again within no time.

IMPORTANT

Do not leave a hot tub drained over winter. It doesn't matter how well you drain your hot tub, there will always be water in the plumbing and during the winter this can freeze and cause damage to the plastic pipes and fittings. If you are not using your hot tub over the winter period, I advise that you leave the hot tub running, turn the temperature down as low as possible (usually 24 degrees) and continue to maintain the water chemistry. Once you are ready to use the hot tub again, drain and clean it thoroughly and then refill with fresh water.

Hot Tub Cover

Take good care of your hot tub cover, regularly cleaning the inside and outside of the cover and periodically applying a UV protector to the external vinyl.

As hot tub covers get older, they may begin to absorb moisture and gain weight. This is a gradual process which is quite often not detected by the owner. If the cover cores becomes saturated, the cover will no longer be as effective at insulating your hot tub and keeping the heat within the hot tub.

When buying a new cover, always get the best cover that you possibly can, the savings made from having a well insulted spa cover will help offset the cost of the cover.

If you haven't already, get yourself a cover lifter for your hot tub. It makes removing and replacing the cover very easy and as an added bonus it keeps the cover off the ground prolonging its life.

Filter Maintenance

First things first, please replace your filters yearly, the filters in your hot tub do a very important job and they must be replaced. Take good care of your filters, removing them and hosing off any debris helps to keep them clean. They should also be cleaned thoroughly once a month with an appropriate filter clean chemical which can be purchased from your local hot tub dealership.

Top tip: Having 2 sets of filters can be beneficial and decrease hot tub downtime. When the filters in your hot tub are due to be cleaned, simply swap the filters with your spare ones that you cleaned previously. This rotation of filters means that your hot tub is only turned off for a few minutes, rather than overnight while you are soaking dirty filters.

Air Venturi Valves

Almost all hot tubs have Venturi air valves installed. These are the small manual controls that are on the edge of the spa. When turned on, they allow air to be introduced into the spa via the jets, which creates a white water rapid effect and slightly boosts the massaging effect. These Venturi air valves are excellent, but they draw warm air into the hot tub water which is cooler than the water itself. So I recommend that you turn these Venturi air valves off when not using the hot tub, which will help to reduce heat loss from the introduction of air into the water.