When it comes to your spa care, knowing the basic steps to include in your hot tub maintenance routine can go a long way to ensure your water is clean and your system is in optimum condition.
While most hot tubs require the same steps to be taken, others include specific ones based on their unique features and system design, such as models that are equipped with a CLEARRAY®️ Active Oxygen™️ System.
We believe hot tub maintenance should be simple, so we’re giving you everything you need to care for your spa like an expert.
In this article, you’ll find everything you need, from seven essential steps to include in your hot tub maintenance routine, easy how-to guides for DIY lovers, along with five ways to care for your spa anytime you’re away from home.
Keep reading to become a hot tub maintenance expert!
Hot Tub Maintenance Basics – 7 Easy Steps to Follow
Your hot tub is made up of various systems and features, each with a vital role to play in your hot tub’s efficiency and basic functionality.
Keeping everything in good working order goes a long way in ensuring your energy bills stay low, your water remains clean, and maximizes your hot tub’s lifespan.
1. Test Your Waters pH and Alkalinity Levels
Your pH and alkalinity are the two components of your water that ensure it’s safe to be in while reducing the risk of damage to your system.
Your pH shows your acidic your water is, while your alkalinity is your water’s ability to maintain the optimum acidity levels.
Ideally, you want to keep your alkalinity between 80 and 120 parts per million (ppm) and your pH between 7.2 and 7.8.
To make balancing your water easy, we recommend testing it at least three times a week and making minor changes when required.
Additionally, when you need to adjust both your alkalinity and pH, always begin with your alkalinity levels.
Your alkalinity has a significant influence on your pH levels. By bringing it into its optimum range first, balancing your pH will be much easier and keep your water additives to a minimum.
Check out these quick how-to videos to learn how to balance your water like a pro!
2. Treat Your Water With The Right Products
Your water health depends on various chemicals, and using the right ones is an essential aspect of your hot tub maintenance routine.
There are plenty of treatment products on the market, and while some are vital for every maintenance routine, others are optional additions that may not always be needed.
For example, your sanitizer is a treatment product that you can’t go without.
Alternatively, a calcium hardness increaser is only needed if you live somewhere with softer water that needs to have a boost of calcium to make it easier to balance.
Some water treatment products you’ll want to keep on hand include:
- Sanitizer, like chlorine or bromine
- pH increaser and decreaser
- Total alkalinity increaser
- Shock treatment, such as a non-chlorinated oxidizer
Some optional treatment products you may need to include in your routine could be:
- Calcium hardness increaser
- Clarifier
- Mineral treatments
With the right combination of treatment products, keeping your water crystal clear and safe to soak in will be easy.
3. Maintain Good Hot Tub Circulation
Keeping your water circulating is the best way to minimize the risk of bacteria building up in your water.
Ideally, you’ll want to circulate your water every day for at least an hour.
The best way to do this is to run your circulation pump for 15 or 30 minutes a few times a day.
This will ensure that your water is never sitting stagnant for too long, ensuring bacteria is filtered out and your chemicals are always being moved through your system.
This needs to be done even if you’re not using your spa that day.
4. Clean Your Hot Tub Filters
Your filters are a major part of your hot tub’s defense system and can have a significant impact on your system’s efficiency.
With a lifespan of 12 months, your filters will come in contact with a significant amount of debris before the end of their lifespan.
Keeping them clean will not only protect your water but also ensure your filtration system is working efficiently, reducing the risk of dirty water or a sudden rise in your electricity bill.
Your filters will require some planning to ensure you’re keeping them clean enough to effectively support your spa throughout the year.
When planning your hot tub maintenance routine, you’ll want to ensure you plan for three different types of cleaning styles:
- A weekly rinse
- A monthly spray
- A quarterly soak
Weekly Hot Tub Maintenance
Your weekly rinse will easily be the least time-consuming clean in your routine.
Once a week, you’ll want to remove your filters from your hot tub and rinse them under gently running water using either your sink faucet or your garden hose.
This rinse will wash away any debris that’s built up on the surface of your filters.
Monthly Hot Tub Maintenance
While your weekly rinse will keep surface debris off your filters, there will be tougher stains and debris that become embedded in the pleats.
Your monthly spray will help combat this build-up.
After removing your filters from the hot tub, rinse off any surface debris, then spray them with filter cleaner.
Allow this cleaner to soak into the pleats for 15 minutes before thoroughly rinsing them off.
Then, set them aside to dry before returning them to your hot tub.
Quarterly Hot Tub Maintenance
Every three months, you’ll want to give your filters time to soak in a diluted mixture of your filter cleaner and water.
This allows the cleaner to deeply saturate the filters, removing stubborn build-up and stains from the pleats while cleaning the core of the filter.
For the best results, we recommend soaking your filters overnight or for up to 24 hours.
Afterward, thoroughly rinse them and set them aside to dry before returning them to your hot tub.
Here’s a quick video on how to clean Jacuzzi®️ Hot Tub Filters:
5. Drain and Clean Your Hot Tub Regularly
Every three months, or once a season, it’s important to change the water in your hot tub.
Each time you add your treatment products, they slowly build up in the water. Over time, this can make it difficult to balance.
Draining your spa and thoroughly cleaning your shell help combat this by providing a fresh start to your water care.
Not only does this keep your chemical levels to a minimum, but it ensures your hot tub maintenance is easier to perform and that each soak is a safe one.
Want to see how it’s done? Check out this short video!
6. Use Your Hot Tub Cover
Your cover is a vital aspect of your hot tub, not only protecting your water from airborne debris but also maximizing heat retention day to day.
Whether you have a traditional cover or a Covana cover, keeping it on your hot tub anytime you’re not in the water is key.
This will make maintaining your water easier, reducing treatment times and minimizing the amount of chemicals needed to maintain its cleanliness and safety.
Furthermore, when your cover properly fits your spa, you’ll trap in heat, reducing the work your heater needs to do to maintain your water temperature, increasing efficiency, and minimizing changes in your electricity bill.
7. Change Your CLEARRAY®️ Bulb Annually
Whether you own a Jacuzzi®️ Hot Tub or a Sundance®️ Spa, it’s likely your spa has a CLEARRAY®️ Active Oxygen™️ System.
This system maintains the health of your water, using the power of UV light and oxygen to kill bacteria, leaving you with clean, safe water to enjoy every time you step into your spa.
This system works by using a UV-C CLEARRAY®️ bulb, which has a standard lifespan of 12 months.
Once a year, you’ll want to replace this bulb with a genuine CLEARRAY®️ bulb, ensuring your system is running at peak performance, maintaining the cleanliness of your water, and maximizing day-to-day efficiency.
Contact your dealer when it’s time to purchase a new CLEARRAY®️ bulb and watch this short video to see how to replace your new bulb yourself (in a Jacuzzi®️ Hot Tub).
Hot Tub Care Tips While You’re Away From Home
Taking care of your hot tub day to day is important, but when it comes time to jet off on that long-awaited vacation, your hot tub will need some extra support before you leave.
1. Lock Your Cover
Safety is key, and your cover is an important aspect of this.
Locking your cover will not only keep surprise visitors out of your spa while you’re away, but it’ll protect it from any intense storms while you’re away.
If you have a Covana hot tub cover, locking down your spa will be as simple as closing the cover and taking the key with you.
For traditional covers, you’ll want to invest in some simple hot tub cover locks.
2. Shock The Water
Preparing your water is just as important as preparing your cover.
Adding a healthy dose of hot tub shock to your water will ensure it’s able to maintain its chemistry while you’re away from home, leaving you with healthy, clean water upon your return
3. Ask For Help – Schedule Hot Tub Service
Including the professionals in your spa care while you’re away from home is a great way to ensure your hot tub is in capable hands while you’re away.
Setting this up is often as simple as contacting your dealership to discuss a service appointment while you’re out of town.
4. Winterize Your Spa
If you’re leaving for an extended period of time, you’ll want to shut down your spa and close it until you’re back home and able to take proper care of it again.
This involves completely draining it, and flushing the lines to ensure no water is in the system at all. This is especially important during the winter months to avoid frozen and burst pipes!
Many dealerships offer hot tub opening and closing services, which is the perfect solution to prepare your hot tub for your lengthy absence.
5. Invest in The SmartTub™️ System
The SmartTub™️ System is a cellular-based technology thats available on a wide variety of Jacuzzi®️ Hot Tubs and Sundance®️ Spas.
This technology allows you to monitor and control your spa from your smart devices.
Through the app, you’ll be able to easily monitor your temperature, alert your dealer to issues, or optimize the efficiency of your spa anytime you’re away from home.
If your existing spa is SmartTub™️ compatible, check out these setup guides to discover just how easy it is to introduce this into your hot tub care routine.
Contact your dealer for information on compatibility.
Easy Hot Tub Maintenance in Colorado Springs
Whether you need assistance with your hot tub or are looking to stock up on your hot tub maintenance chemicals, Spa Palace Hot Tubs & Billiards is your go-to solution.
With five convenient locations throughout Colorado, meeting your hot tub’s needs will be simple.
Contact your nearest location, or visit us in-store to explore all our hot tubs and hot tub maintenance products.
