Hot Tub Maintenance Basics

Before you sink into the warm water of your new spa, take a moment to familiarize yourself with some essential terms. For instance, you might see it referred to as a portable spa, or just a spa. Some folks like to call every hot tub a “Jacuzzi.” But that’s an unfortunate case of universalizing a brand name.

Knowing the make and model of your specific hot tub is important. Having this information on hand makes it easier to get parts and service when you need them.

It also helps to have your spa’s “vital statistics” handy. These include water capacity, age, and specific water challenges (such as hard water) you might need to consider while maintaining your hot tub.

Is a hot tub HIGH maintenance?

Not really. It just requires a basic understanding of water chemistry and a simple schedule (which we’ll dive into), but it’s not expensive. All you really need is some chemicals and testing supplies which is about a $20/month investment.

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The 3 Basic Rules of Hot Tub Maintenance (The 3 Cs)

You can think of your spa as a tiny swimming pool because it requires the same basic care.

1. Maintaining good water circulation.
2. Stick to a simple cleaning schedule.
3. Balancing your water chemistry.

1. Maintain Good Hot Tub Circulation

Circulating the water helps keep it free of contaminants by passing it through your hot tub’s cartridge filters.

Depending on the model, your spa may have an automatic circulation schedule that ensures it runs once or twice daily. These cycles circulate the water for around 15 to 20 minutes (or longer) to ensure all the water in your tub passes through the filters.

If your hot tub doesn’t have an automatic cycle, make sure you turn it on for 15 to 20 minutes, twice a day, to ensure your water’s been refreshed.

Don’t be afraid to put those filters to work. The more you run your hot tub, the cleaner it’ll be.

2. Stick to a Simple Hot Tub Cleaning Schedule

Cleaning your hot tub is a critical part of effective hot tub maintenance.

Indoor and outdoor hot tubs are both prone to developing scum, but if your spa’s outdoors, keep an eye out for debris like leaves, wind-blown trash, and the occasional stray critter, too. Keep the waterline and seats clear for a clean hot tub, and to help prevent potential water issues.

A weekly clean with a sponge and some white vinegar on your spa’s shell and jets will keep things tidy. Use it to scrub away the scum line at the water’s edge as well.

Make sure you clean the inside of your hot tub as often as possible and don’t forget to wipe down the shell, too. While you’re at it, give the hot tub cover a quick once-over with a 10% bleach-to-water solution to keep mildew at bay.

A weekly clean is essential hot tub care. But plan to drain your spa completely for a thorough cleaning every three to four months, and more often if you’re using it often, or having a lot of guests in it, or both. After all, you wouldn’t fill the family bathtub once a year and expect everyone to reuse the same water over and over, right? Blech.

Protip: Set a timer when you’re refilling your hot tub after cleaning. It’ll remind you to check in on your spa and avoid messy, expensive overflows.

How to Clean Your Spa Filters

They’re on the job whenever your hot tub’s running, and your hot tub filters need a good cleaning to work properly. You can clean them using three methods: rinse, spray, and soak.

1. Rinse your hot tub filters as often as possible with warm water or your garden hose, especially if you’ve been using your spa more than usual.
2. Spray your filters every week or so with a hot tub filter cleaner to provide a deeper clean. Don’t forget to rinse them after.
3. Soak your filters in chemical cleaner every time you drain and refill your hot tub to extend their life and loosen any stubborn particulates. Rinse them thoroughly afterward.

When your filters get to the point where even a chemical soak doesn’t completely clean them, it’s time to replace them.

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Drain and Clean Your Hot Tub Every 3-4 Months

Since you’re dealing with a small body of water, contaminants will build up making it harder for your chemicals to work. This is called TDS or Total Dissolved Solids.

In order to combat this issue, it’s recommended you replace the water in your hot tub every 3-4 months. You should replace it more frequently if you use the hot tub a lot.

And since you have to do this anyway to keep your hot tub water in top shape, it’s also a good idea to clean in the inside and outside of your hot tub while you drain and refill it. We have an entire video and article on how to drain and clean your tub.

In a nutshell, you should add a chemical that cleans all the built-up gunk in your pipes right before you drain it. This will clean the inside of your hot tub.

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3. Balance Your Hot Tub Water Chemistry

Balancing your hot tub’s water is similar to balancing pool water, but a bit trickier due to the drastic size difference. But before you add anything to your spa, you need a baseline reading on your water chemistry. Once your hot tub’s full, test your water to determine the pH and alkalinity levels.

What Hot Tub Chemicals Do You Need?

Keep a good supply of essential chemicals on hand so you’ll be ready to tweak your water as needed:

• pH increaser and pH decreaser for adjusting your pH.
• Alkalinity increaser to protect your pH from drastically changing.
• Sanitizer (chlorine or bromine) to kill bacteria and other contaminants.
• Shock (non-chlorine or di-chlor) to give your sanitizer a boost by adding oxygen and removing chloramines and bacteria.
• Test strips or a liquid test kit to make sure all your chemical levels are in the right range.
• Defoamer (optional) for quick relief from foamy hot tub water.

You can learn more about how each of these chemicals works in our Hot Tub Chemicals Guide.

Adjusting The Hot Tub pH and Alkalinity

Aim for a pH level of 7.4 to 7.6. Values below this range will be too acidic. The water might eat away at your hardware and will likely irritate your skin and eyes. Values above the range will be too basic. The water will reduce your sanitizer’s effectiveness and will be prone to cloudiness.

For alkalinity, shoot for 100 parts per million (ppm) to150 ppm. If alkalinity gets too high, it can cause scaling and cloudiness. Here’s some information on how to lower your hot tub alkalinity.

How to Add Sanitizer to Your Hot Tub

Add the sanitizer of your choice according to the directions on the package, and test again to make sure your pH and alkalinity are within optimal ranges.

You can speed up the mix rate of your chemicals (and help your hot tub heat more quickly) by turning off the air valves.

Shocking Your Hot Tub

If you’re using your spa after a long period of inactivity or you’ve been using it heavily, it’s a good idea to shock your hot tub to make sure it’s completely sanitized.

Make shocking a regular part of your scheduled hot tub maintenance to keep your water safe and clean.

Testing Your Spa Water

Test your water every week, either with test strips or a liquid test kit, and adjust your water chemistry as necessary.

Following the Three Cs provides a firm foundation for hot tub care that’ll get you started on that fabled path to soaking satisfaction. To further solidify your spa care regimen, add an effective and consistent hot tub maintenance schedule. You’ll expand your hot tub skills with more advanced tasks while minimizing the risk of nasty surprises.

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Hot Tub Maintenance Schedule

And the key to good maintenance? Consistency and simplicity. You’ll find it’s much less stressful—and much easier to keep track of tasks—when you break the process into manageable steps that won’t overwhelm you.

This technique, known as chunking, is used by educators, project planners, and businesspeople all over the world to improve their productivity. But it’s just as effective for planning a personal project—like, say, a year’s worth of hot tub maintenance—without feeling like your head’s going to explode.

Each hot tub is different, but every hot tub benefits from simple and consistent maintenance. It’s easier than you might think to set up a schedule that’ll keep your hot tub hummin’.

Like your car, your computer, or, well, you, your hot tub needs regular maintenance to be at its best. Your spa will have its own special needs with regard to water chemistry, accessories, and repairs. But these tasks, broken out by daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly intervals, are universal.

Daily Hot Tub Maintenance

Chances are, a few moments will be all you need to attend to your home spa’s daily maintenance. Make sure your checklist includes:

• Ensure the spa cover is clean and secure. A properly secured cover keeps heat, water, and chemicals in while keeping debris, pets, and kids out.
• Check the water temperature and adjust as necessary. Take careful note of any drastic temperature changes, as they could indicate a serious system issue.
• Check for damage to the cover and spa. This is especially important for outdoor spas, which are exposed to animals and the elements.

Weekly Hot Tub Maintenance

Adding these tasks to your list three times a week will help keep your hot tub in tip-top condition. Don’t forget to schedule them at near or the same time as daily tasks to save yourself time and stress.

• Check the water’s alkalinity.
• Check and balance the pH. Along with alkalinity, hot tub ph is one of the most important parts of hot tub chemistry.
• Check your sanitizer levels. Sanitizer keeps your spa water clean and free from bacteria that might otherwise sicken your friends and family.
• Clean above the waterline. Wipe away the debris that might contaminate the water and throw off the chemical balance.

Weekly

These tasks need your TLC only once a week. Look for opportunities to combine tasks, and don’t forget to keep careful track of your hot tub’s water chemistry for comparison to your daily and monthly values if you’re tracking potential water quality issues.

• Test your hot tub water. Every single week, check your alkalinity, pH, and sanitizer levels, and if you adjust them, test again after the period recommended by the manufacturer. NOTE: this step counts as one of your thrice-weekly checks. Yay for efficiency!
• Sanitize and shock the water. When you shock your hot tub, it recharges your sanitizer and keeps your hot tub healthy.
• Rinse your hot tub filter with water. A clean filter is worth its weight in gold and protects against cloudy water, funky smells, bacteria, and the much-dreaded algae bloom.
• Wipe down your spa cover. Cleaning the cover inside and out protects against mold, mildew, and the nasty smells they bring.

Monthly

Once a month, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. Specifically, the “gritty” that’s accumulated in your jets and filters. You can also take water testing to the next level.

• Give your filter a chemical rinse. This deeper clean clears out more crud and ick than water alone can. Just replace one weekly water rinse with a chemical rinse.
• Give your hot tub jets a once-over. Are they clogged or frozen? Uh oh. It’s time to troubleshoot your hot tub jets.
• Have your spa water checked by a professional. Pros have access to more advanced testing equipment and can help you identify and solve water quality issues before they turn disastrous.

Quarterly (Every 4 Months)

Once every three or four months, you should empty the hot tub and replace it with fresh water. Empty it out, give it a good clean, and make sure everything’s in good working order. Schedule a drain and refill day that lines up with your other tasks to give yourself time to clean the cover and attend to your hardware while the spa is out of commission.

• Clean your hot tub cabinet. Your hot tub will look great with a quarterly clean, and you can touch up any cosmetic or structural damage while you’re at it.
• Give your filter a chemical soak. This is the super version of the chemical rinse and gives your filter the deep clean it needs to keep your hot tub free of contaminants.
• Drain, clean, and repair your hot tub. The best time to make repairs is when you drain and clean your hot tub. And a quarterly drain and clean frees your whole hot tub from chemical buildup and other gunk and goop that can cause performance issues. Soaking your filter while the tub is empty kills two gunky birds with one cleansing stone!

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Yearly

Many of the tasks we recommend could, in theory, be done annually without significant impact on your hot tubbing experience. But for optimal performance and the happiest hot tubbing, we’ve recommended them as monthly or quarterly tasks instead.

Remember, while your hot tub is empty and drained, you can attend to weekly or quarterly tasks such as cleaning, repair, and system flushing.

That said, we recommend you tackle these tasks at least once a year, and preferably more often:

• Flush the lines to remove bacteria and biofilm. It’s actually a good idea to use line flush any time you drain and refill your hot tub.
• Inspect your hot tub’s hardware and wiring. Be on the lookout for damage due to wear and tear, pests, and chemical imbalance.
• Have a professional perform a tune-up. They’ll evaluate all your hardware and wiring for potential issues, inside and out.
• Inspect your cover. Keep an eye out for physical damage, moisture absorption, and mildew or mold infestations.
• Replace or update your hot tub maintenance calendar. As the years go by, you’ll learn what works best for you and your hot tub. The new year is the perfect time for adjustments to next year’s maintenance schedule.

3 Hot Tub Care Tips While You’re On Vacation

With just a little bit of extra work before you head out of town, you can sit back and enjoy your trip without worrying how your hot tub will handle being ignored for a week or more.

1. Check Your Local Weather

Before you head out of town, check the weather you’re gonna have in your area during the week you’re gone.

During the warm months, you have to keep a close watch on the algae growth in your hot tub. This means adding shock to the hot tub whenever you need to increase the levels of chlorine in your hot tub to kill off any potential algae growth.

Before you go out of town, go ahead and add a little extra shock to your hot tub and allow the jets to run for thirty minutes to ensure that the shock has reached all of the water. Once that is complete, turn off the jets and go ahead and turn off the heater and the pump as well.

If you want, go to the breaker and turn off the power at the source and lock it, if necessary, to make sure no one can mess with it while you are gone.

During those colder months, your concerns are a little different. When I say colder, I mean when the temperatures could drop below freezing during the day and even at night.

Depending on the time of year, your daytime temperatures could be rather pleasant while the nights can still be cold. This largely depends on where you live. No matter when it happens, if the outside temperatures drop below freezing, the water in your hot tub and the plumbing for your hot tub is at risk for freezing.

Before you head out of town, add water to your hot tub if necessary and be sure it is properly heated. Remember, the colder it is, the faster the heat will escape. Once you have it heated properly, go ahead and turn the thermostat down about ten degrees. This will save you on your heating bills while still keeping the water warm enough so it won’t freeze.

While you are gone, you will need to leave the pump and the heater on long enough to maintain these temperatures to be sure the water does not freeze.

2. Test the Water

Before you go out of town, always test the water to be sure you have the proper water balance. If you don’t, go ahead and add the appropriate chemicals to either increase the acidity or the alkalinity of your water chemistry.

This will help you maintain the hot tub and keep your plumbing in the best possible shape while you are away.

3. Lock the Cover

Never go out of town without closing and locking your hot tub cover. Keep in mind that no one will be at home while you are away and that means that kids could wander onto your property and go for a dip without you ever knowing. If something were to happen, you could still be held liable.

So close that cover and lock it tight before you set one foot out of your front door.

Owning a hot tub should never be a tether keeping you home when you could be off enjoying life. Never be afraid to take a vacation that takes you out of town away from your hot tub.

Just remember to perform a little extra maintenance on it before you go and be sure you set the hot tub for the temperature that it is in your area, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. So get out there and enjoy life and quit worrying about your hot tub.

Trust me, as long as you perform the proper care tasks before you leave and check it when you get home, hot tub maintenance while on vacation will be a snap.

Happy Soaking!

The post A Beginner’s Guide to Hot Tub Maintenance appeared first on Swim University®.

Happily, there’s no law that says you have to make hot tub maintenance any harder than it has to be. Tap into the wisdom of these tried and true tips, and you can tackle your hot tub chores more efficiently. You might save some time, money, and frustration too.

Hot Tub Care Tips to Make Your Life Easier

No matter what kind of hot tub chore is on your list, you can bet there’s a way to make it faster, more effective, less expensive, or all three!

1. Use Pantyhose for Cleaner Flows

Maintaining balanced chemistry in a body of water as small as your hot tub means you’ll be changing the water frequently. You can keep recirculated dirt and debris from getting into your filter system by covering the lower return inlets with pantyhose when you change the water.

Keeping that gunk out of your filter system reduces the stress on your spa’s system and helps keep it working longer. Cleaner water also means you’ll have a leg up (heh) on balancing water chemistry, too.

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2. Tennis Balls Backhand Dirt and Grime

Want to keep body oils, hair products, lotions, and other goop from entering your spa’s filter? Drop a few tennis balls into your spa’s skimmers, or even directly into the water.

Your fuzzy, yellow friends will soak up the bad stuff in their fibers and make it easier to keep your spa looking, and feeling, clean and healthy. For best results, change them regularly, especially if you use your tub frequently or have a lot of people using the tub at once.

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3. Build Your Own Siphon Vacuum

When hot tub DIY meets TLC, the result is much more than an improperly formatted Roman numeral. You can vacuum grit, gunk, and small debris from your spa with ease once you’ve put together this simple siphon vacuum.

You’ll need a few basic items to begin:

• 3 ft. (.91 m) of ¾ in. (1.9 cm) schedule 40 PVC pipe
• 6 ft. (1.8 m) of garden hose, with a female adapter on one end
• ¾ in. (1.9 cm) male threaded adapter (MTA), glued to one end of the PVC

1. Assemble your vacuum by screwing the female hose end into the MTA on the pipe.
2. To get your siphon flowing, prime the hose by submerging it in water.
3. Cap the hose’s free end, then drop it to the ground. Water will start flowing immediately. The water will continue to flow as long as the hose’s free end is below the spa’s water level.
4. Move the pipe around the bottom of your hot tub to vacuum.

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01/27/2023 09:59 pm GMT

4. Keep Your hot tub cover Fresh with Bleach

One of the most overlooked areas of proper hot tub care is treating your hot tub cover right. Exposed as they are to constant heat and moisture, hot tub covers can develop a musty or mildewy smell if they’re not cleaned properly.

You can keep the funk away by using a simple bleach solution to clean your hot tub cover. In a spray bottle, combine nine parts water to one part bleach, and use it to clean the underside of your hot tub cover every 90 days.

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01/27/2023 09:39 pm GMT

5. Make Time for Enzymes

You might know them best from chemistry class, but enzymes aren’t just handy for processing food or making wine. These twisty little proteins get around to the strangest places—including your hot tub.

Special enzyme products for your spa work the same way most other enzymes do: they break down organic compounds. In your hot tub, they break down fatty lipids from body oils, cosmetics, lotions, and other sources that might be lurking in your water.

Dosed with enzymes, your hot tub and filter system will be cleaner, and your sanitizer will work more efficiently. Enzymes also keep your spa free of the “scum line” that can sometimes form at the water’s edge.

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6. Track Your Time to Avoid a (Re)filling Disaster

Make sure you set a timer when you’re filling or refilling your hot tub. It can be all too easy to walk away and get caught up in other chores.

The result? Potential overflows, a huge mess, and even fried equipment. A little preparation sure beats having to magically bail out your spa enclosure.

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7. Get a Healthy Flow with a Hose Filter

Maintaining your spa’s water chemistry can be tricky. You can make it a little easier by starting with the cleanest water possible.

When you’re filling up your hot tub, attach a hose filter to the hose. If you don’t have one, place the hose in your spa’s filter area so the incoming water will pass through the filter.

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8. Clean Your Filter Cartridges with a Spray Cleaner

The secret to truly clean hot tub filters is frequent washing. Aside from a weekly rinse and a quarterly soak, you can keep your filters in tip-top shape by giving them a thorough once-over with a spray cleaner once a month.

If you don’t have any spray cleaner handy, you can dilute your favorite hot tub filter cleaner according to the package directions and add it to your own spray bottle. Be sure to give the filter a good drenching with the cleaner, and rinse well to avoid the dreaded foam in your hot tub.

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9. Baby Got Back…up Filters

Sometimes, hot tub care is about hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.
With proper care, your spa filters can have a long and healthy lifespan. But nothing lasts forever, and Murphy’s Law is always hiding in the tall grass.

Always keep an extra filter cartridge on hand, just in case. If your filter flakes, you can swap in your spare and keep the hot tub fun rolling without missing a beat.

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10. Find Hidden Surface Issues with Dish Soap

Draining and refilling your spa is hard work that you’re probably not thrilled to take on unless absolutely necessary. So if you’re trying to track down interior surface problems in your spa such as texture issues, cracks, etc., but don’t want to drain the whole works to do so, make a run to your kitchen sink.

A squirt or two of dish soap will help break ripples on the water’s surface, giving you a clearer view of what’s going on beneath.

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11. It’s a Baking Soda Party—And You’re Invited

Note: This tip applies to hot tubs with tile.
If your hot tub has tiles, you’ve got an additional item on your hot tub care checklist: grout. To keep it looking its best, follow a few easy steps.

1. Mix baking soda and water together in a bowl to form a thick paste.
2. Apply the paste to your tiles and grout with a damp sponge.
3. After five minutes, turn on the hot tub.
4. Grab an old toothbrush, climb into the tub, and attack those grout lines with a circular scrubbing motion.

The baking soda should have a negligible effect on your spa’s water chemistry, but be sure to check and balance it as necessary when you’re finished.

You can tackle a little bit of your grout at a time, or, better yet, bribe a bunch of friends with free food and drink and host a scrubbing party. (You might want to make the bribe a substantial one if you plan on keeping them as friends.)

No baking soda in the cupboard? Use white vinegar.

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12. Try Partial Water Changes

One of the most important factors in deciding when to change your hot tub water is the level of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)—a measure of everything soluble in your spa’s water. High TDS levels can indicate organic contamination and other problems. You can avoid doing full water changes by taking a page from aquarium enthusiasts and performing partial water changes at more frequent intervals than you would full ones.

Rather than emptying your tub completely, remove a portion of your spa’s water, check the levels with a TDS meter, and adjust as necessary until your water is balanced and healthy. Low TDS levels make balancing your water chemistry much easier and help your sanitizers work more efficiently.

Partial water changes are especially helpful in cold climates, where a full water change might not always be practical due to inclement weather or extreme temperatures.

You can—and should—still perform full changes on a regular schedule as part of your standard hot tub care, but partial changes can be handy when you want to use your hot tub quickly and safely.

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13. Cool Your Spending with Off-Peak Heating

You can save a pretty sweet chunk of change by running your hot tub’s heater during off-peak hours, or the hours of lowest demand. Not sure when that might be? Check with your utility provider for details.

And if you haven’t already, insulate your hot tub. Efficient insulation, combined with heating during off-peak hours, can cut your energy costs. It’ll also reduce the stress on your hot tub’s system and help your hardware last longer.

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14. Keep Your Jets Clear with White Vinegar

If you’re dealing with hard water as part of your regular hot tub care routine, you already know calcium can accumulate in your jets and cause them to stiffen, clog, or stop working altogether.

To help combat the build-up, grab some white vinegar and clean your spa’s valves and jets. The acidic power of the vinegar will dissolve the calcium and get things flowing again. Be sure to rebalance your water chemistry after cleaning, since acids affect hot tub pH and alkalinity levels.

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15. Give Your Spa Room to Breathe

When ambient temperatures soar, your hot tub’s temperature can creep upward to uncomfortable levels. You can help cool things off by placing a pair of tennis balls between the acrylic shell and your hot tub cover at night.

Opening things up a bit allows cooler night air to reach your water and help keep the water temperature down.

You can also leave your hot tub cover open for 15 minutes or so after adding chemicals to let your spa release any lingering, potentially corrosive, gases. A quick breather can help protect your pillows, plastic parts, and cover from damage.

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16. Keep Your Spa Covered

Just like a jar of mayo, your hot tub will stay healthier if you keep the lid on it when you’re not using it. The cover helps your hot tub maintain a constant temperature, and keeps out bugs, frogs, and other invaders. If you use bromine to sanitize your hot tub, your cover can boost the bromine’s performance, too.

Bromine is powerful and keeps more of its sanitizing power at high temperatures than chlorine. But like chlorine, bromine can be broken up by UV light, so keeping your hot tub covered whenever you’re not using it will help extend the life of your sanitizer.

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17. When In Doubt, Drain and Refill

You probably spend a lot of time and effort monitoring and adjusting your hot tub water chemistry. But sometimes a tweak can’t bring things back into balance.

Instead of wasting a lot of time and money dumping expensive chemicals into your hot tub, you can often solve tricky water problems with one step: drain and clean your hot tub.

You’ll spend far less on water and chemicals with a refill than you will tinkering and tweaking an out-of-whack spa. You’ll also help the environment, since you’ll use less water and fewer chemicals to balance it.

18. Use Double Covers to Save Money

Protect your spa’s water from moisture, unwanted chemicals, and the animal kingdom by using both a floating hot tub cover and a regular hard top cover.

You’ll keep out unwanted contaminants, and keep in your heat and chemicals. Your spa will be more energy efficient, lowering your energy and supply costs.

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19. Don’t Use Pool Chemicals

They might seem similar, but using the same chemicals in your hot tub as you do in your pool can also be a costly mistake.

Why? A few reasons:

Trichlor tablets are quite acidic and concentrated for treating large areas of water. The acidity will lead to a quick decline in pH in your hot tub.

Soda ash for your pool can cause water balance issues if you use it in a hot tub. Its high pH has a strong effect on a small body of water like your spa.

Muriatic acid can also cause water chemistry problems. Your best bets are alkalinity and pH products made for hot tubs.

Liquid chlorine has one pound of salt for every gallon of chlorine. When you add that to a hot tub, the total alkalinity, pH, and calcium hardness will skyrocket.

Stick to hot tub chemicals for your hot tub, and you’ll get much better results.

20. Close Air Control Valves When Not in Use

After you’ve enjoyed a nice soak in your hot tub, make sure you close the air control valves. These knobs on top of the hot tub allow air to mix with the water coming out of your jets.

Since these valves let cold air into the water, your hot tub will take much longer to heat if they remain open during the heating cycle. A quick twist now lets you heat things up more quickly the next time you use your spa.

American Spa Parts Universal Hot Tub Air Control Valve - 1 in.

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21. Keep Oil and Soap Products Out of Your Spa

The human body is a goldmine of potential hot tub contaminants. Hair products, deodorant, sunscreen, skin creams, and other products will cloud the waters fast. Sweat, dead skin, excess soap, or lingering fabric dyes can also cause problems. When contaminants come to call, cloudy, dirty water and a clogged filter are the inevitable result.

Prevention is the best medicine. Have your friends and family shower before they enter your spa to keep their lotions and potions from clogging up the works.

And when you clean your hot tub, avoid soap or ammonia-based degreasers, since they can linger and wreak havoc on your water chemistry.

22. Keep Baseball Caps Near Your Hot Tub

A quick game of catch is fun, but the real reason to keep some clean baseball caps near your hot tub is to keep hair out of your spa. Folks with long hair can tuck it up under the cap to keep it from getting into the water.

Not only will this keep hair out of your water, but also the sprays, gels, and other products that might gum up the works.

Falari Adjustable 100% Cotton Baseball Cap

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23. Test Your Hot Tub Water on the Regular

Balanced hot tub water is essential to a safe and happy soak. And the best way to make sure everything’s ship-shape is to test your hot tub water regularly.

How regularly? It depends on your region, the weather, and how often you use your spa. A good rule of thumb is four to five times a week—and a good quality test kit is vital to provide safe water for your friends and loved ones.

Our Top Pick

Complete Liquid Test Kit for Pools and Hot Tubs

A simple but effective liquid test kit for chlorine pools and hot tubs.

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24. Use Extra Caution When Adding Chemicals

A small body of water like your hot tub is sensitive to chemical changes. Adding too much of anything can cause major shifts in chemistry.

Measure twice, add once. Be sure to follow the instructions on the package, and measure all your chemicals based on the volume of water in the hot tub to prevent equipment or skin damage.

Be especially careful with high acid levels. They’re not only dangerous to people, but can cost you big by corroding and destroying your hardware.

25. Keep Your Hot Tub From Freezing

If you live where the temperature drops below 32°F (0°C), we recommend keeping your hot tub filled with water and running at normal temperatures at all times.

If that’s not possible, you can also winterize your hot tub to protect it from freeze damage.

For emergency situations, such as equipment failure, you can place a small space heater in the equipment area to keep things from freezing up until you can make repairs. Make sure you keep the heater away from plumbing lines.

Your Hot Tub Never Had It So Good

Dealing with hot tub care doesn’t have to leave you feeling like a rank amateur. The key is to keep up with maintenance. The longer you let things go, the more difficult it will be to correct water chemistry and other potential problems.

Your hot tub will be in the best shape of its life, and you can focus your energy on more important things, like enjoying your spa, and maybe perfecting that time-travel module.

Happy Soaking!

The post 25 Awesome Hot Tub Care Tips and Tricks appeared first on Swim University®.

Unfortunately, with the wet, steamy environment created by your spa, you may eventually also find mold on your hot tub pillows, and no one wants to lean their head against that. It may not even be visible yet. You may just be noticing a musty smell when you sit in your spa. Either way, it’s time to gear up, clean up and send that mold packing.

Why Is There Mold on My Hot Tub Pillows?

Real talk time. Is it possible you haven’t been cleaning your hot tub as often as you should? If so, you pretty much put out the welcome mat, allowing mold to take hold. But even if you do clean on a regular basis, mold may still develop. It’s pretty much inevitable in a moist environment. You clean your bathtub, too, but probably still find mold there from time to time.

By the way, you may also hear some people say they have mildew on their hot tub pillows. Mildew is a fungal hyphae that will grow on almost any type of organic material if the environment is damp and moist. When it grows, it forms a thin white coating over the surfaces it clings to.

It doesn’t really matter, though, because either way, the process to get rid of it is the same.

What You’ll Need

Before you begin, collect the proper tools to remove the mold from your hot tub pillows. You most likely already have them around the house.

• Rubber gloves
• Safety goggles
• Mild cleaning concentrate (we recommend Simple Green)
• Bleach
• Water
• Soft brush or sponge
• Small cleaning brush (the size of a toothbrush)
• Soft cloth or rag

SIMPLE GREEN All-Purpose Cleaner - 32 oz. - 3 Pack

$41.09 ($0.43 / Fl Oz)

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01/27/2023 10:41 pm GMT

Grease up Those Elbows

Not gonna lie, this cleaning process will take some time as you need to make sure you clean every inch of the pillows, including every little nook and cranny.

Remove the Hot Tub Pillows

Following the instructions in the manufacturer’s manual, remove the pillows from the hot tub and set them aside.

Prepare a Cleaning Solution

Add 13 ounces of the cleaning concentrate for every gallon of water. This will create a 1:10 solution appropriate for a high-moisture environment.

Clean the Pillow Areas on the Hot Tub

Dip the soft brush or sponge into the cleaning solution, and gently scrub the surfaces to remove the mold and mildew.

OXO Good Grips All-Purpose Scrub Brush

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Clean the Covers

Continue using the sponge or brush to clean the covers. Once you’ve thoroughly scrubbed them, get the small cleaning brush out. You’ll need to clean every little part of the pillow in order to make sure you get rid of all the mold. If you’re not careful, the mold will just come right back.

O-Cedar Multi-Use Scrub Sponges - 6 Pack

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Clean the Foam Encasements

Continue using the brush and cleaning solution to clean the foam encasements. This part is very important as they are used to protect and seal the hot tub. If they’re not properly cleaned, bacteria could more easily enter your hot tub causing more mildew to grow, or worse, contaminating the water.

Now that everything’s clean, you need to disinfect. That’s the only way to completely get rid of the mold on the hot tub pillows.

Prepare a Second Cleaning Solution

Put on the safety goggles and gloves. It’s also a good idea to wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt to avoid getting any disinfecting solution on your skin. Then, mix ⅓ cup of bleach per gallon of room-temperature water.

Also, make sure you use bleach that has a 5% to 6% concentration of sodium hypochlorite, a substance similar to what you use to shock your hot tub. Also make sure the bleach isn’t expired. Yup, bleach expires! If it’s past the expiration date, it won’t sanitize as well, if at all.

Bleach - 121 oz. - 3 Pack

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01/27/2023 09:39 pm GMT

Disinfect Everything

The pillow areas on the shell, the pillow covers and the foam encasements all need to be thoroughly wiped down with the bleach solution.

Allow the Hot Tub Pillows to Air Dry

Wiping them dry isn’t enough. You need to let them sit out for a while to completely dry. Putting them back wet is just another invitation for more mold to start growing.

It’s best to let them dry outside in a sunny spot. Ultraviolet light kills mold. Just know that it’s not enough to put the pillows out in the sun to remove the mold, though. You must clean and disinfect them first. They’d have to be out in the sun for a long time for the ultraviolet light alone to do the job.

Reassemble the Pillows

Before you put everything back together, double check that every part is completely dry, and that you can no longer see—or smell—any mold on the hot tub pillows.

Then, reassemble them, put them back in the hot tub, and get ready for some serious soakin’!

Don’t Let That Mold Get Old

If you find mold on your hot tub pillows—or anywhere else in your spa—don’t put off getting rid of it. Mold grows, and as it does, it becomes more and more difficult to eradicate. Better to clean the pillows than have to buy new ones, right?

So keep your eyes—and your nose—open for signs of mold and mildew. The more quickly you address it, the easier your job will be.

Happy Soaking!

The post How to Get Rid of Mildew on Hot Tub Pillows appeared first on Swim University®.

Even if you’re vigilant about keeping it covered, there’s no way to keep everything out while you’re using it. And not every bit of debris requires a full draining and cleaning. Sometimes, all you need is a quick cleanup. Having the right tools—including a couple of unconventional ones—will help you keep your hot tub clean between deep cleanings.

1. Spa Vacuum

This is an absolute necessity. Sure, you can reach down and pick up a pebble that’s fallen into your hot tub, or fish out an unfortunate beetle that decided to go for a swim. But sand? Broken-up, wet leaves? Stuff you can’t really identify and don’t want to touch? You need a spa vacuum.

You have three primary varieties to choose from: battery operated, rechargeable battery operated, and manual, which is powered by pulling and pushing a lever at the top of the vacuum.

You’d think the manual one would be the least expensive, but that’s not always the case, so shop around a little to find the one that will work best for you, and work with your budget too.

Bonus Tip: If you have a swimming pool, you can also use a spa vacuum for those small or hard-to-reach spaces, like the steps or behind the ladders.

Aura Spa Vacuum (Siphon Powered)

$79.99

This simple spa vacuum utilizes a simple siphon action to remove dirt and debris from your spa. No pumping, no batteries, and no water hook-up are required.

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01/27/2023 07:02 pm GMT

2. Silly Putty

No, seriously! We’re not kidding here. Silly Putty is waterproof, so if you don’t have a spa vacuum on hand, grab a wad of Silly Putty, press it onto the sand, leaves, or other debris, and voilà! It’ll pick that stuff right up.

The only downside to this method is you won’t be able to use it afterward to lift your favorite Calvin and Hobbes comic strip in the Sunday paper.

Silly Putty Eggs - 5 Pack

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3. Turkey Baster

So many kitchen tools come in handy outside the kitchen, and the turkey baster is one of the most versatile. It’s ideal for small spots of debris, but would be really tedious to use if the entire bottom of your hot tub were covered with sand or leaves. If that’s the case, it’s time to invest in that spa vacuum.

But for just a few grains or a couple of pebbles, squeeze the baster’s bulb, insert it into the water, place the open tip over what you’re trying to remove, release the bulb, and remove the baster from the water. Just be sure not to squeeze the bulb on the way out, or you’ll just release the debris right back into the water.

Oh, and if you use this method, set this baster aside with the rest of your hot tub supplies. You won’t want to use it on your turkey or any other food. We don’t really have to tell you that, right?

OXO Good Grips Turkey Baster with Cleaning Brush

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4. Homemade Siphon

Are you handy and arts and crafty? You can make a sort of spa vacuum yourself! It’s easy, and doesn’t require sucking on one end of the hose. Blech. You’ll need:

• a short piece of rigid but flexible hose
• plastic bucket

Once you have your supplies:

1. Bend the hose gently so that the two ends are even with each other.
2. Fill one end with water from a tap.
3. Insert the empty end of the hose into your hot tub, over whatever it is you’re trying to remove.
4. Place your thumb over the water-filled end.
5. Invert the water-filled end over the bucket, and remove your thumb.

The release of the water from the tube will create suction at the other end of the hose, pulling up the debris you’re trying to remove.

Granted, this isn’t ideal for removing a lot of debris as you only get a few seconds of suction. But if you don’t have a spa vacuum, any Silly Putty, or a turkey baster on hand, it can work in a pinch.

Prevention is Key

You may not be able to keep every single tiny bit of debris out of your hot tub, but you can take measures to keep as much of it out as possible. Always cover your spa when you’re not using it, and if you use it on a windy day, maybe put up a screen to keep leaves and things from blowing into the water.

But for the inevitable, invest in that spa vacuum, or keep a supply of Silly Putty on hand. Whatever method you choose, remember, these are quick fixes for a small amount of yuck in your hot tub. Clean it on a regular basis, and you’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of it.

Happy Soaking!

The post 4 Ways To Remove Dirt and Debris From Your Hot Tub appeared first on Swim University®.

The other thing is, maybe you’d prefer to use natural cleaners and avoid ingredients that can be toxic, especially if you have curious kids or pets in the house. Whatever your reason, there’s a good chance you already have everything you need at home to maintain a clean and healthy hot tub.

Want to learn more about how to keep your hot tub clean, balanced, and sanitized? Then you should check out The Hot Tub Handbook and Video Course to help you save hundreds on chemicals and less time on hot tub maintenance all year long.

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How to Clean a Hot Tub the Natural Way

Before we jump into the everyday household products you can use to clean your hot tub, let’s talk about the types of cleaners you’ll find in your kitchen cabinet. This will help you understand what types of cleaners are best for certain types of work.

For example, you wouldn’t use bleach to clean a sensitive surface anymore than you’d use olive oil to clean your toilet. Let’s not even talk about what kind of mess that would be. Yikes.

Knowing why these products work makes it easier to understand when and how to use them.

• Detergents: They help remove sticky stains by emulsifying the oils that bind dirt to the surface. Conventional examples include laundry detergent and dishwashing soap.
• Acids: This class of products break down rust and hard water stains. These are the toilet bowl, tile, and mold cleaners.
• Sanitizers: As the name suggests, these products disinfect and remove stains and odors. These are typically the harshest chemicals, like chlorine bleach.
• Bases: These cleaners remove dirt, fat, and grease. Commercially, these fall under the category of all-purpose cleaners.
• Abrasives: You want to be careful with these because as their name suggests, abrasives can scratch whatever surface you’re cleaning. Steel wool and scouring powders are common commercial examples.

So what can you use that’s going to get the job done, but not damage your hot tub surfaces?

White Vinegar to Clean a Hot Tub

If you’re conscientious about cleaning your coffee maker, you probably a bottle of white vinegar sitting in your pantry right now. And if that’s the case, you already know vinegar is an excellent cleaning agent. But have you ever wondered how to clean a hot tub with vinegar? It’s easy.

Typical white vinegar will have an acidity of about 2.5pH, although it can go as high as 4pH. That means it’s strong enough to dissolve messes without the risks of heavy-duty commercial cleaners. For example, it’s less likely to damage a vinyl hot tub cover.

Vinegar cleans by charging the particles of whatever you’re scrubbing. Those charged molecules are then more attracted to positive and negative charges in water molecules, making the offending substance easier to remove.

You can use vinegar to clean all kinds of surfaces, but it’s especially helpful for removing scum lines in your hot tub shell. It’s also really inexpensive, so you’ll save money using vinegar to clean your hot tub instead of a special cleaner.

Important: You may have heard you can use vinegar to clean hot tub pipes too. We strongly recommend against that. It won’t hurt your pipes or anything, it just won’t be effective. Vinegar is an excellent cleaner for a lot of things, just not for the nasty biofilm that accumulates in hot tub plumbing. To make sure it’s removed and your pipes are clear, always use a hot tub line flush product on the plumbing.

[handbook]

What You Need

• White vinegar
• Microfiber cleaning cloth or sponge
• Bucket or spray bottle
• Warm water

Cleaning Instructions

1. If you’re cleaning your hot tub shell, drain your tub first.
2. Mix a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water in a bucket or spray bottle. Give it a good stir or shake to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
3. If you’re using a spray bottle, spray your hot tub shell or cover thoroughly. If you’re using a bucket, carefully pour the vinegar-water solution over what you want to clean.
4. Let the solution sit for fifteen minutes.
5. Wipe down your shell or cover with a cloth or sponge. If you’re dealing with stubborn stains, you may have to repeat the process.
6. Once your shell or cover is clean, rinse it thoroughly before refilling your tub.

You can also use vinegar to clean your filters. Simply soak your filters in a 50% water and 50% vinegar solution for two hours. Keep in mind you may need to use an actual hot tub filter cleaner if it’s really grimy, or replace the filter if it’s beyond cleaning.

Heinz Cleaning Vinegar

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If you’re looking for other ways to use vinegar to clean around the house, you may be surprised at how many uses it has.

Olive Oil to Clean a Hot Tub?!

OK, when you think about how to clean a hot tub, you probably don’t think about using oil. That just seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? But hear us out.

If you do any cooking at home, you probably have a bottle of olive oil. This common pantry ingredient can also be classified as a detergent because, as an oil, it works to remove other oils that trap dirt.

Say you have a sticky sap stain on your hot tub cover or shell. It’s not something you can easily rub off or wipe away because the stain is basically glued to the surface with an oil film. A detergent or soap helps remove the stain by suspending the grease connecting the dirt to whatever surface you want to clean.

Once you’ve removed the sap, you can use a good surface protectant to keep it from adhering so strongly in the future, saving you some time and elbow grease.

303 UV Protectant Spray

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You’ve probably seen olive oil soap in the natural aisle of the grocery store or at a health food store. That’s because olive oil is mostly made of triglycerides, which are the fatty storage molecules in plants and animals. Triglycerides are a primary component of traditional soap, so olive oil is a green alternative to harsher detergents.

What You Need

• Olive oil
• Microfiber cleaning cloth or sponge
• Mild soap
• Warm water

Cleaning Instructions

1. If you’re cleaning your hot tub shell, drain your tub first.
2. Pour a little olive oil onto your cloth or sponge. Gently rub the stain with your cloth until it breaks up.
3. Once the stain has broken up, simply wipe it away.
4. Wash your hot tub shell or cover with mild soap and warm water to clear away any oily residue.
5. If you cleaned your shell, rinse your hot tub thoroughly to prevent foaming when you refill it.

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 101.4 oz.

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Cleaning a Spa with Diluted Bleach

Say you’ve got a case of hot tub folliculitis on your hands. If that’s what you’re facing, you don’t just need to clean your tub. You need to clean and sanitize it.

Like vinegar, bleach breaks the bonds of stains. But it has the added benefit of killing bacteria. Bleach forms a variety of chemicals when added to water, including hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite anion. Hypochlorous acid kills bacteria while hypochlorite anions disrupts the natural processes of a bacteria, rendering it harmless.

You can also use bleach if you have tough stains and scum lines vinegar can’t handle. Bleach destroys molecular chromophore bonds, which are what give the molecules color, which is what stains are.

Important: if you are going to use bleach to clean your hot tub, make sure you thoroughly rinse your tub both before and after cleaning and never, ever mix bleach with anything besides water. Mixing bleach with vinegar or other chemical cleaners can create highly toxic fumes which can irritate your eyes and skin or even cause respiratory failure.

What You Need

• Bleach
• Disposable sponge or shop towels
• Bucket or spray bottle
• Rubber gloves (safety first!)
• Clothes you don’t mind getting stained
• Warm water

Cleaning Instructions

1. Drain your hot tub. If you tried cleaning your tub with anything other than water, make sure you thoroughly rinse those areas.
2. Wearing gloves, mix equal parts of water and bleach in your bucket or spray bottle.
3. If you’re using a spray bottle, spray your hot tub down with the water-bleach mixture. With the bucket, carefully wet the insides of your hot tub with the solution. Try to avoid creating a huge puddle of bleach that you may have to step in later.
4. Let the bleach rest for fifteen minutes.
5. Scrub your hot tub down using a disposable sponge or soft rag.
6. Thoroughly rinse your tub before refilling.

Bleach - 121 oz. - 3 Pack

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01/27/2023 09:39 pm GMT

Baking Soda

If you’re looking for a versatile cleaner, look no further than a humble box of baking soda. Mixed with water, it creates a base cleaner, or you can use it as a mild abrasive. So if you have a particularly stubborn bit of scum that just won’t go away, simply add a bit of baking soda to your sponge and scrub.

Aside from cleaning your hot tub, baking soda is pretty much a miracle worker around the house if you’re looking for milder ways to clean.

Our Top Pick

Baking Soda

Perfect for raising total alkalinity and pH in your pool along with cleaning tile and more. You'll need plenty on hand.

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Simple Green, Simple Cleaning

If you’ve been wondering how to clean a hot tub without chemicals and without worrying about noxious fumes, Simple Green might be closer to your preference. It isn’t chemical free—everything is chemicals—some are just more potent or toxic than others. But Simple Green is non-toxic and biodegradable.

You can use it for both the interior and exterior of your hot tub, though you should avoid applying it to suede, leather, and unfinished wood. Your best bet is to always test a small, inconspicuous area when trying a new cleaner.

And note that while it doesn’t give off nasty fumes, it also has a … unique scent. Some people love it, and some people whose olfactory sense is functioning properly absolutely hate it. You may want to take a quick whiff of it at the store before you buy it.

What You Need

• Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner
• Microfiber cleaning cloth or sponge
• Bucket or spray bottle (if you need to dilute it)
• Warm water (if you need to dilute it)

Cleaning Instructions

1. Drain your hot tub.
2. Decide whether you want to use the Simple Green at full strength straight from the bottle, or dilute it based on how dirty your hot tub is.
   • For heavy-duty cleaning, mix one cup of cleaner for every cup of water.
   • General purpose cleaning uses one ounce of cleaner for every cup of water.
   • Light cleaning calls for one ounce of cleaner for every two cups of water.
   • Diluting your cleaner can also help save money, provided doing so doesn’t negate its effectiveness.
3. If you’re diluting, mix the proper amount in a bucket or spray bottle.
4. Spray down your hot tub or pour over the shell.
5. Let the Simple Green work for two minutes.
6. Scrub any dirt or stains with a soft cloth or sponge.
7. Rinse with clean water. This is especially important, because this cleaner can cause hot tub foam if you don’t rinse properly, and then you’ll have an even bigger mess on your hands.
8. Repeat steps or decrease dilution if the stains aren’t coming off.

SIMPLE GREEN All-Purpose Cleaner - 32 oz. - 3 Pack

$41.09 ($0.43 / Fl Oz)

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01/27/2023 10:41 pm GMT

Rub Dirt Away with Rubbing Alcohol

Using this one is actually more about looking good than it is about cleaning, especially if you have chrome or stainless steel fixtures in your hot tub. Staring at grubby, fingerprint-laden fixtures can get old fast. Alcohol will shine them right up.

What You Need

• Diluted rubbing alcohol (we recommend at least 90% alcohol content)
• Microfiber cleaning cloth or sponge

Cleaning Instructions

1. Drain the tub and clean the shell first using your preferred method if the metal fixtures are under the water line.
2. Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol to your soft cloth or sponge.
3. Scrub the fixtures until they’re nice and shiny.
4. Thoroughly rinse your hot tub before refilling.

Your hot tub isn’t the only thing around your home that has shiny fixtures and other surfaces that can benefit from a few swipes of rubbing alcohol.

99% Isopropyl Alcohol - 32 fl. oz. - 2 Pack

$26.50 ($0.41 / Fl Oz)

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01/27/2023 06:55 pm GMT

Magic Eraser Makes Dirt Disappear

Yeah, the jingle is catchy, but Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (or really, any brand of melamine sponge) is an easy way to tackle stains, especially on the outside of your hot tub.

The sponge is made of a melamine polymer, which is an abrasive foam. Once activated by water, it can remove soap scum, grease, and dirt even in small crevices. Just wet it, wring it out, and scrub the grime away. Of course, if you’re tackling something under your hot tub water line, make sure to drain your tub and rinse thoroughly after cleaning.

Melamine Sponge (Magic Eraser)

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A Cleaner Hot Tub for Less

It might mean a little more elbow grease for you, but these household products can save you money while still keeping your hot tub clean. But once you know how to clean a hot tub naturally, there’s no need for a special trip to the pool store to get cleaning supplies, especially if you have a well-stocked pantry or cleaning cabinet.

Not only that, but you’ll feel better knowing you’re not adding even more harsh chemicals to your hot tub to keep it clean. That’ll put your mind at ease before your next relaxing soak.

Happy Soaking!

The post 7 Household Products to Clean Your Hot Tub appeared first on Swim University®.

If you like keeping chemicals and heat in your hot tub while protecting it from debris and damage and extending its lifespan, then yes, a cover really is worth the money. The key is to choose the right one for your spa and your needs, and then to care for it so it lasts. In the end, that initial payout and the subsequent maintenance you perform will actually save you money.

Fight Water, Heat, and Chemical Loss

Evaporation is the enemy of all spa owners. Surely you know that some of your water ends up in the air, especially if the air where you live is very dry. Your water level drops, sometimes costing you a bit of money to top it off.

But that’s not the worst thing evaporation has in store for you. It will suck chemicals and heat out of your hot tub, too, throwing your sanitizer levels out of whack and forcing your spa to work harder to keep the water hot.

You can significantly reduce the effects of evaporation on your relaxation station by putting a lid on your hot tub. A cover that fits properly, without gapping, will keep your heat, chemicals, and water locked inside your spa.

Keep the Water in and the Nasties Out

A more obvious benefit to using a hot tub cover than keeping things in, is keeping them out. A cover will prevent all types and sizes of debris from winding up in your hot tub, such as sticks, leaves, and bugs. If your hot tub is indoors, a cover will keep dust and pet hair out too.

And regardless of where your hot tub is, a cover will also prevent technological disasters. Imagine walking by your uncovered hot tub and losing your grip on your smartphone or tablet. Bloop! Right into the water. Just the thought gives us the willies.

CoverMates Square Hot Tub Cover – Cap 84W x 84D x 14H

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Make Your Hot Tub Safe

A cover is also a physical barrier that will keep small children or animals finding their way into the water unnoticed. Because fewer drownings occur in spas than pools, they’re sometimes taken less seriously than the hazard they are. Don’t make that mistake.

ASTM International, one of the largest standards-developing organizations in the world, has established performance specifications for hot tub covers. An ASTM International-certified cover will help prevent tragic accidents from happening in your hot tub. Look for this certification when shopping for your cover.

MySpaCover Hot Tub Cover, Fits Any Shape Any Size Up To 96" - 5-inch taper

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hot tub cover Anatomy

Before you make such an important purchase, you should know what you’re getting for your money. What’s underneath that fancy vinyl cover, anyway? How exactly does it provide all those awesome benefits?

Hot tub covers have removable, vinyl shells, which zipper open and closed. Most are made up of two sections attached by a hinge between them. Each section contains a solid piece of dense foam.

In outdoor covers, the foam is thicker in the middle (on either side of the hinge), then tapers down to the outer edges to help keep debris from accumulating on and causing damage to the cover. Buying a tapered cover is just one way to protect your spa cover from bad weather.

Before being slipped into the vinyl shell, the foam is wrapped in one or two protective layers of plastic. This is the vapor barrier, and its job is to keep the smaller water particles—the vapor—from reaching the foam.

High-quality covers are reinforced with steel bars near the middle, but some also have multiple bars spaced evenly throughout the foam, making for a sturdier cover. Generally, the cover includes handles and tie-down straps as well.

Hot Tub Features the Pros Know

When you’re shopping around for an important (and expensive) item, you gotta know the lingo. Knowing what these terms mean for the quality, lifespan, and effectiveness of your hot tub cover can make a big difference in your purchase.

• Foam Density: Hot tub covers are available in one-pound, one-and-a-half-pound, and two-pound densities. The higher the density, the stronger and better at retaining heat your cover will be.
• Foam Thickness: Most cover tapers range in thickness from 4 x 2 inches to 6 x 4 inches. Thicker foam can handle heavier loads and keep in heat more effectively.
• R-value: The Federal Trade Commision regulates how to test for and disclose to customers the heat resistance of foam insulation. However, no one regulates R-value for hot tub cover foam, so it isn’t consistent across manufacturers. That doesn’t stop some of them from using R-value as a selling point. Just remember density and thickness are better indicators of quality, and take R-value figures with a grain of salt.
• Marine Grade Vinyl: The shell of your hot tub cover is made from material resistant to constant water exposure. The standard is marine grade vinyl. However, it varies in quality. It’s graded by its weight per square yard, typically ranging from 26 to 34 ounces. The higher the number, the stronger the vinyl, especially if it’s pre-treated for ultraviolet (UV) and mildew resistance.
• C-Channel: A galvanized steel bar running the width of the cover helps reinforce it under heavy loads. It’s resistant to chemical corrosion, while providing a little protection for the foam panels, too.
• Vapor Barrier: The foam core is wrapped in one or two layers of thin plastic film which help prevent moisture from soaking into the foam. Typically it’s sealed around the foam with heat. As your cover ages, the vapor barrier slowly breaks down.
• Safety Locks: Spa covers come with as many as four locks built in. Some are a simple plastic dial, while others lock with a key. If you’ve got small children or you leave your hot tub unattended for a season, safety locks may be an important feature for your cover.

Measure Twice, Order Once

You can’t be sure a hot tub cover will fit without first measuring your hot tub. We’re all familiar with how rulers work, so figuring out the correct size hot tub cover to purchase should be a breeze, right? Well, maybe not.

Even if your spa is a perfect square, the corners are probably rounded, and not every spa has the same size curve on those rounded corners. Before you drive yourself crazy trying to remember high school math, let us help you.

Note: If you already own a hot tub cover, you may take these measurements with it on your spa, just don’t add extra inches where noted.

To measure the corners of your hot tub, you can use a framing square (an L-shaped ruler), two rulers held together at their zero ends, or a printable diagram offered by some retailers. The easiest, most accurate choice is the framing square.

• • Length: Measure across the longest part of your hot tub. Be sure to measure from lip to lip (the acrylic tub), and not the outer edge created by the cabinet. Take this measurement in two spots to be sure the sides are perfectly straight. If the figures are different, use the larger one. If your spa is round or octagonal, simply measure straight across. Add one inch to this measurement to give your cover half an inch of give on both sides.

• • Width: Measure across the shorter side of your tub. Again, measure lip to lip only (the acrylic tub), not the outer cabinet edge. You may also take this measurement in two spots to ensure consistency in width. Add one inch to this measurement to give your cover half an inch of give on both sides. If your spa is octagonal, measure one panel from point to point.
  • Corner Radius: Place the framing square (or rulers) against the corner of your hot tub. The points where your hot tub touches the ruler are the corner radius. If you need to round this figure, be sure to round down. Because the square actually measures the space around the corner, a smaller number means a larger corner in your cover, which means it’ll fit your spa better.

• Skirt Length: The skirt is a flap that extends from the bottom edge of the hot tub cover. The skirt must be long enough to help the cover seal well, but not so long it bunches up and creates gaps. To get the right length, measure from the top of your spa down to the bottom of the cabinet. If your spa cabinet has a lip or ledge, measure down from that. If you’re measuring your old cover, start at the seam below the foam, then measure to the bottom of the skirt.
• Fold Direction: Be sure to note where any digital control panels are, so you can choose a cover that folds away from them. This way, you’ll be able to access the controls when you open your hot tub.

Hot tubs with unusual shapes, water features, and built-in sound systems may require you to special order a custom hot tub cover. Sometimes custom covers require you to create and send a template to the manufacturer to ensure proper fit.

How to Clean and Maintain Your hot tub cover

Don’t be stingy about the tender, loving care you give your spa cover. The better you treat it, the longer it will last, and the more money you’ll save. You can limit sun damage, prevent mold, and avoid premature chemical damage by sticking to some good cleaning and maintenance habits.

Daily Cleaning: As often as needed, brush debris off your hot tub cover. Outdoor covers are wedge-shaped, so rainwater should run right off. However, you’ll probably still need to clear off leaves, sticks, bugs, and any snow accumulation. Just a quick swipe or two with a push broom works fine. Avoid using anything with sharp edges that could gouge the vinyl.

Twice Monthly Cleaning: Do a deeper cleaning at least every other week to prevent mold growth and other damage.

1. Remove the cover completely. Lay it flat on a non-abrasive surface. Spray it with a cleaner made for vinyl. Wipe or rinse it clean per the product instructions. Don’t forget the sides and bottom. If you use any other type of cleaner, avoid ones that contain alcohol, detergent, oil, and silicone.
2. Wipe down the bottom of the hot tub cover with a solution of 1:10 parts distilled white vinegar or bleach to water. Be forewarned that bleach may be harder on the vinyl than vinegar.
3. Apply a vinyl protectant or conditioner to give your cover an extra dose of UV protection. These products keep the vinyl soft and help prevent cracking.

303 UV Protectant Spray

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Odor Problems: If you start to notice a funky smell coming from your cover, you may be growing a mold and mildew problem. Surface mildew can be scrubbed off with cleaner, then treated with a diluted vinegar or bleach solution.

Mildew on the underside of the cover may be subdued with a disinfectant spray. However, if the mold and mildew has made it through the vapor barrier into your foam, you’re probably past the point of no return, and you’ll need to replace your cover.

Basic Maintenance: In addition to cleaning, you can help prevent major issues by checking for and repairing any damage on a regular basis. Damaged vinyl should be patched immediately using a vinyl repair kit. Inoperable zippers may need to be repaired by a professional, but must also be fixed as soon as possible. Both issues can allow water to infiltrate the foam core if left unaddressed.

Your hot tub cover must be allowed to dry out occasionally. If you never take it off your spa, you’ll shorten its lifespan. Pop it off monthly while you clean the shell and balance your water, and let it dry completely before replacing it.

Stay on top of your hot tub chemistry with weekly testing and balancing (more frequently if your hot tub gets a lot of traffic). Balanced water keeps your spa from growing bacteria and algae, so your hot tub cover won’t be absorbing bacteria-filled moisture.

Give Your Back a Break

Is there anything more you could possibly want once you have the perfect hot tub cover? Of course! For example, how are you planning to get that thing on and off your hot tub? You could do it by hand and keep a standing appointment with your chiropractor. Or you can get a lifter to do the hard work for you.

hot tub cover Lifter

This is available as hydraulic arms that bear all the weight of opening your hot tub, manual arms that lighten the load, or a simple shelf to slide your cover onto. Spa cover lifters make it a one-person job to open and enjoy your hot tub. It’s possible to survive without one, but why would you want to?

Smart Spa Cover Classic Bottom Mount Spa Cover Lifter

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Protect Your Spa Cover from the Elements

Wind. Rain. Sun. They’re all necessary, and while they can do wonders for plants and animals, they can wreak absolute havoc on your hot tub cover.

Don’t despair! By protecting your cover, you help it protect your hot tub, and it’s not difficult to do. You just need to add a few steps to your maintenance routine.

Ensure the Cover is Secured

After a while, covering your hot tub will become routine. But make sure no matter how often you cover your spa, you always check to make sure the cover is on completely and correctly.

If the wind is strong enough, it can rip the cover right off the hot tub if it’s not properly secured. You may even want to add cover locks to make sure it stays on good and tight.

Sundance Spa Hot Tub Cover Locks with Push Button Release - Set of 4

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Use a Cover Cap

A physical, protective layer for your hot tub cover, a cover cap provides more UV protection than vinyl conditioner alone, and helps make cleaning even easier. These are especially useful if you don’t use your hot tub often.

Horizon Ventures Hot Tub Cover Cap 8 ft. x 8 ft.

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Attach Wind Straps

Particularly useful if you live somewhere with high winds, the straps are anchored to your spa cabinet to keep your cover in place. Also known as hurricane straps, they have small clasps that make them simple to open when you want to use your spa, while still protecting your cover from becoming a projectile.

Hot Tub Cover Wind Strap Complete Kit with Nexus Locks

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Remove Furniture, Plants, and Patio Items

When you see a storm is on its way, take a little time to put away your patio furniture, potted plants, and even large items like your barbecue grill. Especially the large items.

It may seem like a big grill is too heavy to be moved, but if a storm is serious enough, it can pick up a grill like it’s nothing, and then dump it right on top of your spa cover. Then you’ll have to buy a new cover and a new grill. No fun.

If, up to now, you’ve considered your patio the storage area for these items, it may be time to consider investing in something a little more stable, like a storage shed.

Suncast BMS8100 Tremont Storage Shed - 8 ft. x 10 ft.

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Trim Bushes and Trees

While hot tub landscaping is definitely a nice addition to your back yard space, it also introduces potential dangers to your spa cover.

If you have bushes or trees with long limbs around your hot tub, consider cutting them back to reduce the chance they could break and fall on your cover. And definitely never let a tree limb get long enough to reach your hot tub where it can scratch or tear the cover, or do other damage to your spa.

Install an Umbrella or Gazebo

Keep those ultraviolet rays from bleaching and weakening your hot tub cover by putting an umbrella over your spa.

Or if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can even put a gazebo up in your yard. Not only will it protect your spa, it’ll take your back yard leisure game to a whole new level.

Erommy Hardtop Gazebo with Netting - 10 ft. x 12 ft.

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Use Cover Protectant

Using some type of protectant after every cover cleaning won’t just make it look nice. It’ll help protect it from the sun’s rays.

After sitting under a hot sun day in and day out, your cover will fade, dry out, and crack. A good protectant will help prevent that, keep your cover in good condition longer, which means you won’t have to replace it as often.

303 UV Protectant Spray

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Remove Water, Snow, and Ice From the Cover

While you’re out shoveling your sidewalk, take a few moments to brush snow and ice off your cover. Be sure not to let rainwater accumulate on it, either.

The more water—in any form—that builds up on the cover, the heavier it becomes, putting strain on its connectors. Too much weight, and they can break, or tear the cover, or both. Small tears in the material can often be repaired. But a tear where the cover connects to the hot tub will usually mean you have to get a new one.

When to Replace Your hot tub cover

Maybe you made a significant investment in a high-quality cover, but several years have passed, and you’re unsure whether it’s time to replace it. Maybe you’re still using the low-quality cover that came with your spa when you bought it, but it suddenly seems to weigh as much as a Volvo, and you don’t know if you’ll ever get into your hot tub again.

The ideal weight of a hot tub cover is 50 to 75 pounds. Over time, it will absorb water and grow much heavier. If it has a cheap or insufficient vapor barrier, or if you’re not maintaining it well, this process can happen much more quickly. Once your cover is waterlogged, it’s time to start shopping for a new one.

Uncover More Hot Tub Happiness

Sure, a cover brings its own set of expenses and tasks. But we think you’ll agree it’s worth it. You’ve spent all that money on a spa. Spend just a little more to protect it, and you’ll be able to enjoy it for years to come.

Happy Soaking!

The post How to Buy and Care for a Hot Tub Cover appeared first on Swim University®.