15 Amazing Hot Tub Care Tips, Tricks & Information

While hot tubs have a long lifespan, how well you care for yours will significantly impact how long it lasts.

This doesn’t have to mean extra work or grueling maintenance schedules.

Creating a regular routine to care for your hot tub can lower maintenance needs and make hot tub ownership even easier.

There are some amazing tricks you can implement that will extend the lifespan of your spa, increase your enjoyment and even reduce the time you’ll need to maintain it.

Interested in making your hot tub care routine even easier?

This article covers 15 easy tips and tricks to make caring for your hot tub simple, effective and quick!

15 Hot Tub Care Tips & Tricks

Let’s see our top hot tub care tips you need to have in mind…

1. Balance Your Akaline Levels Before Your pH Levels

Keeping your water balanced is essential in ensuring it doesn’t become too hard or too acidic. This can happen through a buildup of bacteria such as oils found in lotions, make-up, and hair products or through natural elements like rainwater.

Your levels will be most unbalanced directly after changing the water in your spa. Water hardness varies based on where you live, which you will have to combat each time you refill your hot tub.

After you test your water’s pH and alkaline levels, you’ll want to use increasers or decreasers to bring it back into its optimum ranges, keeping your water from damaging your hot tub over time.

Adjusting your alkaline levels has a stronger influence on your pH than pH does on alkalinity, so it should always be adjusted first.

You’ll want to adjust your alkaline levels to be between 80-120 ppm and then treat your pH to bring it within the range of 7.2 to 7.8.

2. Use Enzymes

Enzymes are added to your water to break down fatty lipids that have developed over time, such as any oils, makeup, and lotions that have been absorbed by the water during use.

Each time you use your hot tub, these items will be pulled off your skin and stay in the water, creating a film on top that you may not be able to see, especially when your hot tub is being used.

Adding enzymes to your water can help break these oils up, ensuring your filters can strip them from the water and keep them from building up, leaving scum lines around the edge of your hot tub over time.

Treating these will help reduce your hot tub maintenance needs and protect your hot tub systems, keeping your water clean longer.

3. Use Sponges or Tennis Balls

Another way to combat the oils that make it into your hot tub is by leaving hot tub sponges or tennis balls to float in your hot tub when you’re not using it.

Oils will stay on the surface of your water, so as the sponges or tennis balls float around the hot tub, they will absorb the oils. This will keep your water clean and reduce the amount of work your filter needs to do to keep your water clean.

Keep some of these items on hand for an easy way to support the cleanliness of your water. Simply throw them in, close up your cover, and walk away, knowing you’ll be coming back to clean water without the extra work!

4. Invest in A Submersible Pump

Draining your hot tub may seem like a chore when it comes time to change your water, often leaving people with a bigger job than it needs to be.

By including a submersible pump, you can cut down the time it takes to drain your hot tub, with many people experiencing a quick 15 minutes to drain depending on the size of their spa.

Then, simply complete your deep clean, refill, and get ready to reward yourself in your freshly cleaned spa before the end of the afternoon!

5. Refill with a Hose Filter

Refilling your hot tub is as easy as turning on your garden hose and letting it run until your spa is full again.

However, this water often contains small particles and debris, which can go into your freshly cleaned hot tub. This makes your filtration system work harder right away and balancing your pH and alkaline levels more difficult.

Including a hose filter during this process can help filter out any of these particles before they go into your spa, leaving you with water that’s as fresh and clean as possible!

6. Use Pantyhose

When draining and refilling your hot tub, you can use nylon pantyhose to keep any debris from re-circulating and entering your filtration system again.

Simply take a pair of pantyhose and place them over the return inlets.

The nylon they are made of is thin enough to catch any tiny debris, keeping it from reentering your system, reducing the work of your filtration system, and leaving you with crystal-clear water!

7. Use a Timer

Unless you’re going to be sitting beside your hot tub the entire time it’s refilling, using a time can save you from an overflowing hot tub that’s been forgotten about.

It’s easy to get busy doing something else and forget to check on your spa, which can cause unnecessary damage to your system if it overflows.

Time the first refill of your hot tub, and use this time for each refill after, ensuring you turn the water off in time, saving your hot tub from water damage.

8. Have Extra Filters

Using clean filters is important and reduces the amount of work your system will do to keep your water clean.

Often, these filters are only cleaned once every few weeks and only go through a deep clean once every 3-4 months. You may not even know they need to be replaced until after you’ve drained your tub and taken them out for a deep clean.

If you don’t have extra filters on hand, you would either need to stop your cleaning and pick up new ones to replace them or put them back in until you can get fresh ones, making your filtration system work harder than necessary.

By keeping extras, you’ll be able to quickly change them out as soon as you realize they need to be switched, minimizing time spent on them during your maintenance routine.

This ensures your system doesn’t have to work overtime because of dirty filters.

9. Keep Hats or Hair ties Near Your Tub

This may sound odd at first, but keeping these items near your hot tub can help save your water and keep it clean from the products in people’s hair.

Gels and creams that people use in their hair can easily contaminate your water, causing a buildup in your filtration system and leaving oils floating on the surface.

Have people put their hair up or wear a cap to keep it from getting in the water and any products they use from dissolving into your spa!

10. Grout Cleaner

If you have a recessed hot tub and have placed tile around it, your grout can easily become stained, making your spa area look dirty even if it’s just been cleaned.

Adding a grout cleaner to your regular hot tub care routine will help you keep your entire hot tub space fresh and clean, making care easy by avoiding long-term buildup.

For an easy solution, apply a thick mixture of baking soda and water to the grout, and use a brush to scrub it down after letting it sit for about 5 minutes.

11. Clean Your Hot Tub Cover

It’s often assumed the inside of your cover will naturally get cleaned from the steam of the water and the chemicals that drift up towards it. However, this is actually the reason it needs to be cleaned every couple of months.

Over time, this moisture can cause your cover to smell musty, and if left unmaintained, you could develop mold or mildew on the cover.

Combine nine parts water with one part bleach for a gentle solution to clean the underside of your hot tub cover.

Use this solution to clean the slight layer of film off the inside of your hot tub cover at least once every few months. However, it’s highly recommended to do it more frequently to maximize its life span.

You’ll also want to use soap and water to clean the top of your cover. The outside of your cover is always exposed to the elements, protecting your water but collecting all the dirt and debris that would have ended up in it.

Cleaning your cover is essential in maximizing its life span, saving you on replacement costs, and keeping your space looking clean and maintained all year round.

12. Heat During Optimal Times

If you live somewhere where your energy costs fluctuate based on the time of day, match your heating times to when energy costs are at their lowest.

This can save you a significant amount on your energy bills each month and minimize the regular costs of having your spa, letting you enjoy it without the costly energy bills!

13. Leave Your Spa Open After Treatments

Treating your spa with chemicals produces gas as they treat the water. If you close your cover directly after treatment, you’ll be trapping those gases in your hot tub, which can cause damage to your pillows and cover over time.

After adding products to treat your water, we recommend leaving your cover off for at least 20 minutes to give the gases time to disperse, protecting your hot tub and accessories from a buildup of harmful gases.

14. Winterize

If you don’t plan on using your spa during the year’s colder months, you will need to winterize it.

If you leave it running but don’t use it, you’ll be paying unnecessary energy bills. However, if you turn your heater off without properly winterizing your spa, your pipes could freeze and burst, leaving you with parts to repair and lasting damage to your system.

To properly winterize your spa, you’ll need to fully drain your system, including all water in the plumbing, filters, and jets.

15. Shower Before Use

This may seem counterintuitive as you’ll be slipping into a warm hot tub anyways. However, showering beforehand can remove any oils from your body that would otherwise get into your water.

Whether it be body lotions, makeup, hair product, or even deodorant, if you soak in your hot tub without washing these off beforehand, they will come off in your spa water.

This quickly dirties your water. Oils can also be difficult to remove as they aren’t filtered out as efficiently when they go through your system and can cause buildup over time.

Taking time to shower quickly before stepping into your hot tub for a relaxing massage can help save your system from working overtime to remove the products, keep your water clean longer, and reduce the time you need to treat it.