Whether you’re an office worker, in construction, or are a professional athlete, hot tubs can be a powerful way to support your day-to-day health and wellness.

Boasting a wide range of benefits to both your physical and mental health, it's no shocker they’ve become a staple in backyards across the country!

Unfortunately, this long list of benefits can only be experienced if your hot tub water is clean, clear, and safe to be in.

This all comes down to your hot tub maintenance routine and the various steps you take to care for your spa throughout the year.

Not only does it keep your water safe, but it also influences how long you can expect to enjoy your spa.

Hot tub maintenance may seem daunting if you’re a new hot tub owner, but fret not; we’re going to tell you everything you need to know. We’ll even provide an easy-to-follow schedule that will guide you through your maintenance throughout the year!

Ready to learn how to take care of your hot tub like a pro? Read on!

 

Essential Hot Tub Maintenance Supplies

When it comes to how effective your hot tub maintenance routine is, the supplies you use play a significant role.

The best place to buy your hot tub supplies will be your dealer. Not only will they have the perfect products designed to work best with your specific spa, but they’ll be able to provide more thorough support when it’s needed.

Some basic hot tub maintenance supplies you’ll want to keep on hand include:

• Chemicals
• pH test strips
• Filters and filter cleaner
• Shell cleaner
• UV protectant for your cover

There are also some optional supplies you could use that can help make your care routine simpler, such as a filter for your hose or a filter cleaning attachment designed specifically for spa filters.

Basic Steps To Care For Your Hot Tub

Your hot tub maintenance consists of various steps, all done at specific times throughout the year.

While this may sound complex, once you’ve created a schedule (you’ll find one below!), it can be a breeze.

Some steps you can expect to complete throughout the year include:

• Testing and treating your water
• Cleaning your filters
• Draining, cleaning, and refilling your spa
• Cleaning your cover and cabinet
• Inspecting your components

Each of these steps will need to be done a few times a year, with some requiring more frequent attention than others.

Now that you know what to expect, let’s create your hot tub maintenance schedule!

The Ultimate Hot Tub Maintenance Guide For Yearly Care

The steps we discussed above will be completed at four main points throughout the year.

• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly (one each seasonally)
• And annually

By following this schedule, your hot tub maintenance can not only become effortless, but your hot tub can maintain its efficiency and quality for years to come.

Weekly Hot Tub Maintenance

Your weekly routine is arguably one of the easiest ones on this list and can be completed in as little as 15 minutes.

Every week, you’ll need to do the following steps:

• Test your water at least three times
• Treat it accordingly
• Rinse your filters
• Wipe the exposed lip of your shell

Testing and Treating Your Water

Testing and treating your water is a crucial step that serves two distinct purposes; to keep your water clean and safe, and to reduce the risk of it damaging your system.

You may be wondering how your water could harm your spa, and this all comes down to your pH and alkalinity.

Have you ever discovered hard mineral buildup on your taps or showerhead? This comes from hard water that has an abundance of minerals in it.

What do you think would happen if that water was running through the pipes and jets of your spa, and surrounding your heating element?

That buildup would be everywhere, reducing the efficiency of your system. Balancing your water's pH and alkalinity helps to prevent this from happening, ensuring your water isn't too hard, but also isn’t too acidic either.

Ideally, you’ll want your pH between 7.2 and 7.8, and the alkalinity around 80 to 120 ppm.

Rinsing Your Filters

When it comes to your filters, they play an important role in collecting any small debris that enters your water, stopping it from being pushed back into your tub.

Over time, this can build up, and if not properly cleaned, and can result in circulation issues as they become clogged with debris.

Rinsing your filter helps wash away this grime and supports the long-term efficiency of your entire system.

To rinse them, simply remove them from your spa and use your garden hose to wash away any debris. Avoid using high-pressured hose attachments that could damage the pleats.

Cleaning The Shell

Lastly, any oils that get into your water from body creams, deodorants, or even detergent lingering on your suits, can result in a scum line along the edges of your spa.

Using a soft cloth, simply wipe around the edge of your spa to wipe away any oils that may have built up over the last week of use.

Monthly Hot Tub Maintenance

Your monthly maintenance has fewer steps, but can take slightly longer than your weekly routine, averaging between 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

We recommend choosing the beginning or end of each month for this routine to make it simple to remember to complete.

Each month, you’ll want to:

• Perform a chemical rinse on your filters
• Wipe the cabinet and cover

Chemical Rinse

While your weekly rinse will wash away surface debris, deeper-set contaminants may cling to your filter.

A chemical rinse can help target those more stubborn stains. Simply remove your filter, spray it with your filter cleaner, and set it aside to soak for 15 minutes.

After it’s done soaking, thoroughly rinse it off, then return it to your spa.

Cabinet and Cover Care

The outside of your cover and your cabinet is constantly exposed to the elements, collecting dust and dirt that’s blown around your yard.

To keep the outside of your hot tub looking pristine, use a damp cloth to wipe away any dirt that may have accumulated over the month.

Seasonal Hot Tub Maintenance

Once each season, roughly every three or four months based on use, you’ll need to perform a number of steps.

This is arguably one of the most intensive steps, and some people opt to have professionals do it simply for ease of care.

However, if you enjoy the process of caring for your spa, this routine doesn’t have to be difficult!

Every few months, you’ll want to:

• Perform a chemical soak on your filters
• Drain your spa
• Clean and inspect your spa
• Clean the underside of your cover
• Flush your lines
• Refill your tub with fresh water and rebalance it
• Inspect your system

Chemical Soak

The last step in caring for your filters is soaking them overnight in a diluted mixture of filter cleaner and water.

This allows the cleaner to deeply penetrate the fibers of the filters, lifting deep-set debris and leaving you with clean filters once again.

Drain, Clean, and Refill Your Spa

Each time you add your chemicals to your spa, your water's Total Dissolved Solids increases, which can make your water increasingly difficult to treat.

Changing your water every few months will ensure you’re never bathing in dirty water, and also helps make maintaining your spa much easier.

Of course, when you refill your spa, you want your fresh water to be going into a clean hot tub, so it’s important to clean your shell as well.

This helps remove any grime that may have accumulated over the last few months of use, such as oils that are left behind after each use. While cleaning your shell, take a moment to inspect it and your jets for any damage.

This also offers the perfect opportunity to flush your lines, breaking down any debris that may have built up in them since your last water change.

Simply add some line fish to your tub before draining it, and let your jets run. This will circulate the cleaner through your system before you drain your spa.

As always, after refilling your hot tub, you’ll want to test and treat your water as needed to rebalance it.

Clean Your Cover

The underside of your cover is constantly exposed to moisture, creating the perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow!

Luckily, this can be easy to combat. While your hot tub is draining, take off your cover and lay it out on the ground with the underside facing up.

Using a diluted mixture of one part bleach, and ten parts water, wipe down your cover, killing any bacteria that may have clustered together in the crevices.

Inspect Your System

Lastly, you’ll want to inspect your system for any leaks or potential warning signs of damage.

Look for unexpected puddles (particularly around your cabinet edges), damp insulation, or dripping water.

Annual Hot Tub Maintenance

At the end of each year, it’s time to replace your filters and CLEARRAY®️ Bulb if your hot tub has one.

Filters only have an expected lifespan of twelve months, and while you may need to change them sooner if they were damaged over the year, if not, at the twelve-month mark, you’ll need to put new ones in.

Additionally, if your hot tub has a CLEARRAY Active Oxygen™️ System, you’ll need to replace the UV bulb every year.

The strength of the light slowly depletes throughout the year, and at the one-year mark, it’s no longer able to effectively clean your water, so it’s crucial to replace it each year.

Professional Hot Tub Maintenance and Service in Jackson Hole

Whether you enjoy caring for your hot tub throughout the year, want support with the larger jobs, or simply need expert care when issues arise, the team at Sundance Spas of Jackson Hole is here to help!

We believe hot tub ownership should be nothing less than pure bliss, and our team is dedicated to providing our community with friendly, professional spa care.

Contact us, or visit us in-store today!