Hot tub maintenance: a simple schedule for every season

Most hot tub maintenance takes a few minutes a week: test and balance the water, rinse the filter, and keep the cover clean. Every three or four months you drain, clean and refill the tub, and in the Fraser Valley you also want a plan for cold snaps and power outages.

A hot tub maintenance schedule

Pin this up near the tub. Your owner's manual has the final word for your model, but this is the routine most tubs need.

For what to test and which products to use, see our hot tub water care guide.

Cleaning a hot tub filter

The filter catches hair, skin flakes, lotion and grit. A dirty one is behind a lot of cloudy water, foam and even heating problems, so it's the single most useful thing to keep on top of.

Rinse it every week or two

1. Turn the tub off at the breaker or disconnect.
2. Lift out the filter (unscrew the top cap if your model has one).
3. Hose it from the top down, working the spray between the pleats at an angle. A garden nozzle is plenty; a pressure washer can tear the pleats.
4. Put it back and turn the power on.

Many owners keep a spare filter so one can dry completely while the other is in use. Letting a filter dry fully makes the dried gunk easier to rinse off next time.

Soak it every month or two

Rinsing doesn't remove oils and scale. For that, soak the filter in a cleaner made for spa filters, following the label (often overnight), then rinse it very thoroughly. Leftover cleaner makes the water foam. Don't use dish soap, laundry detergent or household cleaners for the same reason.

Replace it when it's worn out

With regular cleaning, most filters last one to two years. Replace sooner if the pleats are frayed or flattened, the end caps are cracked, or the filter stays discoloured after a soak. Bring the old filter into the store and we'll match the size.

Draining and refilling

Over time the water fills up with dissolved solids from sanitizer, body oils and everything else, and chemicals stop working as well. A common rule of thumb for how often to change it:

Days between water changes ≈ (volume in US gallons ÷ 3) ÷ average bathers per day

For a tub holding about 1,500 litres (400 US gallons) used by two people a day on average: 400 ÷ 3 ≈ 133, and 133 ÷ 2 ≈ 67 days, so roughly every two months. With light use the rule gives a longer gap, but most owners still refresh the water every three to four months.

How to drain and refill a hot tub

1. Add a line flush product before draining, following the label, and run the jets. It loosens biofilm inside the plumbing that a drain alone leaves behind.
2. Turn the power off at the breaker.
3. Let the sanitizer level drop, then drain through the drain spout or with a submersible pump. Send the water onto your lawn or into the sanitary sewer, not a storm drain or ditch, since those run into local streams. Check your city's rules.
4. Wipe the shell with a non-foaming spa surface cleaner or plain water and a soft cloth.
5. Clean or replace the filter.
6. Refill by putting the hose in the filter well. Filling from there pushes water through the plumbing first and helps prevent airlocks.
7. Turn the power on, then balance alkalinity, pH and calcium hardness before adding sanitizer and shock.

If the jets won't push water after a refill, it's usually trapped air. Our guide to a hot tub not heating explains how to clear an airlock.

Caring for the cover

The cover keeps the heat in, the rain out and children safe, so it's worth a little attention.

• Clean and protect the vinyl every month or two with a cover cleaner and a UV protectant.
• Brush off snow after a heavy fall. Wet Fraser Valley snow is heavy, and enough of it can crack the foam cores or the fold.
• Use a cover lifter or lift it from the fold, not by the edges or straps.
• Keep the straps locked when the tub isn't in use.
• Weigh it in your mind each time you lift it. A cover that keeps getting heavier is soaking up water, loses its insulation and is due for replacement. See our hot tub covers.

Hot tub care through a Fraser Valley winter

Most people here keep the tub running all year, and winter is when it gets the most use. A tub that's circulating and heating won't freeze, so the main jobs are keeping the water level up, the cover sealed and strapped, and the snow off the lid. Many control systems also have freeze protection that runs the pumps when the water gets cold; your manual explains what yours does.

If you're shutting the tub down for winter

A tub that's partly drained in a freeze can crack its pipes, pump housings and heater. If you're going away or won't use the tub, it has to be fully winterized:

1. Turn off the power and drain the tub completely.
2. Take out the filters and store them indoors.
3. Open the drain plugs or loosen the unions on the pumps and heater so they empty.
4. Blow out the jets and lines with a wet/dry vacuum until no water comes out.
5. Dry the footwell, then put the cover on and strap it down.

Some owners also add non-toxic RV antifreeze to the plumbing, but check your manufacturer's instructions first. If you'd rather not risk it, we can winterize and reopen your tub. To open it again in spring, close everything up, fill through the filter well, watch for leaks as it fills, then balance the water.

Power outage during a freeze

Keep the cover closed and strapped. A full, insulated tub holds its heat for a good while with the lid on, and opening it to check only lets the heat out. The equipment bay, with the pump and heater, is the part most at risk. If the outage is going to last a long time in a hard frost, call us: it may need draining before it freezes rather than after. When the power comes back, check that the GFCI hasn't tripped and that the tub restarts and circulates. Some tubs start in a priming mode and need a button press.

When to book a service visit

Call us if you see water under the tub, the GFCI keeps tripping, a pump grinds or hums, an error code won't clear, or the water won't stay clear even with balanced chemistry. Our repair and service page explains what to send us when you book.