Plenty of people use hot tubs without having any idea of what it takes to maintain them. If you’re lucky enough to use a hot tub without having to worry about this, we don’t blame you! However, there needs to be someone who understands how to empty a hot tub, how to clean the water filters, and how to refill it with fresh water. If you’re the unlucky one tasked with such things, this article is for you.
When Should You Empty A Hot Tub?
How often your hot tub should be emptied is dependent on how much use it gets as well as the type of cleaning system you’re employing. A hot tub that gets a regular amount of use and runs a chlorine or bromine cleaning system will need to be drained and deep cleaned about every three to four months.
How to Empty A Hot Tub?
In preparation for draining your hot tub, you should have a good understanding of where the water will end up. Allowing several hundred gallons of water to wash up against your house or into the neighbor’s yard is probably not the most ideal situation. If you can direct it into a storm drain or a garden or lawn that requires watering, that’s probably much more preferable.
Your hot tub might already have an outflow hose to help direct the drainage process. If it doesn’t, the drainage spigot will likely be threaded to allow you to attach a hose. Use the hose to direct the water away from your house and towards the storm drain or flower bed.
Hot tub water with properly balanced water chemistry shouldn’t be harmful to your lawn or garden plants. That’s as long as the water is allowed to cool before draining and you don’t drown the greenery.
Large hot tubs may take more than an hour to empty. If this isn’t fast enough for you, you might want to use a submersible pump. This can reduce the drainage time to tens of minutes.
Make sure to turn off the power at the breaker box before you empty the hot tub. Running it without sufficient quantities of water can lead to mechanical damage.
Once you have everything in place you can open the drain valve or turn on the pump. Make sure to monitor the drainage process to ensure you don’t end up with a flood.
Water Filter Cleaning
Hot tub filter cartridges should be hosed down with a garden hose once a month and deep cleaned every three to four months. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for their deep cleaning. This will often entail spraying or soaking the filters in a cleaning solution for several hours.
Hot Tub Shell Cleaning
Make sure to use an approved hot tub shell cleaner. Regular household cleaners are often too abrasive for the acrylic shell and could lead to scratches and other damage. Give the shell a proper rinse with fresh water after it’s been cleaned.
Refilling the Hot Tub
Check to see if your hot tub has a dedicated fill pipe. These are used to prevent bubbles from getting into the plumbing and causing an airlock. Your owner’s manual will tell you if a fill pipe exists and how to properly use it. Once the hot tub is filled you can test the water and add the appropriate chemicals to get it properly balanced for your next soaking session.
Now that you’ve learned more about how to empty a hot tub and what it takes to clean it, download a free buyer’s guide for more information.