How To Clean Your Hot Tub

There's nothing more appealing than soaking yourself in a hot tub to release stress at the end of a long, hard day. Trust, us - it is what we do! But what's more inviting, is a hot tub that is clean and well maintained. A well maintained hot tub requires following a daily, weekly, monthly, as well as quarterly schedule and the right cleaning solutions. Contrary to popular understanding, cleaning a hot tub is not just about wiping it off with cleaning solutions but also about eliminating build up, balancing the water, treating the surface of the spa while maintaining the life of your equipment. So if you are unaware about hot tub cleaning also, you've reached the right place.

Here's the ultimate guide to hot tub maintenance that'll tell you everything you need to know about cleaning a hot tub and keeping the life of the equipment long and healthy. If followed to the T, it will also ensure that your hot tub is spick and span and make it so you do not contract any hot tub rashes or other bacterial health conditions!

Why You Need To Clean Your Hot Tub

The primary reason why you need to keep your hot tub clean is to expand the life of your spa and equipment, ensure clean water, and the health of everyone who enters the hot tub. When you are using a hot tub, you contaminate the hot tub water with body oils, cosmetics, lotions, hair products, sweat, etc. that you carry around on your body. Once you walk out of the tub, the spa water usually lies in there for some time, if not some days, and passes through the hot tub filter too. While the filter does a good job at grabbing all the dirt, we doubt if it is 100% reliable for filtration of bacteria and other contaminants from the pipe. Over a significant period of time, these contaminants create a layer of biofilm on the pipe which is nothing less than disgusting. Biofilm basically means bits of bacteria and fungi moving down the hot tub's pipe. The longer you go without cleaning your hot tub, the longer the biofilm sits stuck to the pipe adding more and more contaminants to the water and making its power to filter the water weaker. That is why it is extremely vital to drain and clean a hot tub regularly and maintain the water quality as well as good health of those who use the tub.

However, we do things a little differently at Hot Tub Boats. To ensure the cleanliness of our boats for every guest we drain, clean, and refill the boats between each group. Every single rental has pure, 100% tap water filling the boat. We clean our filters daily, eliminating biofilms and also stringently clean our piping. Because of our rigorous cleaning schedule, Hot Tub Boats are the cleanest Hot Tubs in the world.

How Often You Need to Clean Your Hot Tub

A hot tub gives clear signals like foul odor and cloudy and unclear water when it is time to drain and clean it. However, you shouldn't wait for these signals to clean your hot tub. If you use your hot tub more frequently, then you must clean it more frequently as well. This is why we clean our Hot Tub Boats between each group! Likewise, if more people have used your hot tub recently, then that makes for a good reason to drain and clean your hot tub too. Even if your hot tub has not been used for very long, it is always better to clean it before using it. The standard recommendation for cleaning your hot tub is usually every 3-4 months. However, you must take a call depending on your use in order to protect the biofilm from building up and the filtration and plumbing systems from getting weak.

Breaking It Down: The 5 Simple Steps to Hot Tub Cleaning

Keeping a hot tub clean merely takes a few moments if you are following the right hot tub maintenance routine. Here are the 5 simple steps that will make your process of hot tub cleaning much simpler.

1. Drain Your Hot Tub & Line Flush

The first and foremost step of hot tub cleaning is to turn off power to the hot tub from the circuit breaker. Once the power is off, drain your hot tub using the manufacturer's instructions and flush the plumbing lines with a plumbing cleaner or a line flush product. By flushing lines you can ensure that the buildup caused by body residues, lime, oils, calcium and other chemical residues are removed. It is important to line flush because sometimes the buildup can also reduce the jet pressure and lead to other functionality issues in the hot tub.

In some cases the hot tub is infected with pseudomonas and therefore requires the water to be treated before emptying the tub. Pseudomonas are a kind of bacteria commonly found in soil, plants and water. Adding chlorine or bromine to the water and ensuring that the entire plumbing system is exposed to it for an hour is enough to kill the pseudomonas.

At Hot Tub Boats we refrain from using harsh chemicals like chlorine and bromine and prefer eco-friendly alternatives. We use marine soap to scrub out the tub between each group You can learn more about the eco-friendly world of Hot Tub Boating here.

Pro Tip: By using submersible pumps to push the water out, you can save a lot of time that you put in draining the hot tub water.

2. Clean Your Hot Tub

Once you've drained the hot tub and flushed the lines, it is time for deep cleaning of the hot tub. It starts with wiping down the tub with a soft cloth or a non-scratch scrubber to remove the grime but what you use as a surface cleaner holds immense importance. The regular household cleaners are most likely to harm the spa, a caustic cleaner can scratch the interior of the tub and a dishwashing detergent will foam it when you refill your hot tub. Some natural alternatives are diluted bleach or equal parts of white vinegar and water mixed into a diluted solution to cut through the grime. Or you could use products specifically made for acrylic hot tub shells that are available with local dealers as well as professional spa retailers.

Pro Tip: For the exterior of the hot tub that generally withstands buildup, gentle spraying of warm water should be enough. You can use the same formula to clean hot tub covers as well.

3. Remove & Clean the Filters

Once you've made sure that your tub is as clean as possible, it is time for you to remove the hot tub filter and spray it with your garden hose to clean it. Since the job of hot tub filters is to remove any bacteria and grime from the tub, they develop buildup very easily. Therefore, you must wipe it down with filter cleaners after spraying it. Anything harsh like using a brush is not advisable to clean filters. However, if you are unable to break the gunk and grime with a cleaner, you can use chlorine to disinfect the filter as well.

After cleaning the filter, refill your hot tub and place your garden hose well into the filter. This is to ensure that the water is flowing through the filters and filling your hot tub with clean water without impurities such as calcium and copper that can affect the water chemistry as well as the overall spa health. .

Pro Tip: Replace filters that are older than a year to maintain the life of hot tubs and the health of its users.

At Hot Tub Boats, we have custom made filtration systems that make the cleaning process much simpler. You can learn more about how we keep our boats clean by watching this video.

4. Treat the Water with Hot Tub Chemicals

After you have refilled the hot tub with an appropriate water level, the next step involves testing the pH and chlorine levels in your tub and treating the water with chemicals, hot tub shocks, sanitizer, or clarifier. The aim is to balance alkalinity, pH and hardness while also sanitizing the water since the water in a hot tub does not get drained after every use.

While chemicals like bromine and chlorine adjust the pH level, it can also cause rashes if not monitored well. The TA (total alkalinity) of the water needs to be measured to make sure that the alkaline substances dissolved in water aren't too high or too low. As per standard instructions, the total alkalinity of the water should be between 80 to 120 ppm (parts per million). By balancing the TA using effective water conditioners you can also ensure the sanitizer to be more effective in water. Lastly, water hardness is a hot tub care factor that cannot be ignored. Water hardness is said to be best between 175 and 250 ppm, however you must check it through reliable test strips and add calcium hardness to balance the same. Usually hardness up till 400 ppm is said to be safe for hot tubs, however cross checking with the hot tub manufacturer's recommendation is always a good idea. Excessive calcium can make the fresh water murky and also cause scaling on the surface of the jacuzzi and therefore should be monitored well.

While weekly shock treatment with chlorine and bromine is enough, the frequency of the treatment can be increased in case of cloudy water or heavy bather load. Hydrogen peroxide is a good alternative to sanitize the water and prevent bacterial infections. The standard time period for you to cover your water and allow the chemicals to circulate is 24 hours but what is essential to its proper functioning is heating the water to at least 80°F (27°C), but no higher than 104°F (40°C) during this time.

Pro Tip: In order to avoid the use of excessive chemicals, you can start out with higher-quality soft water in the spa. This reduces any risks of staining and mineral deposit buildup and also allows maintenance of the quality of water.

We, at Hot Tub Boats use environmentally friendly products to clean out boats and reduce our carbon footprint simultaneously. Know more about our cleaning process here.

5. Regular Hot Tub Maintenance

Even after performing the above steps of cleaning a hot tub with utmost precision, regular maintenance is what you call a game changer. When it comes to the life of your hot tub and the health of its users, the best way to go about doing it is chalking out a cleaning and maintenance schedule that works for you. Some of the simple hacks that can avoid long run troubles for your tub include-

-Protecting the hot tub with a lid when not in use

-Cleaning the hot tub lid monthly to avoid dust or any other particles sitting on it

-Sanitizing the hot tub water with chlorine or bromine weekly to ensure clean and fresh water

-Cleaning the filter every month to remove the debris and grime trapped in it

-Preventing the hot tub shell from potential buildup by cleaning it every 3-4 months

- Keeping the power on to ensure filtration of spa water continuously

-Measuring the water's hardness and adding hardness if its too low and draining some water to add fresh water if it's too high

-Testing and retesting the alkalinity and pH to ensure its in the right range

- Measuring the chlorine or bromine level in water and adding more if required

Your spa cabinets also go through a lot of abuse including humidity, splash outs, as well as sun if it is outdoors, do not forget to shield the cabinet as a part of maintenance schedule. Use wood protectant with UV shield to protect the cabinets.

Pro Tip: Too much or too little water in a hot tub can be damaging. If the water level is low, air can get sucked into the pump and destroy it. Overfilling water can also lead to damaged components of the spa. Therefore, your hot tub care must include adding or reducing water whenever the level seems low or high.

How We Clean Our Hot Tub Boats

Designed and engineered for premier relaxation, luxury, and adventure, Hot Tub Boats leave no stones unturned to make sure that the experience of every passenger is beyond amazing.

To ensure complete safety and cleanliness, our hardworking staff gets to draining and cleaning the Hot Tub Boat as soon as a boat returns. Our filtration systems are custom made and they make the boat exceptionally easy to clean, allowing us to clean it before each rental. The tub automatically pumps out water and does not need your typical hoover vacuum for draining. We ensure all safety guidelines and therefore when a boat returns, the Hot Tub Boat gets emptied, cleaned, and re-filled for the next group. We do not believe in using harmful chemicals like bromine or chlorine. 'Giving back' is an ethos of our business and it all starts from giving back to the environment. We use eco-friendly products to clean our boats and also to maintain the water quality.

We want to spread the joy of Hot Tub Boating to as many people as possible. Our main goal is to get you out in a Hot Tub Boat for a memorable, fun and, most importantly, safe experience. Don't believe us? Click the 'Book My Boat' button to reserve your boat and experience the fun!