Plain and simple, people who have hot tubs know how to have fun. It literally screams “I love relaxing and enjoying life’s greater luxuries.” Whenever you’ve got a hot tub around, you know it’s going to be a good time. Hot tubs are perfect for a warm summer day after a cool, refreshing swim. And, they’re perfect for those colder days or when you’re just a bitch chilly. (They’re awesome for those times you need an excuse to drink a cocktail in a pit of warm, swirling water.) Do you want those good times to continue? Then take care of your hot tub. Taking care of a hot tub is almost as hard as taking care of those plants that keep dying on your windowsill.
1. Start with the outside cover
The vinyl cover of hot tub is one of the most important pieces of your wonderful bubbling tub. It’s incredibly important to keep it clean or else you risk dirtying the inside of your hot tub and the overall deterioration of the cover. Nobody wants to sit in a tub of dirty water. Why would you do that to your guests? There are three things you’ll need before you start this journey to a clean cover: a very gentle cleaner (so gentle it treats your hot tub like a gem), a sponge, and an oil-free protectant. Pay careful attention:
Start off by spraying the cover with water that’ll take off the surface dirt and gunk. After the water runs off, take your sponge and gentle .. and start scrubbing the cover until you see the gross stuff vanish before your very eyes. Use the protectant to give your cover a little extra protection.
And there you have it! You have mastered the art of cleaning your hot tub cover. Now for the rest…
2. Keep a consistent schedule
If there’s one thing that’s true about hot tub maintenance, it’s this: If you don’t have a consistent schedule of when you’re going to clean your hot tub, it will never be clean. Unless we’re already used to sticking to schedule, sticking to one is harder than pulling hen’s teeth. That’s why I want you to raise your right hand and repeat after me: I solemnly swear…that I will make a hot tub cleaning schedule…and stick to it for as long as I live. Great! So here’s a good example of a schedule you can use – just adjust it for your daily life!
At least once a day: check your spa cover and clean if necessary, check and adjust water temperature, and make sure there’s no obvious damage. At least 3 times a week: adjust sanitizer levels and check those all-important pH levels. At least once a week or every two weeks: clean the spa filters. Monthly: do a deep cleaning of your tub cover and clean your cabinet. Every three months: fully drain and deep clean your tub. Cover up your tub when you’re not using it.
This one is a pretty simple one to implement on your hot tub… Would you leave your front door open when you left to go shopping? Would you leave your car window open when you know there’s going to be a huge storm in a couple hours? Of course not. Whether you use your hot tub frequently or not, it’s smart to put the protective cover on it. I mean… you can keep it uncovered… if you don’t mind constantly cleaning the hot tub from all the mess that’ll fall into it.
3. Test your hot tub regularly
It’s not all fun and games when it comes to hot tubs. Oh no. You may think all you need to do is buy a hot tub and then you’re good to go. You think wrong, my friend. Installing your hot tub and taking care of it doesn’t just involve cleaning out gunk and dirt. You also have to check the water inside to make sure it is clean and safe. There are three main ways to do this. The first is to use test strips, which you can purchase at any hot tub or pool maintenance store. These will check for pH, chlorine/bromine, and alkalinity. Just take a sample of water from the middle of the hot tub (very important to get an accurate sample), dip your strip in, and test the colors that come out with the color swatches on the bottle. And wah-lah! You’ve tested your hot tub. The second way is to use a liquid test kit. It’s basically no different from the process of the test strips; you’ll just use some extra materials that come in the kit. The third way that you should do at least once a month is to have it checked out by your hot tub dealer. Collect a sample like in the previous steps and immediately take it to your hot tub dealer for testing. He or she has a sort of crystal ball for hot tubs. They can tell you a lot of different things about your water that the above tests couldn’t tell you. Pretty cool!
4. Watch out for what chemicals you use in the tub
It’s incredibly important to keep an eye on what kind of chemicals and sanitizers you add into your hot tub. After checking the pH levels, bromine/chlorine, and alkalinity levels in the last step, you’ll know what you need to add to your hot tub water to put everything back into order and in tip-top shape. No one wants to have hot tub water that’s cloudy or gunky, or filled with bacteria. Otherwise, your neighbours will forever know you as “dirty hot tub.” How embarrassing! I’d never want anyone to think that about me. Would you?
Conclusion
There you have it! You are now an expert at hot tub cleaning and maintaining it as a pro. Give yourself a pat on the back and then go have a relaxing cocktail in your sparkling tub. After all, it’s an investment, and those are worth protecting for decades to come. Featured photo credit: via pixabay.com via pixabay.com
