Confessions of a ThermoSpas Employee

Question:

“We just bought a house and it has a hot tub in the addition room of our new home. What steps do I need to take to start my hot tub for chemicals and so on. It has water in it, but it hasn’t been run in a long time. What should I do after draining the hot tub? And cleaning the inside before filling it up?”

Answer:

Welcome to the wonderful world of hot tubs! You are right to drain the hot tub if it has been sitting idle for some time so you can start it out right with fresh water (who knows what’s still swimming around in there).

But, before you drain it, you should run some jet line cleaner through it to flush residue out of the plumbing lines.  This will ensure that any bacteria in the plumbing lines is flushed out, and it is much easier to do before you drain the tub.

After the plumbing lines are clean, you can drain it and let it dry out. Then, you should probably clean and polish the shell, but first check with the manufacturer of the hot tub to find out what they recommend for cleaning products. For example, if the shell is made of acrylic you can find special hot tub acrylic polish and cleaner that will add luster to the shell and protect it.

Don’t use regular car wax! It cannot withstand the higher temperatures that are found in hot tubs and you will soon find yourself sitting in hot water with melted wax floating on the surface!

The fresh water that you refill the hot tub with will need to be chemically treated, but this will depend upon the water source at your location. You do not need to go overboard with the chemicals, but you will definitely need something to kill off the bacteria.

Some simple hot tub test strips will tell you if the water needs to be hardened or softened, and whether the sanitizer that you are using is doing its job. These test strips can also be found online, and although it may seem a little troublesome at first, but you will quickly learn what is needed to keep your water crystal clean so you can enjoy your hot tub at a moment’s notice.  Enjoy!