Winter is an amazing time to enjoy your hot tub. You may be outside in the frigid cold, but the steamy waters of your backyard tub are keeping you nice and warm.
If you’re going to spend a lot of time in your hot tub this season, you will need to give it some more TLC. It will need extra maintenance to stay in great condition. Here are essential winter hot tub care tips to keep your hot tub clean and functional all season long.
Prevent Hot Tub Freezing
The frigid weather could make the contents of your hot tub start to freeze. You can take some measures to prevent this serious problem.
Invest in a good-quality hot tub cover that’s specifically made for your local climate. If you browse the options here at The Cover Guy, you’ll see that we have options based on the climate your hot tub will have to contend with. So, if you’re dealing with a chilly winter, you will either want a Deluxe Cover (made for moderate to cold climates) or an Extreme Cover (made for cold to harsh climates).
An Extreme Cover will be your best option for hot tub covers for winter protection. It has optimal heat retention, so it will minimize the risk of components freezing when the outdoor temperatures drop. This makes it one of the most energy-efficient hot tub covers that you can choose.
Another reason why an Extreme Cover is one of the best hot tub covers for winter is that it’s reinforced to handle snowfall. So, if a snowstorm dropped a pile of snow on top of your hot tub cover, you don’t have to worry about it collapsing under the weight. It can handle the weight until you manage to gather the energy to clear it all off.
What else can you do to prevent hot tub freezing?
- Keep the Cover On: Whenever the hot tub is not in use, keep the cover firmly sealed.
- Maintain the Temperature: Keep the water temperature in your hot tub at a minimum of 102°F to prevent freezing.
- Circulate the Water: Stagnant water is more prone to freezing. Use your tub’s timer feature to schedule water circulation.
- Drain It: If you can’t seem to maintain the hot tub temperature, or you’re finding that you’re not using your hot tub as much as you expected to this season, you should consider draining the water from the tub. This will prevent freezing damage. When you’re ready to use the tub regularly again, you can always refill it. Find out how to properly drain your hot tub
Prioritize Winter Hot Tub Maintenance
Don’t lag on the maintenance tasks this season. It may not be as fun to do routine maintenance tasks in the cold, but it’s necessary for a clean and functional tub. Bundle up and tackle these tasks:
- Check Water Levels: When the water levels get too low, the tub’s pump and heater could malfunction. A malfunctioning pump and heater could lead to hot tub freezing. So, check up on the water level to make sure it’s always above the skimmer line.
- Test Equipment Regularly: While you’re checking the water levels, check on components like the heater, the pump and the jets. If anything seems amiss, get them repaired as soon as possible. This should prevent freezing.
- Get a Hot Tub Cover Lifter: It can be a real pain to pull a heavy hot tub cover off when you’re just checking out your hot tub or doing a clean. That’s why you should look into hot tub cover lifters for easy maintenance. This convenient addition will help you remove the cover effortlessly. Some cover lifters even come with accessories like towel hooks, so you can hang your towels or housecoats close by when you’re taking a soak in the tub.
Maintain Hot Tub Water Clarity
You want your hot tub water to be crystal clear, not cloudy. The problem isn’t that cloudy hot tub water looks unappealing. The problem is that cloudy water means something is wrong with your tub. It could be a build-up of bacteria in the water. Soaking in that water isn’t safe! You could come out with a rash or infection if you do.
How can you fix your cloudy water?
Balance the Chemicals
Cloudy water is a sign that the hot tub’s chemical balance is off. So, to get your water back in pristine condition, you’ll need to balance the chemicals again. Start by using a test strip to check the alkalinity level and pH level. The ideal alkalinity range is 80 to 120ppm, while the ideal range for pH is between 7.4 and 7.6.
Adjust the chemicals as needed. Use balancers like Spa Boss Alkalinity Booster, Spa Boss pH Plus and Spa Boss pH Minus to get the right balance. What’s the best way to raise the pH? Use a booster Spa Boss pH Plus. What about how to lower hot tub pH? Use the reducer Spa Boss pH Minus. How do you increase the alkalinity? Use a booster like the Spa Boss Alkalinity Booster. Learn how to lower the alkalinity in your hot tub here.
Sanitize the Water
Once those chemicals are balanced, you can sanitize the water. If you jump in with a sanitizer before balancing the hot tub chemicals, the sanitizer won’t be as effective. This is why sanitization is the second step of your hot tub clean-up.
Use a bromine or chlorine sanitizer. Either option will be effective at destroying any harmful contaminants and cleaning the water. If you’re not sure about which type of sanitizer to use, check out the differences of bromine vs. chlorine sanitizers to see which one will work best for you.
Shock the Water
Finally, you can run a chlorine-free shock treatment to oxidize and clarify the water. It shouldn’t look cloudy or murky anymore. It should look crystal clear.
How else can you keep your hot tub water clean in winter?
- Shock the Water Weekly: Routinely do a shock treatment to your water to keep bacteria build-up at bay.
- Replace Filters as Needed: If you notice that a filter is clogged, replace it right away. A clogged filter will impact the quality of your hot tub’s water. A typical hot tub filter replacement schedule is a year.
- Keep the Cover On: When the hot tub isn’t in use, a hot tub cover should stop any debris from falling into the water.
- Skim the Water: If debris falls into the water when the cover is off, use a skimmer to remove it from the surface. Don’t let it sit in the water.
Remove Ice and Snow
It’s not enough to take care of your hot tub in the winter months. You have to take care of the area surrounding your hot tub, too.
The risk for slips and falls is higher in the winter because the ground is slick with snow and ice. You don’t want to walk over to your hot tub for a relaxing soak and then wipe out before you even step into the water.
To protect yourself from injury, you should clear your back deck of ice and snow to the best of your abilities. At the very least, you will want to create a safe pathway to your hot tub. Shovel piles of snow out of the way. If the ground is icy, you should throw down de-icer to add traction and force the ice to melt faster.
What else can you do to prevent slips and falls in the winter?
- Use Safer Footwear: Don’t wear a pair of flimsy flip-flops to walk out to your hot tub. You’ll want to have a pair of outdoor shoes or slippers that have grippy soles.
- Bring Out Towels: Bring towels and fluffy housecoats with you whenever you decide to take a dip in the tub. You should use them to dry yourself off as soon as you’re done soaking. Don’t wait to dry off after you get inside the house. Walking across the deck while soaking wet will increase your chances of slipping and falling.
- Outdoor Mats: Add outdoor mats in front of your hot tub. These types of mats will have treads on the undersides to strongly grip the floor. You’ll want to have a stable surface to step onto when you’re soaking wet.
Save Energy with Smart Practices
If you’re going to keep using your hot tub in the winter instead of draining it and ignoring it for the season, you are going to increase your household energy consumption. The tub will use up more energy to heat up in the cold weather. You will also have it running more often to maintain a water temperature that prevents freezing.
If you’re worried about this energy use, you can minimize the energy costs with these tips:
- Use an Energy-Efficient Cover: An insulated, winter-ready hot tub cover will reduce heat loss and conserve energy.
- Set It on Economy Mode: Many hot tubs have energy-saving settings that lower the temperature when not in use.
- Add a Thermal Blanket: A floating thermal blanket beneath the hot tub cover will create an extra layer of insulation and reduce heat loss.
When you follow these hot tub winter maintenance tips, you can guarantee that you’ll have a clean and inviting tub all season long. Your hot tub’s components won’t freeze in the frigid temperatures, and your water will stay clean and clear. You’ll be free to take long, relaxing soaks all winter long.
