Hot tub maintenance tips
A few tips about how to maintain your hot tub: If you plan to be away from home a week or longer, call your local dealer for more tips on winterizing your spa, or check your Owner’s Manual for additional instructions.
Here are several tips about how to maintain your hot tub and also a recommandation if you live in Colorado. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but drinking and hot tubbing are not a good mix. Despite all of those movies scenes depicting characters cavorting in hot tubs with their favorite beverage in hand, physicians and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) don’t recommend it. Sports stars and politicians have been known to imbibe while entertaining in a spa, but that doesn’t mean we should follow their example. The same caution should be used with drugs-check with your doctor before soaking in extremely hot water while taking a prescription. One reason is that both alcohol and some drugs (prescription and recreational) can cause drowsiness or disorientation. Check the water temperature before entering (it should not exceed 104 degrees), observe reasonable time limits (10 to 15 minutes), and enter and exit the tub slowly in case of dizziness or to prevent falls.
Tips for buying a hot tub : Acrylic is the most common spa shell material, but roto-cast polymer, vinyl and wood are also options. The spa shell not only determines the look of the hot tub, but also its cost, insulation, and strength. Considering a wooden hot tub? Read more about wood tubs before you take the plunge.
You might know them best from chemistry class, but enzymes aren’t just handy for processing food or making wine. These twisty little proteins get around to the strangest places-including your hot tub. Special enzyme products for your spa work the same way most other enzymes do: they break down organic compounds. In your hot tub, they break down fatty lipids from body oils, cosmetics, lotions, and other sources that might be lurking in your water. Dosed with enzymes, your hot tub and filter system will be cleaner, and your sanitizer will work more efficiently. Enzymes also keep your spa free of the “scum line” that can sometimes form at the water’s edge.
Speaking of regular spa care, a full cleaning of the waterline and surfaces can be done when the spa is drained, which should happen every 2-4 months. Just be sure not to use any old household cleaner or soap. If you are going to use any chemical on your spa surfaces, use something like our Spa Cleaner to keep out phosphates, nitrates and who knows what else. Find more info on Regular Water heater maintenance Colorado.
But first let’s see the hot tub choice of the month : HotSpring has 20 hot tub models, five of which are built for two or three people. Most of the hot tub manufacturers we evaluated have only three models, so HotSpring offers a better selection of small spas. Three of these spas are part of the brand’s Hot Spot collection, which fall into the value price range and have 10-17 jets. The other two are premium-priced spas from HotSpring’s top tier Highlife collection and have 14 or 22 jets. HotSpring also has 10 medium spas and five large spas with various price ranges, all of which come equipped with energy-saving features and are certified by the California Energy Commission. With five small hot tub models, Hot Spring has the best selection of two- and three-person hot tubs of the brands we reviewed.
The only weekly hot tub maintenance chore is “shocking” the water with sanitizer. Whether you use chlorine or bromine, hitting your tub with an extra strong dose of the sanitizer once a week is an easy way to keep your water clear and crystal clean. Besides shocking your tub, other weekly maintenance rituals are specific to your water type and how often you use your spa. Foaming can be a problem if you use your spa regularly, and can be easily solved by pouring a small amount of foam reducer into the water once a week. And if you live in an area with high calcium or mineral content, you might want to hit your water with a de-scaling agent once a week as well. It will prevent mineral buildup in your pumps, hoses, and on the walls of the hot tub itself. Another good spa maintenance practice is cleaning and conditioning your vinyl spa cover. Especially if your spa cover is outside, spa cover cleaner can quickly remove airborne oils, dirt, tree sap and pollen while cover conditioner will replenish the vinyl plasticizers that keep your vinyl spa cover soft, strong and looking great.