Updated for 2024Your hot tub has been sitting empty over a long cold winter. Hopefully, it was properly drained, winterized and has antifreeze in it. This article will help you save money by doing your own spring hot tub opening.
Why would a hot tub service company tell you how to do a job yourself, when we would normally charge $375 dollars? Because we don’t want to watch your hose fill your hot tub for two hours.
We recommend opening your tub as soon as the threat of winter weather is passed. A day or two below 32 degrees is no big deal, but if the temperature is still below freezing for any extended period of time, it’s not spring yet. In the NY/NJ metropolitan area, early to mid April is typically a good time to prepare your hot tub for spring use. That’s not to say we can’t get a cold spell or even a little snow in April, but a week of continuous temperatures in the low teens or twenties is not likely.
You don’t want to wait too late into the spring, because warmth and humidity may allow microbes to grow in your empty hot tub pipes. If that occurs, when you fill the tub you may see a black, slimy film seeping out of the pipes, or you may experience the same film being forced out when you turn on the jets.
Getting Started
A cup of bleach over the winter stops microbes from growing in an empty hot tub
About Bleach
There are two types of bleach you can find in your local supermarket. There is plain “bleach,” which is the trade name for the chemical Sodium hypochlorite. Any “generic” bleach will suffice, there’s no benefit paying extra for name brands.
There is also a Detergent Bleach, which contains soap. DO NOT use the detergent bleach or you will get soap suds that will be difficult to flush out of the hot tub.
Bleach is similar to the chlorine many people use to sanitize their hot tub water, and won’t hurt the hot tub. The purpose of the bleach is to help disinfect the plumbing.
And remember, always wear eye protection and rubber gloves when handling bleach.
You can also use Chlorine shock instead of bleach, but it would need to dissolve and is a lot more expensive. Plus, it’s formulated for hot temperatures, not cold temperatures like your garden hose will deliver. The bleach is just easier and cheaper.
Getting Rid of the Antifreeze
RV antifreeze – “the pink stuff”- is the only type you should use to winterize your hot tub
There are two ways to flush the antifreeze out of the hot tub.
1)
The first way to flush antifreeze out of your hot tub plumbing is simply spraying water into each jet. You will need a high pressure stream of water, which you can get from a garden hose with a fine tipped nozzle. Wear eye protection as it will splash when you move the hose from jet to jet.
As you spray into each jet, you will see antifreeze flow out of the foot drains and lower jets. Flushing out the antifreeze this way, you only need to fill the hot tub half way.
Remember the cup of bleach we left in the hot tub when we winterized it? Just pour it into the water, and then add another cup of bleach. The purpose of the bleach is to help disinfect the plumbing.
Close the cover and proceed to step 4 below.
Flush the antifreeze out of your hot tub plumbing by running water into each jet
Although it will use more water, it’s easier to completely fill the tub. Place your garden hose into the hole where your filter would normally mount. When you turn the water on, you will immediately see pink antifreeze flowing out of your jets and drains. As the tub fills, the antifreeze will become diluted in the water. By the time the tub is filled, the water may appear clear.
Always fill a hot tub with the hose in the filter compartment to push air out of the plumbing.
The purpose of the bleach is to help disinfect the plumbing. When added to the water now, it will help eliminate any algae or mold that may be starting to form in the pipes.
3)
This step is for a completely filled hot tub. If the hot tub is only half filled, skip step 3 and go to step 4. The task is similar, but the instructions are different.
After it’s filled, turn on the hot tub and run ALL the pumps for 20 minutes to disperse the bleach and flush the antifreeze out of the system.
Now go to step 5.
4)
This step is for a partially filled up hot.
Turn on the hot tub and run ALL the pumps about 1 minute to disperse the bleach and flush the antifreeze out of the system.
Because you didn’t fill the tub completely, close the cover or you will get splashed; any jets not submerged will shoot out of the tub. Because you haven’t filled the tub completely, you will not get a constant flow of water through the jets. It will only pump out in a trickle, but it will remove most of the antifreeze.
Once again, only do this for 1 minute. You don’t want to run your pumps too long without water, which cools the pump.
5)
Drain the tub and wipe the surface with a mild bleach solution. You are now ready to do your normal water balancing and sanitation regimen.
If you waited until late in the spring, there may be algae or mold starting to grow inside the plumbing. In some instances, a dark slimy film may come out of the jets. In that case, you may need several fill and drain cycles, combined with a lot of bleach or chlorine shock to get the hot tub clean. You may also need to run your pumps longer than 20 minutes to get all the microbes with bleach.
If the tub has a dirt line at your normal water level, it’s time to go to your hot tubs manual, or the manufacturer’s website, to see what can be used to clean the surface without damaging it. Hot tubs can be made of plastic, acrylic, fiberglass or tile and you need to use the proper cleaning solution to avoid damaging the surface.
6)
Now it’s time to fill the hot tub with clean water for the season.
If you have well water, or if your town has hard water, we recommend the use of a “pre-filter” to help remove minerals. You can get a pre-filter at a pool store or on Amazon, they are inexpensive and attach to your garden hose.
Once again, always fill the hot tub through the filter assembly, that will put water directly into the lower pipes and push air out of the plumbing.
Once the hot tub is filled, we recommend a double shock treatment. So if you would normally use 1 ounce of shock for your weekly or biweekly service, give it 2 ounces. Run the pumps to mix the shock into the water. Wait 24 hours for the chlorine to stabilize before you start testing it and adding your chemicals.
Do not get into a hot tub with a double dose of Shock – it could irritate your skin. Wait 24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate to a safer concentration, or for the shock to be consumed by chemical reaction with the water. Using your test strips, your chlorine should measure between 1-3 ppm (parts per million).
You should NEVER use swimming pool chlorine in your hot tub. The chemical specifically designed for hot tubs is called “Dichlor.” Get used to reading labels on your chemicals to make sure you’ve got the correct shock. It may be called “Sodium dichlor,” “Potassium dichlor,” or one of a dozen different variations.
Trichlor is a shock formulation made to use in swimming pools. It’s formulated for cooler water than hot tubs and can actually damage the hot tub.
Chemical Free Sanitation for 2024
Some customers are upgrading their hot tubs to use non-chemical sanitation. Imagine, never having to buy chemicals again, and not having to treat your water weekly. We are dealers for the Ecosmarte sanitation system. It is superior to salt sanitation systems because it doesn’t damage the hot tub. You can read about it on our website by clicking here. Call us for more information if you would like to do away with Chlorine and Bromine forever.For more information or to schedule a service call to resolve your hot tub problems, contact us at 201-897-7900. You can also reach us by email through this link.