4 MIN READ
So, it’s time to drain your hot tub? If you’re looking for more information on how to do this, you’ve come to the right place! Draining your hot tub and changing the water is important to make sure your hot tub stays clean and sanitary. We would usually recommend changing your water anywhere between 2 – 4 times a year, depending on how often you use it.
Before you drain your hot tub, it’s important to make sure your pipes and plumbing are clean. Whilst your hot tub is still full, pour Jacuzzi® Hot Tub Pipe Cleaner in to the water and turn on the jets. This will circulate the cleaner through all the pipework and remove any dirt or grime. Make sure you let the jets run for 4 – 5 cycles to achieve the best results.
Once the cycles are complete, you can prepare to drain your hot tub. Firstly, make sure your turn your hot tub off. If the pumps try to run whilst there’s no water in the hot tub, it can cause damage to the pump and pipework.
You then have two options when it comes to releasing the water. All hot tubs have a drain valve which can be opened to release the water. This is an easy way to drain your hot tub which is great if you aren’t in a rush, however it can take a few hours and you don’t have much control over where the drained water is released. The alternative method is to invest in a submersible pump, which is designed to pump water out quickly, and will usually take around 30 minutes to completely empty your hot tub. Once the water has drained, you may have a little bit of water left in the footwell, this can be removed my scooping it out, or by using a wet vac. Water from your hot tub is safe to be released into your garden, however you may wish to direct the water way from grass to avoid making it muddy.
Now your hot tub is completely empty you are free to clean the shell. The Hot Tub Brush or a spa disk can be used alongside Jacuzzi® Hot Tub Surface Cleaner to remove and stubborn dirt or marks from the shell of your hot tub.
Once the shell is clean, you can start to fill the hot tub with fresh water. Keep the hot tub off and don’t try to turn on any jets as the water fills the tub. One of our top tips would be to fill through the top of the filters as this will help avoid air lock in the pipes.
You don’t need any special equipment to fill the hot tub up, just a garden hose! We recommend you fill a Jacuzzi® Hot Tub until the top jet is covered, but below the headrest. Once the hot tub is full, you can turn it on and then add you can add a shock to the cold water, which will sanitise the water while its cold. If you usually use chlorine to sanitise your water you will need to use Blended Chlorine Shock, however if you usually use bromine, use Non Chlorine Shock. Allow the water heat up to your desired temperature and then test using the 3-way test strips and add appropriate chemicals accordingly.
During the winter, we really recommend that you keep your hot tub running at its usual temperature and make sure you replace the cover when not in use. This will reduce heating costs but will also allow you to make the most of all the benefits in the cold weather. Just like being on a skiing holiday! However, if you do wish to drain down your hot tub over the winter months, it’s important to make sure that you drain all the water out, including out of the pipework. This can be done by using a wet vac to suck all the water out of the pipework via the jets. This will prevent damage to the pipework and pumps in the colder temperatures. Alternatively, our in-house Jacuzzi® engineers can winterise your hot tub, making sure that your hot tub is safely drained and stored, ready to be used again as soon as the weather becomes a little warmer!
