Maintaining your Hot Tub through the winter season

If your like most spa owners, the fall and winter are prime soaking months.  These months also can be treacherous for your spa and there are many pitfalls to watch out for. The number one concern for spa owners should be freezing temperatures.  Outdoor spas are susceptible to power outages in winter storms, which could lead to freeze damage.  Spa covers can typically handle a 300 lb. snow load, but if you get more it can damage the foam core of the cover.

A few tips for winter time maintenance for your spa- 1. Check the water temperature regularly during freezing temperatures.  Your spa can maintain it's temperature for a few days if it is not heating, but during cold days, check your water temperature daily. 2. If you lose power to your house, do not lift the spa cover, so you can keep as much heat in the spa as possible, if you feel comfortable draining and winterizing your spa, do that immediately.  If not, take off the access door to the equipment and run a service light or space heater in the equipment area.  Be careful to not have the space heater too close to PVC or pumps as that could cause an overheat situation and melt the plastic. 3. If you get a large snow or ice storm, attempt to remove heavy snow from the spa cover.  Do not use a shovel or metal object to remove the snow, that may cut the vinyl of the cover.

If you find yourself in a bind and can't get your spa winterized or can't add external heat to the equipment area, contact your spa service company (Swim Things) to ask for emergency service of your spa. You would be better off paying for a service call to winterize the spa than cleaning up from freeze damage to your spa plumbing.