Guide for winterizing your hot tub

Hot tub owners may be concerned about freezing conditions damaging their hot tubs in wintertime, but with the right maintenance and care, your tub can stay in top condition.

Are you considering purchasing a hot tub, but live in a state that gets cold in the winter? If your tub is indoors, of course, you don’t need to do anything to protect your hot tub from freezing. But if your hot tub is located outside, it’s common to have concerns about protecting your investment. With proper maintenance, however, it can be done easily.

Winterizing your tub is the best option if you cannot commit to periodic upkeep, but it can be costly. Hiring a professional to winterize your hot tub can cost hundreds of dollars. If you’re more budget-conscious, the best way is to do routine checkups and maintenance to prevent freezing and other expensive-to-repair winter damage, such as frozen parts, cracks or splits in the tub walls and pipes, leakage from damaged parts, electricity failure.

The first step is to maintain the water in the tub at a usable temperature of 97-104 degrees, even if it won’t be used during the colder months. Most hot tubs will begin to freeze once the outside temperature falls below 28 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 36 hours, and it’s the freezing up that does the damage. Other tips to protect your unit include:

1. Keep the hot tub filled with water even during the winter; don’t drain it unless it has been completely winterized. Which means the draining every drop of water from the tub’s plumbing. It also means getting rid of pump drain plugs and wiping down the surface of the hot tub. If you’re at all uncertain that you’re proceeding correctly, it’s important to seek professional advice when doing this; improper winterizing can allow ice to form in the piping or equipment, which can lead to extensive damage.
2. Check on your tub periodically by running the jet pumps to circulate the water. The energy generated by the pump motors will help keep the water heated.
3. Place a foot pump in the center of the hot tub and plug it in. This also will help keep the water circulating, thus adding to the heat generated by the pump.
4. Use a ceramic heater. Simply place the heater near the other pieces of equipment in your hot tub, and re-install the front panel to keep the heat inside. Note that it is critical that you make sure the heater is not touching any of the tub’s components or plumbing.
5. Keep the hot tub completely closed at all times during the winter.

If you’re worried about how you can protect hot tub from freezing during cold snaps, don’t be! By implementing these tips and recommendations, you will find yourself using your hot tub year after year without complications.