Winterizing Your Hot Tub
The number one enemy of a spa or a hot tub is extreme cold weather. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that icing of spas and improper winterization can damage your investment. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that a lack of spa winterization will lead to costly repairs after it’s too late. Worse, because of carelessness and neglect, their hot tubs cannot be saved and usually end up becoming a conversation piece. To avoid this problem, don’t let your spa freeze to death! To add more years to your hot tub, here are some tips to winterize your hot tub.
First, unplug your spa from the power outlet or simply open the circuit breaker for the spa’s electrical power line. Next, remove the thermal cover and drain the spa of its water. You can do this by connecting a garden hose to the spa’s bottom drain spout or by pumping the water out with a submersible pump or vacuum.
The best way to get a siphon started is not to suck the water through a hose. Instead, place the hose low in the spa. Connect the other end to an outside tap and turn it on in order to fill the hose with water. Once full, disconnect the tap side and drop it lower in elevation to the spa. This will get the water draining. Just make sure the spa side remains under water until fully drained.
Leave the drain spout open when you’re done. Next, turn the heater off, replace the thermal cover and plug the unit again or switch on the hot tub’s circuit breaker. Turn on the air blower and let it run for about 30 seconds to a minute. This will remove any remaining water there. If your hot tub has no air blower, then go to the next step of the procedure.
