November 12th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

While many people actually think winter is the best time of year for a hot tub session – there’s nothing more inviting than a steaming hot tub on a freezing night – it’s not for everyone. If you don’t want to use your hot tub through the winter, you can’t just leave it unattended in the freezing cold – there are a few simple steps you need to take to prepare your hot tub for winter. You can hire a professional to winterise your hot tub or you can follow the guide below to do it yourself.

Step 1: Power Down

Turn off the power to your hot tub. You’ll be draining it and performing some maintenance, so you need to make sure there’s no power going to it.

Step 2: Drain Your Hot Tub

If there’s water left in any part of your hot tub over winter, it can freeze. When water freezes, it expands, which can buckle or crack your hot tub pipes. That means you should completely drain every part of your hot tub, including your air blowers if you have them.

Step 3: Remove Your Filters

This is a good time to clean your filters to get them in top shape ready for the spring. Remove your filter cartridges and put them in some Filter Cleaner to clean them up. You should also clean your filter basket and make sure that your filter well is completely drained of water.

Step 4: Loosen Your Fittings

Unscrew any fittings around your pump and loosen any unions (the little o-shaped rings) on your pipes. You should also remove your drain plugs. This will ensure your pump can fully drain. Leave everything loosened and keep your drain plugs somewhere safe. This will ensure that, when condensation forms in your pipes over winter, it can drain away without freezing and damaging your pump.

Step 5: Blow Through the Pipes

Take a vacuum cleaner and set it to the ‘blow’ setting. If your vacuum cleaner doesn’t have a blow setting, you can use another tool that blows out pressurised jets of air. Put the hose of your vacuum against the jets of your hot tub and quickly blow them out. Go around every jet in your hot tub twice if you want to be thorough!

Step 6: Drain Your Hot Tub Again

All the water that you just blew out of your air jets will now be pooled in your hot tub. Drain it all away the same way you did in step 2.

Step 7: Clean Your Hot Tub Shell

Clean the surface of your hot tub with some Hot Tub and Spa Surface Cleaner. You can also use this surface cleaner to wipe down your hot tub’s cover! Give your hot tub and cover a thorough clean before putting your cover on. Don’t forget to finish your hot tub clean by rinsing, and make sure to drain away any water that pools in your hot tub after the rinse.

Step 8: Secure Your Hot Tub Cover

Make sure you lock your hot tub cover down using its locking mechanism or straps. The winter weather is often blustery and wet, and you don’t want to let anything get inside your hot tub. It might be worth quickly checking your hot tub cover periodically through the winter to ensure it’s all in place.

Clearing Snow from Your Hot Tub

After you’ve successfully locked your hot tub cover down, you’re all done! However, you should still keep checking on your hot tub through the winter, especially if the weather is bad. If it snows, you have one more maintenance step to take: clearing off any snow from your hot tub cover. We don’t usually get thick snow in the UK, but when we do, it can weigh down on your hot tub’s cover and cause it to buckle. This can alter the fit of your hot tub cover and may create gaps for water and debris to enter your jacuzzi. To remove snow from your hot tub cover, use a stiff brush or a broom and push the snow off. Don’t use a snow shovel – these can damage or puncture your hot tub cover if you’re not careful.