If you’ve just bought your very first hot tub, then we’re almost certain that the first thing you’re going to want to do after filling her up and sanitising and balancing her water levels is to climb in and have the first of many relaxing soaks.

Of course, while this is something you can do without issue on day one, if you want to keep using your hot tub in the future without issue, then you’re going to need to learn a thing or two about proper hot tub maintenance.

Needless to say, without carrying out proper hot tub care, it won’t be long before the pH levels in your water go out of balance, algae and mould start blooming on the rim, and dirt and muck begin clogging your hot tub filter.

Fortunately, with the right steps and know-how, setting up a detailed hot tub maintenance checklist is easy to do. And once you’ve got a hot tub care routine down, you shouldn’t be faced with any real functionality issues with your new tub.

Take a look at our detailed hot tub maintenance checklist below to start learning everything there is to know about how to look after a hot tub.

Our 6-point hot tub maintenance checklist

Ready to start learning how to look after a hot tub? Take a look at our 6-point hot tub maintenance checklist below to see the core steps and then scroll down to whichever one you want to learn about first:

  • Regularly testing your hot tub’s water
  • Regularly circulating your hot tub’s water
  • How to drain your hot tub properly
  • How to clean your hot tub
  • How to maintain your hot tub’s filter
  • How to maintain your hot tub’s cover

1. Regularly testing your hot tub’s water

First things first, if you plan on using your hot tub regularly, then it’s important to check the pH, alkalinity, and sanitiser levels of your tub’s water before each use to make sure it has the right balance of hot tub chemicals.

You can do this quite easily with the relevant testing strips and by following the instructions laid out in our hot tub chemicals guide, though we’ve laid out some basic tips on how to maintain a hot tub’s chemical balance below:

Maintaining sanitiser levels

Keeping your hot tub water clean and bacteria-free is a must for a safe and calm bathing experience, which is why it’s important to maintain the correct level of sanitisation in your water whenever you’re using it.

In order to test your sanitiser levels, simply follow the instructions laid out on your test kit and compare the results of your strip to the colour chart provided to see what amount of sanitiser is required.

To equalise your hot tub’s sanitiser levels, there are two main adjusters you can use – chlorine or bromine. Both will do the same job, but they do have different pros and cons that may mean you prefer one over the other.

Maintaining pH Levels

Alongside correct sanitisation levels, you’ll also want to make sure you maintain your hot tub’s water at a neutral pH level. This is because if your hot tub’s water is too acidic or too basic it can damage your hot tub’s components, reduce the effectiveness of your sanitisers, and cause health issues.

Fortunately, like with your sanitiser, you can test your hot tub’s pH level using a testing strip, compare it to the pH chart, and then follow the instructions from both your testing kit and pH adjusters to either raise or lower the pH level to neutral.

2. Regularly circulating your hot tub’s water

Next up, once you think you’ve got a handle on testing your hot tub’s water, our next tip for how to maintain a hot tub properly is to carry out consistent water circulation sessions in order to keep it clean of dirt and contaminant-free.

To do this, all you need to do is set your hot tub running for 15 minutes so that the water in your tub can pass through our hot tub’s filter. This will strip the water of dirt and make sure that your sanitiser can do its job properly when it comes to eliminating bacteria. You can do this manually, or your hot tub may have a setting to trigger it automatically.

3. How to drain your hot tub properly

While the use of hot tub chemicals and proper maintenance can help to prolong the quality of your tub’s water, eventually you’ll need to fully drain your hot tub and give it a fresh refill.

However, this is not as simple as draining and refilling your hot tub, and we strongly recommend following the steps below each and every time you drain your tub:

  • First, apply a hot tub flush solution to clear any dirt, debris, and hardened calcium from your hot tub’s piping – all of this will then get removed when you drain your tub.
  • Next, drain your water and clean your hot tub in its entirety with a hot tub-friendly cleaning spray, including its filters and nozzles.
  • From here, you should perform a thorough check of your hot tub’s shell for any damages and seal them if necessary.
  • Finally, refill your tub with fresh water, heat it up, and then balance its pH and sanitiser levels as usual.

How often should you change hot tub water?

As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to drain and refill your hot tub at least three to four times per year. This is because draining your tub and following the steps above can be quite a lengthy process, and provided you carry out good sanitisation, your water will be safe to use for long periods of the year without needing to be replaced.

4. How to clean your hot tub

Like with most things around your home and in your garden, your hot tub will naturally benefit from regular cleaning. Of course, you can’t exactly clean the surfaces under the water unless you drain your tub, but what you can do is wipe down and maintain the rest of it to remove any dirt and scum.

To do this, simply take a microfibre cloth and wipe down all the exposed surfaces not covered by water – this should also include the underside of the cover. This can be done on a weekly basis and shouldn’t take very long to do.

Additionally, if you see any leaves or debris in the water, be sure to remove those when you see them, this will help to keep your hot tub and water cleaner for longer.

5. How to maintain your hot tub’s filter

Needless to say, having a good quality filter in your hot tub is essential for keeping your hot tub water clean, which makes staying on top of your filter’s maintenance a key priority at all times.

Therefore, when cleaning your tub, you should remove your filter and treat it with a dedicated hot tub filter spray, leave it for 15 minutes, and then rinse it with water. Alternatively, you can soak your filter in a bucket of filter cleaner overnight to ensure a deeper clean, and then rinse it with fresh water in the morning.

Finally, you should let your filter air dry in its entirety before putting it back in your tub.

How often should I clean my hot tub filter?

How often you should clean your filters depends on the amount of use your hot tub gets. However, a general rule of thumb is to take them out for a clean every two weeks, as well as each time you fill your hot tub with fresh water.

6. How to maintain your hot tub’s cover

Last, but not least, while it might seem like a simple thing, good hot tub cover maintenance can go a long way to prolonging the health of your hot tub’s water and energy efficiency.

To touch briefly on the first point, regularly cleaning both the outside and inside of your hot tub cover will help to prevent bacteria from growing, so you should make sure you wipe it down regularly with a sanitising spray.

As for improved energy efficiency, the surface of your hot tub’s water is responsible for up to 60% of your hot tub’s heat loss, so investing in a high-quality cover can help to dramatically reduce this. Therefore, whenever your hot tub is not in use, you should cover it up to keep the heat in and reduce evaporation.

How to maintain a hot tub care schedule

Now that we’ve covered all of our core hot tub maintenance tips and steps, we thought it might be useful to leave you with a rough hot tub maintenance routine that you can follow and tweak to suit your specific hot tub care schedule.

To make it even simpler, we’ve broken down all of our above steps into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly maintenance periods, to give you a better idea of when you should be doing what part of your hot tub’s maintenance:

1. Daily maintenance

Below are a few bits of hot tub maintenance you might want to do on a daily basis for the first week or so of owning your hot tub:

  • Test your sanitiser and pH levels
  • Adjust sanitiser levels if needed, following package instructions
  • Make sure any debris or obvious dirt is removed

2. Weekly maintenance

Below are the key hot tub maintenance steps you should be following on a weekly basis:

  • Adjust alkalinity and pH levels if needed
  • Rinse filters if needed
  • Wipe down the sides and cover to remove dirt

3. Monthly maintenance

Below are the key hot tub maintenance steps you should be following on a monthly basis:

  • Clean filters properly (this should be done twice a month)
  • Check the jets are working properly

4. Quarterly maintenance

Below are the key hot tub maintenance steps you should be following on a quarterly basis:

  • Clean pipes with a hot tub flush
  • Empty and clean hot tub
  • Clean or replace the filter if needed
  • Refill water
  • Test and chemicals to achieve desired levels

5. Yearly maintenance

Below are the key hot tub maintenance steps you should be following on a yearly basis:

  • Inspect the hot tub for damage
  • Organise a professional inspection by a hot tub engineer

Start your hot tub journey with Platinum Spas

And there you have it, that’s everything you need to know about basic hot tub maintenance to ensure your new tub stays clean and functional for you to use throughout the year.

But, with that being said, this is just a beginners’ guide, and you can find much detail on various steps of hot tub maintenance in all of the guides we’ve liked throughout, as well as over on our hot tub owner’s hub.

On top of this, all of the tips we’ve provided above aren’t going to be of use if you don’t have a hot tub to apply them to, which is exactly why you should get in touch with the team at Platinum Spas today to learn more about the hot tubs in our range!

From standard hot tubs of all sizes to dedicated swim spas, you’ll be spoilt for choice with our hot tub collection.

Hot tub maintenance FAQs

Still got a few hot tub maintenance-related questions you need answering? Take a look at our FAQs below:

Sarah Watkins

Generally speaking, it should not cost you too much to maintain your hot tub, with most experts estimating that it costs between £200-£350 per year in maintenance when it comes to buying chemicals and cleaning products.

While many experts do recommend carrying out daily hot tub maintenance when possible, here at Platinum Spas, we know that many hot tub owners might not have the time in their busy schedules to do this.

Instead, we recommend doing your hot tub maintenance at least once a week, squeezing in daily maintenance steps within this period whenever possible.

Excluding actual damage to the components within your hot tub, hot tub maintenance itself is not particularly hard. All you need to do is put aside the time to do it properly and you should have very little trouble keeping your hot tub working correctly.

Sarah Watkins