Preparing your Hot Tub for the Cold Weather

The great thing about preparing your hot tub for the cold weather is that it doesn't mean that you have to close it up for the winter. Instead, you simply have to take some simple steps to protect it so you can utilize it during all seasons.

If you have decided that you don't want to use your hot tub during the cold weather, you will need to winterize it. You have a couple of choices here. You can have your hot tub dealer perform this service for you or you can do it yourself.

If you are doing it yourself, you will need to begin by draining your hot tub entirely. Then, you want to take out the filter and clean the filter element. It is important that you have removed all of the water, which includes the water in the jet openings, the housing for the filter cartridge, and the foot well. You can do this by using a wet dry vacuum.

You are then going to want to add some antifreeze to the pump well, jet channels, the housing for the filter and the blower channels. Try to ensure that you are using antifreeze for RVs and that you do not use the automotive antifreeze. Also, when adding the antifreeze, add some to the bottom section drain, which will ensure that any water that may be trapped there in the false floor of the hot tub will not freeze.

Once you have added the antifreeze, you want to turn on the pump to circulate this. It only takes a few seconds. You want to make sure that you disconnect all the unions that are in the support equipment area.

When looking at your pump, you will see that there are some winter drain pump plugs. You will need to remove all of these plugs. The next thing you will need to do is look at the plumbing connections that are exposed. You want to protect these using plastic bags secured with duct tape. If it's possible, you really should disconnect your hot tub support equipment and store this indoors.

Once you've completed all of the steps you can cover your hot tub with its safety hardcover and can even place a tarp to protect the hardcover itself. If you are in an area that receives snow throughout the winter months, make sure that you do not allow the snow to build up on the hot tub.

There are a lot of very important steps to winterizing your hot tub and you really should follow the specific manufacturer's directions for doing this. You can also have professionals perform this service for you as you don't want to miss a step or do it incorrectly, which could lead to some type of damage to your hot tub.