Love Your Tub Longer: Simple Tips To Protect Your Hot Tub From Day One

A brand-new hot tub is an exciting investment in relaxation and wellness, and it's something you'll want to protect for years to come. While modern tubs, especially those with self-cleaning features like Hydropools have, are designed to make your life easier, a little proactive care from day one goes a long way. This blog post will cover simple but essential tips to ensure your hot tub stays in perfect condition and delivers maximum enjoyment.

Think of these tips not as chores, but as simple routines to protect your hot tub from day one, ensuring every soak is as clean and relaxing as the first. By taking a proactive approach to hot tub maintenance, you’ll save time and money in the long run.

1. Master Your Hot Tub Water Care

A self-cleaning hot tub works wonders at sanitizing the water, but it's not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. The cleanliness and longevity of your tub depend on balanced water chemistry. You'll want to regularly check and adjust three key factors:

Sanitiser Levels: Your tub uses a sanitiser like chlorine or bromine to kill bacteria (we suggest the gentler on skin, bromine). A self-cleaning system helps keep this stable, but you still need to test the levels (3-5ppm for chlorine, 4-6ppm for bromine) weekly to make sure they are within a safe and effective range. Test strips are used to check these, and the below chemical levels.

pH Balance: The pH level of your water should be slightly alkaline, between 7.2 and 7.8. If your pH is too low (acidic), it can corrode your tub's components. If it's too high (alkaline), it can cause cloudy water and reduce the effectiveness of your sanitiser.

Total Alkalinity (TA): TA acts as a buffer for your pH. If the TA is off, it will be very difficult to get your pH in the right range. Always test and adjust your alkalinity first to make balancing the rest of your hot tub watercare a breeze. 

The water in the North of England, including the Manchester area, is generally considered to be soft. This is because most of the water in the region comes from upland surface water reservoirs, where it doesn't have a chance to pick up the high concentrations of minerals like calcium and magnesium that cause hard water. This is important to note because it means your water’s TA is usually naturally at proper levels in this area.

It is great news for your hot tub as well, as soft water is less likely to cause scaling on your tub's components. However, it's still crucial to maintain the proper water chemistry, as an excess of chemicals, especially sanitiser at high levels, can cause corroding of internal electrics, jetting, and degrade the life of your hot tub cover. High levels of sanitiser can also leave unsightly marks on binding glues, caulks, and shell acrylic parts of the hot tub. So definitely be mindful of chemical levels! Don’t overdo it.

2. Protect Your Tub from the Elements

One of the most important things you can do is protect your hot tub from the outdoors. Your hot tub cover is the first line of defense against dirt, debris, and UV damage. However, the cover itself also needs protection. To protect your hot tub from sunlight and other harsh weather, consider these steps:

A High-Quality Hot Tub Cover: Ensure your cover is robust, well-fitted, and specifically designed for your tub's make and model. Hydropool has great protection in their durable and well-insulated covers, these come standard with every purchase. 

Regular Hot Tub Cleaning: Clean the cover every few months with a soft sponge and a cleaning solution to prevent mould and mildew.

Hot Tub Cover Protectant: Applying a protectant every four months can shield your cover from damaging UV rays, preventing it from fading or becoming brittle and extending its life. If you want to go the extra mile in UV protection, products called hot tub cover protectors do exist, and are like a shower cap for your hot tub cover.

3. Hot Tub in Winter: Keep It Running

For many, the colder months are the best time to use a hot tub. But a drop in temperature can pose risks if you don't take the right precautions. When considering how to protect your hot tub in winter, the simplest approach is to keep it running. Your tub’s built-in heating and circulation systems are designed to prevent the water and plumbing from freezing. If you plan to use it throughout the winter, maintain the water temperature and continue your regular water care routine to avoid any freezing damage. If you do plan to shut it down, ensure you follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper winterisation, we have a blog post on the subject.

4. Don't Forget the Filters and Plumbing

While your hot tub is busy keeping the water clean, it's the filters that do the heavy lifting of catching oils, dirt, and other debris. Rinse off filters with water every week and clean your filters fortnightly with a filter cleaner to ensure proper circulation and prevent strain on your tub's system. Additionally, every three to four months, you should do a chemical filter soak, to really get deep into the folds of your filter to break down the oils and dirt it has collected. Every six months you should perform a "pipe flush" before draining and refilling the water. This process uses a specialised cleaner to remove any built-up residue from the plumbing and jets, ensuring your tub's entire system remains pristine. Remember this guidance is for average Self-Cleaning Hydropool usage, you’ll see what schedule and timings are best for you as you own your hot tub.

Your Hot Tub Journey Begins Now

Caring for your hot tub doesn't have to be complicated. By following these simple steps, you'll ensure that every time you lift the lid, your tub is ready for you—clean, warm, and inviting. A little effort from the start guarantees years of luxurious, worry-free soaks. Enjoy!

Invest in a hot tub that saves you time and money. The Hydropool Signature Self-Cleaning model is built with an exclusive, high-pressure cleaning system that actively purges debris, unlike other tubs with passive filtration. Plus, it's the only hot tub with an integrated floor vacuum to remove sediment from the base. With our ozone and UV purification, you'll use half the chemicals of other brands, leading to significant savings on time and energy.

For a personal consultation and to learn more about our self-cleaning models, contact Hydropool North West, your local family-run dealer. Give us a call today!