Normally hot tubs are meant to run 24/7 year round, however you should winterize your hot tub if you are going to leave town for an extended period of time (3 months) or simply won’t be around to use or check your hot tub, then here’s what to do.

Winterization should be left to the professionals, but if done carefully using the following instructions your risk of damage from freezing can be minimized.

THINGS THAT WILL BE NEEDED:

• 2-4 gallons of NON-TOXIC (R-V type) antifreeze
• a strong wet/dry vacuum (shop vac)
• a turkey-baster or funnel
• 1 or 2 light plastic bowls approximately 5" diameter
• TIME approx. 2 hours

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Shut the power off to the system and make sure that it cannot be accidentally turned back on.
2. Drain your tub.
3. With the wet-vac vacuum out any water remaining in the foot-well. Then with each jet in the open position, vacuum each jet nozzle until no more water comes out. DO NOT FORGET the small ozone jet in the foot-well.
4. With the vacuum over the whirlpool jet nozzle(s) and plastic bowls over the suction covers in the footwell, change it to each diverter position until there is no more water being drawn out.
5. Open all filter covers.
6. Remove your filter, clean it and place in storage until you restart your tub. Pour NON-TOXIC antifreeze into the filter canister until it runs out into the foot-well of your tub through the suction covers.
7. With the turkey-baster or funnel, squirt a small amount of NON-TOXIC antifreeze into each jet. DO NOT FORGET the small ozone jet that is located in the foot-well of your tub. Continue adding antifreeze until it comes out of the drain fittings or from the opening you are pouring it into. You must complete this task for every jet fitting in the system as well as the pumps and the bottom drain.
8. Remove drain plugs from the front of the pumps.
9. Disconnect the unions from both sides of the pump.

A COUPLE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF

When a tub is drained and left empty, o-rings and pump seals can dry out and loose their ability to seal properly. You should closely inspect for small leaks in the equipment area when you do your restart. If you are unsure of the location of the o-rings and pump seal, contact your dealer for help. If replaced early the damage caused by these failures can be inexpensive to fix.

RE-START UP:

When restarting your tub, you will want to fill the tub and run all of the jets on high speed for 10-15 minutes. This will help flush the residue of the antifreeze out of the plumbing. Then drain the tub, clean the sides with an approved cleaner, place your filter back into the filter canister, re-fill your tub and balance your chemicals. You may notice slightly more foaming than normal when you first start using your tub, this can be reduced with anti-foaming agents and generally gets better over the first week or two of usage as the filter removes the anti-freeze and organic residue left behind after rinsing and cleaning.

Make sure you check your filter at least once per week and rinse it out as needed for the first few weeks. You may also find it necessary to soak your filter in a filter cleaner after a few days, depending on the level of contaminant left in the tub after the re-start.

If you’re not feeling so ambitious or confident in your DIY skills, then give us a call toll free at 1.877.827.2842. One of our service techs will take care of it for you.