How To Add Water To Hot Tub

Whether yous have a brand new hot tub or you lot haven't used it in a couple of months, making sure the water is rubber and clean is paramount to enjoying a long soak. If information technology's your start time starting a hot tub, you might feel a little overwhelmed. If y'all slacked a trivial on your spa maintenance, you might exist struggling to remember everything yous need to do.

Don't worry, we've got your back. Follow these 12 simple steps to commencement a hot tub similar a pro.

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1. Rinse and Drain

If yous're a new hot tub possessor, you're going to take to get used to the cleaning that comes with hot tub buying. If you lot're a more seasoned owner, yous know the drill.

For New Hot Tubs

Many manufacturers ship hot tubs with a small amount of antifreeze but in case they're exposed to freezing temperatures on the way to your house. It protects the plumbing from whatsoever potential impairment, but it's not something you desire to soak in.

Fill the tub's footwell—that's the lesser portion where you place your feet—with water, run the pumps for a few minutes, and and so bleed. This clears any antifreeze out of your plumbing organization.

To Restart a Hot Tub

If you've left your h2o sitting for a long catamenia of fourth dimension with no maintenance, you need to bleed and make clean your hot tub to become rid of the old water and whatever bacteria colonies that could make you ill.

After draining, refill the tub with new water. Cull a good jet and drain cleaner, and follow the instructions on the parcel. Permit the jets to run long enough to do a thorough cleaning chore.

Once your jets and drains are clean, drain the hot tub again.

Tip: If yous winterized your hot tub, your bleed plugs and fittings volition have been left unscrewed or open. Before filling your tub with h2o, remember to make sure everything is reconnected:

Tighten all quick-disconnect fittings
Cheque the forepart and top of the pump to ensure it's connected
Inspect the heater for any missing plugs or loose connections
Ensure the air blower is properly connected
Shut any bleed valves
Put any slice valves in the open up or up position

2. Plough off All Power

Nosotros're big on safety here. Before yous exercise whatever major cleaning you should ever disconnect all power to your hot tub to prevent any shocking mistakes.

This doesn't mean simply flipping your spa equipment switch. Unplug your tub and plough off the circuit billow to ensure the power is completely cut off. Call back, h2o and electricity to not mix.

3. Clean the Empty Hot Tub

Y'all wouldn't breast-stroke in a dingy tub or shower, right? Well, you don't want to soak in a dirty hot tub either. Keeping your spa clean is pretty much a tertiary of the maintenance along with h2o chemistry and hardware upkeep.

For New Hot Tubs

When you beginning start a spa, yous want to make sure all the surfaces that water may come into contact with are equally clean as possible. Spray and wipe downward the trounce (that'due south the actual tub of your hot tub) and the cover.

Use a not-abrasive cleaner and a soft cloth or sponge to forestall any damage to your trounce. Rinse thoroughly to go along your hot tub from foaming later.

To Restart a Hot Tub

If your spa sabbatum with stagnant water in it for a while, information technology'due south a good idea to perform a hot tub deep clean to get it back to usable status.

iv. Install or Clean the Filter

Your hot tub filter plays a crucial role in maintaining the cleanliness of your water. This is the best time to install new filters or make clean your quondam filters.

For New Hot Tubs

Install a filter cartridge into every filter well. Some hot tubs only take one, but check your owner's manual just to exist safe.

To Restart a Hot Tub

Remove and inspect whatever filter cartridges currently installed. Cheque them all to encounter if they need to be replaced.

If they're just dirty, you can make clean the hot tub filters by spraying them downwards with filter cleaner. If they're extremely muddied, put them in a chemical soak overnight. Actually, it doesn't affair if they wait dirty or not, information technology'due south safer to clean them anyhow.

Once the filter cartridges are clean, inspect them one more time in case they need replacing earlier reinstalling them into your filter wells.

5. Fill up Your Hot Tub

Whether you're filling your hot tub for your start or fiftieth fourth dimension, we as well recommend y'all use a hose filter. Information technology will help remove whatsoever impurities from your water source, including high mineral levels (which tin clog your system), metals like copper and iron (which can turn your water greenish or brown), and calcium (which can crusade buildup in your shell and plumbing).

Hose filters preclude mineral and metal issues before they start, which tin save you a lot of time and coin.

Fifty-fifty with a hose filter, we recommend placing the hose into the filter well. This lets the water circulate through the system and push out whatever air locks (air stuck in the plumbing).

Our Height Option

Using the Filter Well

If you lot don't have a hose filter, the next best matter is to place the hose direct into the filter area rather than the footwell. Y'all'll go the filtering benefits from the hot tub'southward filter, and will still head off any air lock problems.

Monitor the Water Fill up Level

Your owner's transmission may have specific instructions on how loftier your water level should be, but generally, you want the water level to be almost an inch below the headrests while still beingness loftier enough to fully cover the jets.

Try to resist the temptation to add a little more h2o. When y'all, your family unit, or your guests savor the tub, the h2o level rises. If you spill h2o, information technology can throw off the balance of your hot tub chemistry, which means more work for you lot later. Plus, if your hot tub is indoors, you lot'll accept a slippery mess.

You too want to make sure your water level is high enough. Low water levels tin can cause your heater and pump shut down, which means no outflow from the jets and less filtration. Plus, if yous live in a colder climate, your water might not circulate properly and your pipes could freeze.

6. Prime the Pump

Air in your hot tub'due south lines can cause a whole slew of problems. To make sure air is out of everything, yous need to prime the hot tub pump. This procedure varies depending on the manufacturer and model, and then consult your owner'southward manual earlier proceeding.

Some control panels take a self-priming mode. If yours doesn't, you'll have to prime it manually using a bleeder valve.

Control Console Priming

Information technology'due south easy to prime your pumps using your command panel, if it has the setting:

Press the jets push to plow the pump on. Run for ten to twenty seconds.
Printing the jets button again to turn the jets on loftier. Run for another x seconds, and brand sure all the jets are working.
Turn off the jets by pressing the jets button once more.
Go along to repeat this process until h2o circulates through all the jets. You'll know the pump is primed if all the jets are working as they should.

Bleeder Valve Priming

It's not a big deal if your hot tub doesn't have a self-priming mode. It's merely equally easy to prime your hot tub using a bleeder valve, which is a nozzle on the pump that allows air to escape:

Make sure all power is asunder from your hot tub past turning off your spa and the breaker.
Locate your hot tub's pump. If you're unsure of its location, check your owner's manual.
Close the gate valve on the discharge side of the pump. This shuts off the water flow.
Turn the bleeder valve counterclockwise until you lot hear it first to hiss. That'due south air leaving the pump. All the air has been released when the hissing stops.
One time all the air has escaped, tighten the bleeder valve, reopen the gate valve, and plow the hot tub power on.
Turn on the jets to cheque whether the water is flowing properly. Repeat the process until the pump is primed and h2o is flowing normally.

Help! My H2o Isn't Flowing

If your jets are running and there's no water flowing through them, you lot're probably experiencing an air lock. They're non uncommon and they're elementary to set, then don't worry. To get rid of an air lock:

Plow all of your jets' faceplates counterclockwise to open them.
Proceed the heater off by turning down your thermostat.
Press the jets button twice to turn the jets on high. Permit them run for 10 to 15 seconds. Plow off the jets.
Repeat the previous step three more times, increasing the run time past ten to fifteen seconds.
You will start to meet air bubbling coming from the jets. Keep the jets running until all the air has been released.

seven. Add the Start-Up Chemicals

Now that your filters are clean and installed, your water is fresh, and your pump is primed, information technology's finally time to add together your kickoff-upward chemicals. Wait until your hot tub water reaches 80ºF (30ºC) before you add anything. The heat helps the chemicals deliquesce and comprise into the h2o.

If you're not sure what chemicals you lot need, bank check out our guide to Hot Tub Chemicals. And if you've never added chemicals to your water before, nosotros accept a few tips before yous get started:

Figure out how much h2o your hot tub holds. Yous can find usually this in your possessor's manual. The amount of water in your tub determines the amounts of chemicals you demand, so this is important.
Measure your chemicals before pouring them into the tub. It helps keep your water chemistry balanced and will save you coin in the long run.
Keep your chemical measurements separate earlier pouring them into your tub. Mixing chemicals outside of water can be unsafe and less effective.
Important: Do non utilise pool chemicals in your tub. Chemicals made specifically for hot tubs are your best choice.

viii. Run the Pump

Once your chemicals are added, run the pump for at least ten minutes on high speed. This evenly distributes the chemicals in the h2o, and will requite yous a more accurate test result.

nine. Test Your Water

If you're a new hot tub owner, get ready to discover the high school chemistry throwback that is testing your hot tub h2o.

Yous may have measured the chemicals, but you should ever cheque to brand certain your chemistry is correct. If your chemistry is off, it can impairment your hot tub, irritate your skin, or let nasty bacteria to invade your relaxation time.

If you're a new hot tub owner, and yous're not sure how to test your hot tub water, don't worry. It's not as difficult equally it may seem, and you lot'll get the hang of it in no time.

Nosotros also recommend you program to examination your hot tub water at home one time a calendar week and have your water professionally tested at your local spa supplier in one case a month.

10. Ready the Water Temperature

Some similar information technology hot, and some like it hotter. You lot should observe the temperature that's most comfortable for yous, but we recommend keeping your water between 98ºF and 102ºF (36ºC and 38ºC).

Caution: Your h2o temperature should never, ever exceed 104ºF (40ºC). You lot could fire yourself or damage your hot tub, or both.

While your hot tub control panel has a thermometer, we recommend you test your h2o with a separate thermometer to ensure an accurate reading.

We also recommend that y'all keep your water's temperature consistent. If you let your water cool off and reheat with every use, you run the hazard of stressing the heater and circuit board. Not to mention, you'll waste a ton of energy and get a higher electric or gas pecker.

xi. Cover Your Hot Tub

Let your water circulate for another ten minutes later on you set the temperature. Embrace your tub for approximately xx-four hours. This helps the temperature rise, retain heat, and preclude loss of water and chemicals through evaporation.

12. Test Your Water

No, we're non just repeating ourselves. Now that your water has had some time to stabilize, the chemical levels may non be right. Earlier yous apply the hot tub, test the h2o a 2d time and adjust chemic levels equally needed.

Additional Considerations Before Restarting Your Hot Tub

When you lot beginning a spa after a long break, inspect your hot tub for any cracks, stains, or mildew. Dampness may disguise damage, then it'south important to wait for your tub interior to dry completely before looking it over.

Exist certain to also take a peek at the wiring before yous refill. If you come across any frayed cords or loose connections, call a qualified electrician to inspect information technology. Unless you're a licensed electrician, working with electrical systems is all-time left to a professional.

Smashing Piece of work!

You've successfully started or restarted your hot tub. We told you it wasn't that complicated. As a reward, sit back, relax, and let your troubles bladder abroad in your hot tub.

Happy Soaking!

Matt Giovanisci is the founder of Swim University® and has been in the puddle and spa industry since 1995. Since and so, his mission is to make pool and hot tub care like shooting fish in a barrel for everyone. And each year, he continues to help more people with h2o chemistry, cleaning, and troubleshooting.

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