How to Winterize Your Hot Tub - Winterizing a Spa

Living in a city that has four seasons is great, but when winter comes along with freezing temperatures, certain precautions must be taken to winterize outdoor ponds, water supplies, pools and hot tubs. How to winterize a hot tub spa if you decide to drain it over some of the winter requires a local spa professional or attention to the details of getting all of the water out of the spa.

In the winter months, calling a service pro is essential if the spa fails during freezing weather. The biggest possible damage can occur with a spa that is left full of water (or even partially full) outside without heating so components and plumbing freeze. It is best to become familiar with how to winterize a spa. Then if you need to completely drain the spa with a submersible pump in the winter, it can be done to save the spa plumbing while you source the part you need. Many times you will need to drain the spa anyway to have the repair completed. After the spa is drained, the jets need to be cleared out with a wet vac, or you can add a little RV antifreeze in the line.

Spa

Critical points to consider when avoiding a freezing spa are: 

  • Is all of the water out of the spa?
  • Is the rest of the water blown out by either turning on the blower or using a wet vac (or both)?
  • Did you open any drain plugs on the pumps and loosen the lowest union or heater union to allow for rest water to drain out?

Now before you winterize your spa, consider that many families enjoy the use of a spa outdoors in the winter time. Remember that ski trip with the bubbling hot water outdoors and the surrounding snow-capped mountains? Sure you won't necessarily want to sit outdoors in a thirty below blizzard, but when the storm passes it is a beautiful and serene feeling to sit out in bubbling hot water with the cool air around.

Another reason to not shut the spa down in the winter for the reason of saving money on electricity is that if you improperly drain the spa for the winter and remaining water begins to expand and crack piping, you could have a much more expensive repair bill on your hands than the cost of the electricity you were saving.

So if you still decide to shut your hot tub down over the winter months, here are a few tips. First, contact a local professional to do it for you and be assured it is completely drained. For the "do-it-yourselfer", always turn the power off first when working on the spa. Turn off both the disconnect near the spa and also the circuit breaker inside the house.

Next, drain the spa as much as you can with a submersible pump or other hose. Take out the filter, clean it, soak it in filter cleaner and put it away for the winter. If the spa has an air system with a blower, those lines also need to be cleaned out. The easiest way to do that is to disconnect power to the heater, then restore power to the spa and turn the blower on so it can blast the rest of the water out. (For this you may want to put the cover back on so you don't get sprayed). Note that you should not run jet pumps for any length of time without water in them. To be on the safe side, you can disconnect the main pump from the power pack in case it comes on while you are running the blower.

Some pumps have winterizing plugs on them that you can remove to drain the rest of the water from the pump. You can also open the fittings in the plumbing systems, especially the lowest fitting which is usually the heater fitting that attaches to the spa pack. Take one end off and leave it open over the winter so any condensation can drain out.

Once you have prepared everything, complete the work with a wet-vac and blow out any remaining water in the lines. Force air into each of the opened jets from the wet-vac and blow out each jet until no more water comes out. Clean the footwell of the spa with the wet-vac and wipe up any remaining water.

To be really certain, you can put a bit of RV-antifreeze into the system which will need to be cleaned out come spring time. When you are satisfied that all of the water is out, put the cover on and lock it down. Close cabinet panels and check that the cover is on securely.

One more thing you can do is get one of those blue plastic tarps or other tarp from your local hardware store and put it over the spa cover, then securing the tarp. This can protect against water that can get in through the sides of the cover in the form of condensation.

New pumps can be expensive if you have to replace one because of freeze damage. One place to get  spa parts in Canada, online is from a large online Canadian parts supply house.

Even if you leave your spa running over the winter months, being familiar with draining and winterizing procedures is important. Even if you do not winterize your hot tub yourself, understanding how to drain and winterize the spa can save you hefty repair bills if there should be an extended power outage in the winter. Spas should be monitored regularly in the winter for proper operation to avoid damage caused by water freezing. If you are away for extended periods in the winter, the spa can either be drained, or a vigilant neighbor can check on it and call a local spa professional in the case of an extended power outage.

Check with your spa manufacturer or dealer for more tips on winterizing a spa. Knowing these procedures can save you costly repairs down the road.

How to Winterize Your Hot Tub - Winterizing a Spa

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