Polynesian’s Hot Tub Maintenance & Water Checklist
There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a hot tub or spa, but it’s not too complicated once you understand the basics. Really, the hardest part of hot tub maintenance is knowing what to do and how often to do it. We sell multiple brands of hot tubs here and have for the since 1971. This article will walk you through the basics of hot tub/spa care and if you a generic checklist of daily, weekly, monthly, & yearly maintenance tasks. Some may need more often or less often based on the quality of your water you use, your use and other factors. We also note differences for SALTWATER tubs versus the chlorine/bromine tubs.
Daily Hot Tub Maintenance
Circulate and Filter Water – All Tub Water Types
The water in your hot tub needs to pass through your filter at least twice daily. This helps prevent algae, removes debris, and keeps your water fresh, clean, and clear. Most portable spas and hot tubs can be automated to do this on their own. If you have an older model or one that’s not able to self-circulate, just turn the pump on for 15–20 minutes a couple times each day but it would need to be REALLY old to have one that doesn’t have the circulation mode
Check the Cabinet and Cover
Walk around the hot tub, and make sure there are no obvious signs of a problem, such as a water puddle caused by a leak. If have a hot tub cover, check to make sure that it’s fitted securely in place. This doesn’t have to be an intense observation. A quick daily walk around the hot tub can help tip you off to a potential issue as quickly as possible.
BONUS TIP: A well-fitting hot tub cover is important for several reasons. The cover’s primary function is to conserve heat energy in your spa or hot tub. A cover that’s not properly sized to the tub can lead to a more costly utility bill each month. The proper cover also is best at keeping dirt and debris from entering the tub/water. This will also help reduce cleaning time and can prolongs the amount of time needed between filter cleanings. It can be advantaeous to have a cover “lifter” to keep you cover off the ground. That will extend the life of it. If exposed to snow, try to clear it off so it doesn’t melt through and don’t allow rain to “puddle” on your cover.
Take the Temperature
A hot tub that’s either not heating or overheating can signal a problem with the electrical components and/or circulation system in your hot tub. Check the digital display to make sure the water is within the expected temperature range – with self monitoring tubs, that should show on your phone app. If your tempreature is not at the expected or set temp, grab the owner’s manual and start troubleshooting, or call us to come check out your hot tub. If it important to make sure during winter that it is still heating and not “dead” – as you cannot have your tub freeze – that would kill it from future us.
Weekly Hot Tub Maintenance
Test and Balance the Water – Automatic with Self Monitoring System
At least 3 times per week if you are using it daily, test your water and rebalance as necessary with the appropriate spa chemicals based on results. If you have the self monitoring system on a Caldera Spa, you should be making sure you are looking at your read outs 3 times per week and it will prompt you to make adjustments – just follow the directions. For manual testing, your pH should be between 7.4–7.6, Total Alkalinity between 80–120 ppm (parts per million), and calcium hardness between 150–250 ppm. Ideal sanitizer levels in a hot tub are 1.0–3.0 ppm for chlorine, and 2.0–4.0 ppm for bromine and for salt, just make sure it is in the acceptable range -and here is a link to the saltwater owners manual.
Shock the Water
Probably once per week, you’ll need to use quality spa shock / chorline if you have a non-salt tub. This will properly sanitize the water and get rid of chloramines or bromamines. For hot tubs, you can either use a dichlor shock, such as Proteam Oxidizing Shock, or a non-chlorine shock, such as Proteam Shock & Swim. Both types can be used with either bromine or chlorine sanitizers. The best way to shock your hot tub is to use dichlor once a week, and add a bit of non-chlorine shock each time after you use the hot tub.
Air Out the Cover
To prevent mold and mildew from accumulating on the underside of your hot tub cover and to help it from getting waterlogged, it’s important to remove it from the spa and let it “air dry”. Allowing the cover to “breathe” and air out for a couple hours once or twice a week will help prolong its lifespan – Having a cover lift will make this a simple, seamless process. If you use your hot tub at least a couple times a week, you can just leave the cover off until the underside has time to dry – unless it is winter of course – don’t leave it off for too long unless you are using it.
Clean the Hot Tub
Keep your hot tub free of dirt and debris with a spabot by Polaris or a hand-skimmer both of which we usually have in stock. To prevent scale and scum from accumulating at the waterline, use a sponge with a specially formulated spa cleaning product every couple of weeks. If you don’t have too much trouble at the waterline, just deep clean it once a month or whenever you do your quarterly cleaning and maintenance. Whatever you do, DO NOT use soaps or household cleaners. These can damage the finish on your shell, negatively impact water balance, and introduce sudsy foam into your spa, which is no fun at all.
BONUS TIP: Having issues with oily residue in your filter and along the waterline? Get a scum remover such as a scum ball drop in the water. Or, in a pinch, you can also use a clean tennis ball. These will soak up the oils from skin, makeup, lotions, or other oily contaminants and prevent them from sticking to spa surfaces. We also have a pad to go over the hand skimmer than you can use to get these off the water surface.
Clean the Filter
Most hot tubs need their filter cartridges cleaned at bi-weekly, assuming using it 2–3 times per week. Higher usage may require more frequent cleaning, and less usage means you may be able to go longer between cleanings but never let it go more than 30 days. To clean the filter cartridge, thoroughly rinse the filter off with a spray nozzle or a filter cleaning accessory – the water wand. If needed, spray or soak the filter with Spa Filter Clean to help remove the oils and residues caught in the fibers.
Monthly Hot Tub Maintenance
Unless you have the self monitoring system on a Caldera Spa, get professional water testing – FREE at Polynesian and most local pool / hot tub retail locations
In addition to your regular at-home water testing, it’s a good idea to have your water professionally tested at least once a month which we do or most local pool stores do. We have computerized testing in store that also stores your last water test results so we can really view how your what chemisty is changing.
Clean the Filter
Most hot tubs need their filter cartridges cleaned at bi-weekly, assuming using it 2–3 times per week. Higher usage may require more frequent cleaning, and less usage means you may be able to go longer between cleanings but never let it go more than 30 days. To clean the filter cartridge, thoroughly rinse the filter off with a spray nozzle or a filter cleaning accessory – the water wand. If needed, spray or soak the filter with Spa Filter Clean to help remove the oils and residues caught in the fibers.
Quarterly Hot Tub Maintenance
Thoroughly Inspect the Cover – Clean and condition if needed
A damaged or deteriorating cover can quickly become a headache. It will decrease the heating efficiency of your hot tub, increase cleaning and maintenance time, get heavy and difficult to remove, and become a dangerous breeding ground for smelly mold and mildew. If you start noticing any issues, such as cracking, warping, water in the foam layer, or other similar issues, plan to replace it with a new hot tub cover as soon as possible. We have brands that we carry replacement covers for but most Caldera Spas are based on the tub model and year it was made – and replacements are made to order – which could take 4-6 weeks to get so it’s best to plan ahead. You don’t want to find yourself in an emergency situation without a hot tub cover.
Most older hot tub covers are made of a durable marine-grade vinyl that’s resistant to UV radiation. This makes it ideal for harsh and unforgiving outdoor environments. However, without a little regular care and TLC, the vinyl can dry out, crack, and fade. Use a hot tub cover cleaner and conditioner every 3–4 months to keep it looking like new. Be sure to only use products specifically formulated for hot tub covers or marine vinyl. The newer tubs – all since 2024 have the weathershield fabric so this will not be needed on those.
Purge the Plumbing
Even the most perfectly balanced and sanitized hot tubs can hide some pretty nasty gunk in the plumbing. Over time, organic contaminants like sweat, lotions, cosmetics, and body oils can build up in the lines to create layers of biofilm, which can quickly become a breeding ground for bacteria. This gets worse if you are not doing your filter cleaning and wash as recommended. Just before you plan to drain your hot tub, we recommend you add an enzyme product, such as Spa System Clean and turn on the jets. Your water will more than likely turn murky as the unsightly biofilm is purged from the plumbing. Making this part of your regular maintenance routine will keep your hot tub cleaner and healthier. It will also help keep your equipment running efficiently.
BONUS TIP: Regularly using a product like Natural Clean, can help break down the oils and organic debris in the water. This prevents biofilm buildup from taking over your plumbing in the first place. If safely and naturally biodegrades wastes in water, reduces spa maintenance, and produce naturally cleaner spa water. Reduce chemical usage while producing results naturally. Possibly add this to your weekly hot tub regimen to cut down overall maintenance time.
Drain and Refill the Hot Tub Every 6 months – once a year with salt systems
Since hot tubs hold quite a bit less water than a swimming pool, they eventually reach a point where the amount of contaminants and chemicals in the water make it increasingly difficult to maintain sanitary, clean, and clear water. It’s important to drain the water every 6 months to keep the water fresh and we find you can push that to up to 12 months with a salt system. This is dependent on if you have any water issues that keep appearing, that might mean you need to drain, clean and fill to effectively “start over”. If you do drain, that is usually a good time to do other large maintenance tasks, including purging the lines replacing jets, performing any major repairs, or deep cleaning your shell. When refilling the hot tub, a pre-filter (that goes on you hose) can be helpful if you live in an area with particularly hard water. Balance and sanitize the water after each refill. With salt, you know it taked about 24 hours to kick in. You also can put the vanishing act or XL “pillow” over your circ pump right after fill to help with the hardness.
Soak the Filter
While you’re busy deep cleaning the hot tub, it’s a great time to clean you filter or put your extra dry and clean filter cartridge(s) into the tub. Don’t do a drain and fill and have a “dirty” filter in the tub. You can use a filter cleaning solution to effectively clean your filter and the above mentioned wand can spray it down. Doing this can increase the lifespan of your filter by removing debris and buildup that’s missed during the weekly spray and rinse.
Yearly Hot Tub Maintenance
Replace Filter Cartridge(s)
Most hot tub filter cartridges have about a 12-month lifespan, depending on frequency of use and the quality of your water. Hot tubs that get used a lot should get a new filter sooner (we recommend having 2 filters and swaping them out monthly). Hot tubs that don’t get used often can use the same filter for a little while longer. Every time the filter is cleaned, the fibers that make up the filter get looser and lose efficiency. Eventually, they just don’t do the job and let a lot of particles through. They also get progressively more stained and are increasingly difficult to clean, even with regular soaking.
Open up your Spa Cabinet
A lot can happen when you’re not looking! At least once a year, it’s a good idea to open up the spa cabinet and take a peek inside. Make sure there are no pests taking up residence, and thoroughly inspect the wiring for signs of chewing or damage. These are services you can hire us to do for you as well. We can take a look around to see if there are any slow leaks causing rot or other issues inside the cabinet. With the cabinet panels off, it is also a good time to do a bit of routine maintenance on your pump, such as lubricating and/or replacing gaskets and O-rings – again something we can help with if desired.
If any of these things make you uncomfortable we would recommend you contact us for service.
If you have any questions you can call us at (616) 363-4161. We serve all of West Michigan including Grand Rapids, Lansing, Holland, Byron Center, Ionia, Lowell, Cadillac and all places in between.
