After braving yet another harsh CNY Winter ❄, we’ve made it out the other side. Our reward is a lush, green Spring Season 🌷🌼🌻 with warmth, sunshine, and…Spring Cleaning! The Spring season is a great time to do some basic routine maintenance on your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub to ensure another season of faithful service. Here are some of our suggestions to keep things running smoothly.

SPA OPENINGS 

Did you close your spa for the winter months? If so, we recommend having a Spa Professional come to open the spa, and ensure that things are in working order, and there is no residual freeze damage from the Winter. You want to drain and blow out the antifreeze from the spa’s plumbing, and give the spa a thorough wipe down before refilling. If you’re a DIY-er, we recommend holding off on reattaching the front cabinet panel until you’ve started up the spa and can do a visual inspection of things running smoothly. To have a Tarson Spa Technician come and do a professional Spa Opening, please call us at (315) 291-8800 ext. 307.

 

SPRING MAITENANCE 

If you kept your spa open and in use during the Winter, you’re a few steps ahead! On a nice, sunny day we recommend doing a simple drain and clean to get things started off fresh for the warm weather. Every other year, we encourage a “Spa Purge”. This process helps to clean out the internal plumbing in your spa, and prevents biofilm from forming inside. There are variety of products available (Purple Purge, Hot Tub Serum, Ahhhhsome, to name a few) for this, and you should follow the directions on the label for use. If you’re going to do a Spa Purge, do it before you complete next steps to avoid wasting water. 

If you have a Jacuzzi® hot tub, then you can use either the 3/4″ hose drain on the outside of your spa in the front left or right-hand corner or if your model is equipped with a Quick Drain (J-400 and J-500 Models) under the cabinet, you can use the provided 1.5″ Backwash Hose and connect it to the drain on the gate valve by your pump. We recommend using a small, submersible pump to drain the water as it will the quickest and simplest method! Once the water has been drained, you can begin to clean the spa surface. Use a soft, non-abrasive cloth and a gentle surface cleaner (diluted white vinegar, Simple Green cleaner, or BioGuard “Off The Wall”, or similar) to clean any areas that may have some build up. Don’t overuse Magic Erasers, as those products work by creating microabrasions. They can lead to fine scratching or dulling of your spa’s acrylic surface with overuse.

After you’ve wiped the spa surface down, a good filter clean is next! Take your spa’s pleated cartridge and either spray on some filter cleaner and degreaser, or soak overnight in a filter cleaner and water solution, and spray off the excess and other debris. If the filter has seen better days, it might be time to replace. If you have a vinyl spa cover, we recommend using 303 Aerospace Protectant or another marine vinyl cleaner to condition the cover and help prevent fading, tearing, and wear.

If you have a Jacuzzi® hot tub, it may be time to replace your Clearray UV-C bulb. This needs to be replaced annually. If it’s about time, or overdue, this is a great opportunity to get your bulb replaced and ensure you have the cleanest water possible, with the least amount of effort!

 

REFILL AND ENJOY

Now you’re ready to add your filter back to the spa, and begin to refill! Ensure that the water level is above the highest jet and below the pillows so that you don’t underfill or overfill the spa. Once the water has reached 80 degrees, then you can begin to add chemicals to balance your spa water. To avoid an airlock when refilling your spa, ensure that you fill through the filter standpipe to help push out air from the internal plumbing. Ensure that the waterfall valve is open on your Jacuzzi® hot tub to allow the air to purge from the vertical section of pipe in that area. If your spa is equipped with Jacuzzi SmartTub™ then you can watch the temperature rise from your smartphone and know exactly when it’s ready for action!