Many people love to enjoy their spa all winter long, but we hear a handful of stories every year about hot tubs turning into ice cubes! We have a few tips to help prevent this terrible tragedy, along with a few other helpful winter spa maintenance tips.

• Check the power. This sounds very simple, and it is. If the spa is not receiving as much love and attention as it deserves, the power should be checked twice a week. Just go out there and make sure that baby is hot! A hot tub won’t freeze overnight, but 2 or 3 really cold days is certainly enough time for it to ice over.
• Check the water level. Oh yeah, there should always be enough water in there, too. Make sure the level is high enough so that air is not getting sucked into the filter. If it sucks too much air, that will trip the power, thus another reason to check the spa twice a week.
• Clear snow off the cover. Using a push broom or even a brush that one would use to clean snow off a car is a great way to get that powdery stuff off the spa. Do not shovel the cover, as it will inevitably tear. If you do shovel the cover, please come see us when you need a new one.
• Shovel a path to the spa. No one is putting on snow pants and boots just to go check the hot tub, so make sure there’s a clear path to make it an easy task.
• Test & add. Even if the spa doesn’t receive the use it deserves, one still needs to test it and add chemicals to it at least once a week. Our spas in the showroom rarely get used and we still have to add stuff to them at least one a week. Don’t let it get away or it will lead to some tough decisions on best remedies in the middle of January. Not ideal.

Hopefully your spa is getting used all the time, in which case most of these will not even apply to you. If you aren’t getting in that awesome hot tub all the time, you probably should. Otherwise, following this advice will keep you enjoying a good soak when the craziness of life quits getting in your way!