The warmer months are in the rearview, and it’s now time for you to make an important decision: close you Spa down for the season or prepare it for winter use?

Whichever choice you make, you must take extra care in doing the job right because the cold months are when it is easiest for your hot tub to sustain damage if you don’t take the necessary steps to protect it from inclement weather. To help you do that, we’ve created these quick and easy hot tub maintenance guides to close your hot tub and prepare it for winter use.

Tips for Spa Winterization

If you prefer to save yourself the trouble of tending to your hot tub all winter long, then check out the following Spa winterization tips.

1. Allow the Chemical Levels to Drop

First things first, you’re going to want to let the chemicals in your spa dissipate so you can drain the water without harming any plants or wildlife. Give it a few days, and then test the chemicals.

2. Turn the Power Off

This is a serious safety precaution that you must take. Turn off the breaker to your hot tub before you begin winterizing it.

3. Drain the Hot Tub

Make sure you’ve got plenty of drainage area for a few hundred gallons of water, then pull off that drain cap and empty your Spa. This process can be somewhat slow, so using a sump pump might be a good idea if you’re short on time.

4. Loosen Your Fittings

Start removing the remaining water from your spa’s plumbing by loosening up the fittings and allowing them to drain.

5. Blow Out Your Lines

You’re going to want to make sure that there is no leftover water trapped in your lines when you close up for winter, or you’ll need some costly hot tub maintenance after temperatures drop below freezing.

6. Clean Out Tub and Filters

If you don’t give the tub a thorough scrub, it might be uninhabitable by next spring. Remove the filters and throw them in some cleaning solution, then grab some spa cleanser and give the tub a deep cleaning.

7. Throw the Cover On

Your Spa winterization is complete. All you need to do is put the cover on and lock it in until warmer weather rolls around.