Draining your Hot Tub the Easy Way!

Draining your Hot Tub otherwise known as a Spa can be a chore, but it is necessary to change the water on a regular basis. There are a few indicators on when you should drain your spa down and I will touch on a few here as well as the easiest way to drain your spa.

What is the easiest way to drain down your Hot Tub? Each manufacturer includes some type of drain on your Hot Tub. The problem is that accessing the drain in some cases can be difficult. For instance, your Hot Tub my sit right up against the wall in your backyard or near a patio post. It is much easier to use a Utility Pump or Submergible Pump (Sump Pump) in many cases.

Simply attach a garden hose to the Utility Pump, drop it in the center of the Hot Tub and plug it in. Within 20 minutes your entire Hot Tub will be drained down to less than ¼ of an inch of water. It is very easy and you won’t have to mess with Hot tub drain again. You can purchase a good ¼ hp Utility Pump for around $60-$80.

When you should drain your Hot Tub is another question entirely. There are some formulas online and based on these you will be draining your Hot tub down every 30 days or 90 days depending on where your usage fits into the formula. It is much easier to schedule your Hot Tub draining based on water quality versus a usage formula. I suggest draining your Hot Tub when you notice the following issues:

Cloudy Water that won’t clear up

Installing new filters

Foamy water

Scum build-up at the water line

Chlorine or Bromine not holding a constant level

Strong chemical smell

Water is over 6 months old

Human waste has entered the water

Vomit in water

Dead Animal in water

If you experience any of the above you should plan on draining your Hot Tub before using it again. I think the water quality is a better indicator of when to drain your Hot Tub then the usage formula.

A typical Hot Tub is 250 to 400 gallons so draining and refilling it is not a big deal. Figure to use about two 10 minute showers worth of water. I would say the more often you drain it the better overall but you don’t need to drain the Hot Tub unless one or more of the above-listed problems is present. For example, if the water is very foamy instead of purchasing a $15 bottle of Spa Foam Down, it would be better and cheaper to just drain it. I doubt the water from refilling it will cost more than $15.00, more like a few dollars at most. And besides, foam is an indicator of poor water quality so adding a chemical to reduce the foam is a band-aid solution at best.

With your Utility or Sump Pump handy, draining your Hot Tub when needed is very easy. I would say there is no good reason not to drain your Hot Tub regularly. If you are unable to do it yourself, your local pool service company will drain and refill it for you.

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