It’s Time to Drain & Clean Your Hot Tub

How to Drain & Clean Your Sundance Hot Tub

The cold weather will soon be upon us, so now is a good time to get your Sundance Spa ready for the winter months. If you Drain & Clean your hot tub 3 or 4 times a year you will ensure you are always soaking in clean, Clear water and you will minimize the amount of time, effort & money spent on keeping your hot tubs water safe and balanced, So it always ready for you to enjoy.

Before Draining Your Hot Tub

Before you begin draining your spa, It is a good idea to use a Whirlpool Rinse to clean and degrease your hot tubs interior plumbing and help prevent the build up of calcium, which can have a negative effect on the performance of your hot tub.

Cleaning your Hot Tubs plumbing is nice and simple. To begin, remove your filters & headrests then add 250ml (half a bottle) of Whirlpool Rinse. Now you should run your jets for up to 2 hours (you will have to turn them back on every 20 Minutes) to let the Whirlpool Rinse circulate through the plumbing.

Turn your  diverter valves to the middle, and turn all of your air controls off (Anti-Clockwise) to allow the Whirlpool Rinse to work as effectively as possible. Once the 2 hours is up, You are now ready to drain your spa.

Draining Your Hot Tub

After you have finished with the Whirlpool Rinse, Switch the power to the hot tub off.

For the Splash Series models, the drain is located at the front of the spa below the front panel.  Ensure the drain valve is in the off position, then attach your garden hose and turn the valve in to the on position so that draining can commence.

To drain 680 & 780 Series Hot Tubs, remove the front panel and attach your garden hose to the white drain line and the water will start to drain out

All 880 & 980 Series spas are equipped with both a gravity drain and a built-in Quick Drain. To use the Quick Drain, remove the front panel, attach the provided hose and turn the Gate Valve on to begin draining. To use the gravity drain, simply attach your garden hose and draining will begin.

In addition to these built-in drains, there are a couple of options available to speed up the hot tub draining process.

The Quick Drain, Available at all 6 locations of The Sundance Spa Store (Burlington, Hamilton, Mississauga, Oakville, St. Catharines & Vaughan) is up to 5 times faster than the gravity drain, removing 10-12 gallons of water a minute! As well as saving time, it also vacuums as it drains – removing leaves, grit, sand any other debris from the bottom of the hot tub.

For the fastest possible water removal, you can use a small submersible pump that can be purchased at most hardware stores. This is particularly handy during the colder Winter months!

There will always be a little water left in the foot well of your spa. This can either be removed with a Shop-Vac or simply left in place as it will have no impact on the fresh new water you are adding to your hot Tub.

Cleaning Your Hot Tub

Now that your hot tub is empty, You may want to give the spa shell a quick clean. Whilst it is tempting to use your favorite cleaning products on your spa, all you actually need is water and a little bit of vinegar. Using harsh cleaning products will result in foamy water when you re-fill your hot tub. A product such as The Tub Scrubber can be used to remove any residual waterline build up.

Check Your Filters

Draining your spa also gives you a good opportunity to give your filters a clean. Using a strong setting on your hose nozzle (but not a pressure washer), Spray down your paper  filter to wash out any debris collected inside the filter. Occasionally Soaking your hot tub filters in a Cartridge Cleaner or spaying them with AquaMagic will help break down any organic matter trapped in the filter pleats.

 

Sundance Spas MicroClean filters should not be sprayed or washed like a paper pleated filter. The MicroClean filters are maintenance free and fully disposable. The 680 Series McroClean Mini inner filter should be replaced every 3-5 months, as should the 780 Micro Clean 1 filter.

The 880 & 980 Inner Core filter should be replaced every 6-9 Months. If there is a lot of debris on your MicroClean filter, rinse it very gently under a tap with warm water.

Clean Your Hot Tub Cover

Giving your hot tub cover a clean. If you have a vinyl cover, treating it with a UV Protectant, such as Ultrashine is also advisable. This will help prevent the vinyl of the cover from drying out and shrinking.

SunStrong All Weather Fabric covers should just be hosed off, no cleaning product is necessary. Regular cover maintenance will also keep your cover looking it’s best and add to the length of it’s life.

Re-Filling Your Hot Tub

Now that everything is nice and clean, it’s time to fill your hot tub back up. When adding new water, place your hose into the filter well so that the water runs through the pipes as it fills up, this will help prevent air locks upon re-start.

Once your spa is filled, You can turn the power to the hot tub back on so it can begin heating up. Do not turn the power back on until the water level is above the filter.

With the tub now filled and powered up, wait until it is up to your desired temperature, then add a whole bottle of Spa Marvel All Natural Water Conditioner. Once added, run your jets for an hour. 

The next step would be to add 2 capfuls of Sun-Boom to sanitize the new water. Always run your your jets for a 20 minute cycle and keep your cover up when you add any chemicals to your spa. Once you have added the sanitizer, Your hot tub is ready to go and you can start enjoying the amazing benefits of your Sundance Spa!