How to prepare a hot tub for winter

What should I do to prepare my hot tub for cold weather?

There are two options when preparing your hot tub, spa, or swim spa for the freezing conditions often associated with cold winter weather.  You can either maintain your spa or drain your spa.

Maintain Your Spa

Maintaining the spa in the winter months is much the same as maintaining the spa the rest of the year. The only major addition is that the spa and GFCI needs to be checked on a daily basis to make sure it is receiving power. The spa is constantly monitoring the temperature of the water and will automatically activate the pump(s) and heating element if it registers freezing or near-freezing conditions. Drain the spa immediately if it loses power for an extended period of time. Otherwise, the pipe fittings in the spa will freeze and break.

Drain Your Spa

The spas internal components are designed to be wet at all times, prolonged periods without power or water run a risk of damage to the internal components (including premature shalt seal failure) that will void the manufacturer’s warranty. If circumstances do not allow power or water in colder months, follow the drain
instructions found in General Maintenance, and flush the jet lines to remove any remaining water to lower the risk of freeze damage.  To do this, remove the jet from the jet body. Place the shop vacuum up to the opening and suck out the remaining water. Follow this procedure with every jet line in the spa. It is important to remember that snow gets quite heavy as it accumulates. Brush snow off of the spa cover as necessary.