CLEANING CHECKLIST - HOT TUB

Table of Contents

Chemicals and Their Uses:

 PRODUCTS DOCUMENT: https://bit.ly/3920eUs

(This last link offers just a bit more info than what is found below)

Brand

Product

Purpose

Frequency/
Time of Use

Category

Symptoms

Notes

LaMotte OR EasyTest

Insta-test 6 way test strips

tests basic water chemistry

regularly; each treatment

chemical balancing

Hofun

16in1 drinking water test strips

tests advanced water chemistry
AND metals in water

occasionally; as needed

chemical balancing

only used to do advanced water testing

Leisure Time

Spa Up

Increase water pH

regularly; as needed

chemical balancing

Green or cloudy water

pH and Alkalinity need to correct for the rest to work

Leisure Time

Spa Down

Decrease water pH

regularly; as needed

chemical balancing

Green or cloudy water

pH and Alkalinity need to correct for the rest to work

Leisure Time

Increase water pH

regularly; as needed

chemical balancing

Green or cloudy water

pH and Alkalinity need to correct for the rest to work

Leisure Time

Increase water pH

infrequently; as needed > monthly

chemical balancing

harm to spa

must be very careful here with adjusting this. If too much there is no way to decrease

Spa Guard

Brominating Tablets

Sanitizes water

regularly; each treatment

dirty water

Spa Guard

Spa Shock Oxidizer

Sanitizes water

regularly; each treatment

cloudy dirty water

Leisure Time

Bright & Clear

Helps spa filters perform well and remove cloudiness

regularly; as needed

water clarity / tub health

Cloudy Water

Leisure Time

Defender

prevent stain and scale formation

occasionally; as needed

water clarity / tub health

green water or brown stain

this and Metal Gon work together

Leisure Time

Metal Gon

removes metals and prevents stains

occasionally; as needed

water clarity / tub health

Green or cloudy water

this and Defender work together

Leisure Time

Enzyme

eats and eliminates scum, residue, etc

regularly; each treatment

water clarity / tub health

Cloudy or scummy water

Leisure Time

Foam down

eliminates foam in spa

regularly; as needed

water clarity / tub health

Foamy water

Leisure Time

Filter Clean

soak and clean filter

occasionally; as needed > monthly

maintenance

Dirty filter

Soak filter for 24 hours in solution

Leisure Time

Fast Gloss

cleans and protects spa shell and exterior

occasionally; as needed > monthly

maintenance

dirty shell or exterior

Leisure Time

Jet Clean

cleans plumbing system

infrequently; before tub refill > quarterly

maintenance

harm to spa plumbing

Dump in the day before tub refill and circulate to clean internal plumbing system

Leisure Time

Cover Care & Conditioner

Cover Care & Conditioner cleans and protects spa cover

occasionally; as needed > monthly

maintenance

Dirty Cover

Changeover Steps (Regular)

Balancing and treating water

Action

When

Needed products or tools 

Frequency 

Run jets on high for an hour or two1

Start upon arrival

 

Every changeover

Ensure all jets are open

Upon arrival

 

Every Changeover

Add water; 2-6” above the top jets2,3

Upon arrival 

Water hose

As needed

Test for metals and add Metal Gon & Defender2

Only As Needed

 

Metal Gon & Defender

16-in-1 test strips

As needed; When water is added OR when water tests as having metals

Check and Clean Filter4

 

Filter Clean

Every 2-4 Weeks

Test & balance5

  • pH
  • Alkalinity 

Upon arrival 

7-in-1 test strips
Spa up
Spa down

Alkalinity increaser 

Test every changeover
Balance as needed

Add6,8

  • Oxidizing shock 
  • Bromine tabs

Upon arrival 

Oxidizing shock

Bromine tablets

Test every changeover
Add as needed4

Set Filtering to F4 or F67

  

Every changeover

Set mode to STANDARD7

  

Every changeover

Set heat to 100-102

  

Every changeover

Remove any debris from tub

 

spa vacuum

Pool Skimmer

Every changeover

Wipe tub at water line

 

Wiping cloth
Fast Gloss

Every changeover

Clean cover and outside of tub

 

Wiping Cloth

Fast Gloss

Cover Care & Cond’r

As needed

Add Enzymes

 

Enzyme

Every changeover

Add Bright and Clear

 

Bright & Clear

When water is cloudy

Add Foam Down9

 

Foam Down

As needed

Close Lid and Flaps10

  

Every Changeover

Notes on Adding Chemicals

  • Please always read the labels for recommended dosages. Spa chemicals are expensive and can easily add unnecessary cost to operations if wasted
  • For knowing how much to add use, figure on an average hot tub being 250-400 gallons. Some are smaller and some are larger. 

Additional Notes

1. Some hot tub jets shut off after about 30 minutes of pushing the last button. They may need to be restarted a few times to do a total of 1-2 hours of cycling water.

2. Warning when adding water it might become unstable for a little and may need extra attention to make sure everything is balanced as needed. ALSO some houses/wells have metals (often iron). Therefore additional Metal Gon will often be needed when adding water.

3. The purpose of running the jets is twofold:

    • circulate the chemicals into the water and
    • bring all water impurities to the surface before the changeover time ends. 1-2 hours is arbitrary. Sometimes more is needed and sometimes less. Please use your own judgment.

Note: Filtering is the backbone of keeping the water clean and looking great. Chemicals need circulation to work. 

4. When filters are dirty they need to be immediately put into filter clean water and allowed to soak for 24 hours and then sprayed down with a pressured water hose. They should always be kept on hand and all filters that are not being used be put on the shelf clean and not dirty. 

5. Whenever adding chemicals (especially pH and Sanitizer) the water must be circulated before retesting. 

6. This will need to be done almost every time but on occasion it may not need it. To find out it is as simple as testing and checking to see what is needed. However there should always be 2 bromine tablets total in the basket in the tub UNLESS the chlorine tests are extremely high. Otherwise 2 bromine tabs must be in the basket at all times. 

The shock is what is more dependent on the testing. The reason is that bromine tabs are slow release while shock is more immediate. 

7. Also when testing that free chlorine and total chlorine are different. To be effective in sanitizing free chlorine needs to be in the water. For more on total chlorine vs free chlorine → https://www.swimuniversity.com/total-free-chlorine-difference/

8. This will be worded differently for each hot tub but the idea is 2 cycles of 4-6 hours of filtering per day for a total of 8-15 hours a day. Please refer to the operators manual for specific instructions.

Sometimes when adding water or chemicals (especially oxidizing shock or metal magic), the water will become unstable and foamy. Plus you will see a lot of impurities come to the surface. The natural response is to react. Please don’t! 

It’s just a temp thing. All you need to do is make sure the chemicals are balanced and let the filtering do the work. It just takes time to including–the right chemicals, some filtering, and scooping some of the dirt/scum off the top. 

When you see scum and foaminess give it some time and scoop out the dirty foaminess and debris off the top with a pool skimmer. Make sure to keep the jets running to bring it all to the top. 

9. Once the water has stabilized, the scum coming to the surface subsided and everything else completed, then add a little Foam Down. There is no point in adding Foam Down in the beginning as it will just be a waste.   

10. Lid needs to be closed, strapped, and flaps pulled out over the top of the tub. Sometimes when closing the lid the flaps get caught between the lid and the top of the hot tub. They just need to be pulled down over the top of the tub instead.

PLEASE NOTE: Hot tub supplies are expensive. Please do not waste them or use them without reading the recommended usage labels on the products.