How To Clean Your Spa/Hot Tub Shell: A Step-by-Step Guide By Olympic Hot Tub’s Valet Team

April 18, 2013

Shell close-up Hot Spring Aria-2After a dark winter, it can be shocking to see how bad your hot tub looks in the sunlight.

If you’ve just “seen it in the light”, take a minute to read the tips from our Valet Team Coordinator, Rob Anderson our Olympic Hot Tub expert on how to clean your hot tub.  With his tips, you’ll be able to restore your hot tub to like-new and making your water care regimen easier.  The cleaner your shell & pipes are, the better water quality you’ll have on a consistent basis.  Have a supply of soft dry towels and elbow grease on hand, grab the products and tools mentioned below and you’re ready to start.

Thanks to Rob for these Valet cleaning tips:

1. System Flush first. If your tub hasn’t been drained or maintained for a while, add SeaKlear System Flush® the night before draining so all the work on the shell doesn’t go to waste when you turn the jets back on. System Flush cleans out any mold, organic matter or bio-film from the plumbing lines.  Let sit overnight and then drain.  Cleans out all the gunk that you can’t see in pipes & jets ensuring a bacteria free clean start with your new water.

2. The Best Hot Tub Cleaning Products. Gel Gloss and the Merlin Eraser Sponge are the best products for cleaning your spa shell.  Gel Gloss is a great all around cleaner for the shell.  It’s thick and effective for removing oils, dirt, and scum from all spa surfaces and won’t scratch.  It protects your spa surface and repels dirt. What more could you ask from a product?  Got tile or a stubborn stain line?  The Merlin Eraser Sponge works wonders on both.  Warning: Suds are the enemy of a clean hot tub. Avoid any products that create a lot of suds, which are very difficult to rinse out.

3. The Tools.  One of the tools our Valet Team uses in the field is a soft bristle deck brush with a long handle so they can scrub the shell without having to crawl into the tub.  This especially helps when the tub is up against a wall and they can’t walk around the sides.

Other tools that come in handy are a sump pump and a small wet dry vac.  The sump pump will speed draining time and the wet dry vac will get the last bit of water out of the foot well.  All of these tools really cut down on the time it takes to clean the tub. Even so, a proper cleaning will take at least a couple of hours.

Hot tub maintenance service by Olympic Hot Tub and let us do all the work.

4. The Best Way to Restore Your Hot Tub Finish. If your Hot Spring Spa has a newer style smooth shell (Pearl, Champagne Opal, etc.), you probably have some minor scratching from everyday use.  This can easily be resolved using Meguiar’s Scratch-X sold at most auto parts stores. To apply rub it on with a soft cloth or sponge and buff out with a terry cloth towel. Repeat as necessary to bring back that factory-new finish.

5. While you’re at it, spiff up your cover. 303 Aerospace Protectant is, in my opinion, the very best product to use on the hot tub covers. A little bit goes a long way, but it is important to make sure the cover is clean prior to applying.

6. While you’re at it, clean your filters before replacing and refilling the tub with water. See the post from April 2nd that’s all about filter cleaning and care.

7. Refill, sanitize and balance the water. Heat and enjoy. Happy Soaking!

If the thought of cleaning your hot tub is too overwhelming or time-consuming for you, why do it yourself?  Trust your hot tub to Olympic Hot Tub’s professional Valet Service.  Hire Olympic Hot Tub’s Valet Team for a one-time drain and clean or ongoing service. You can relax! We take the work out of relaxing. You’ll find your hot tub clean and ready whenever you want to use it.

Health through Water, or as the Romans said: Sanum per Aqua.

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