Can you feel it? I can! I must confess, fall is one of my very favorite seasons. While I could do without it getting darker sooner in the evening, I do love crisp dewy mornings, light rain, cooler temperatures…they all make me happy.

Before fall is in full force, it would do you good to make sure your hot tub is ready to take care of you every night through the coming season. It’s high time to give your tub a once over and get things ready! Here are five things you should do right now.

• Thoroughly drain & fill your tub and give it a fresh batch of water. Use Clean Start before you drain the tub. This will ensure any biofilm or other refuse that has had a chance to cling to the inner plumbing and parts of your tub get deep cleaned and sanitized.
• Give your filters a good cleaning—or replace them if they’re old! Nothing is more of a bore than heading out to the hot tub and finding it isn’t all the way up to temperature. The main reason this happens? Filters that are too old or too dirty restricting flow to the tub’s filtration and heating system to make sure the tub is at the temp you love. Give your filters a good cleaning with filter cleaner. Or, if they’re more than two years old, do yourself a favor and get yourself new ones.
• Clean and condition your cover. Be sure to scrub the underside of the cover and the seams with baking soda to get rid of any mildew and get things smelling fresh. (I use Simple Green on the seams and it works terrific.) Use a Scotch Brite sponge or something with some “oomph” to it to scrub the vinyl without damaging it. Clean the topside of your cover with dishwashing liquid and rinse thoroughly. Then, treat and condition the top of the cover with 303 Protectant. This product will help water bead up and roll off the vinyl instead of being absorbed into it. It also has UV protection. NOW: If your cover is four years or more and it’s getting waterlogged, you should think about a new one! No sense in going through the fall and winter months lugging a heavy cover that’s also now not as energy efficient.
• If your tub has an ozone system, be sure to give it a cleaning. If it’s more than three years old, test it to make sure it’s still producing ozone. If not, replace it with a new ozone system so you’re using minimal chemicals an keeping your water in great shape.
• Think about the one thing you always wanted to have for your hot tub but keep putting it off and treat yourself! Had you thought about a Spa Umbrella to have over the tub for the nights you’d rather not sit in the rain? How about a great Bluetooth System to play your favorite music while you soak (or holiday music in December)? Do you have good sturdy safe steps for entering and exiting the tub (and for your guests’ safety)? There’s bound to be something you can add to make your hot tub feel fun and new for the season ahead.

If you’re in our service area and would rather get help to get your tub ready for fall, our terrific Valet Team can help. We’ve got terrific drain and fill services available, as well as ongoing annual plans to make sure you’re always ready with a happy healthy hot tub to enjoy.

Welcome to fall!