The best thing a hot tub is that you can use it whenever you want– it doesn’t matter if it’s cold or hot outside, you can still use it. But, can you use a hot tub in the rain?
Yes, you can use a hot tub in the rain. There’s nothing wrong with using a hot tub while it’s raining. It’s very relaxing. However, you should never use your hot tub during a thunderstorm.
But, there’s more to this. Rainwater does affect your hot tub chemistry levels. So, down below we explained how to fix it.
Is It Safe to Use a Hot Tub in the Rain?
Yes, using the hot tub while raining it’s absolutely safe. The rain won’t damage your hot tub. Plus, it’s a very relaxing feeling.
Imagine you’re in your hot tub, it’s very warm, and it starts to rain. What’s more relaxing than that? Nothing. But, there are a few things that you can do to make it a more comfortable experience.
- Get a warm drink: Drink tea, or something warm while enjoying your hot tub in rain. Just make sure to keep the drink out of the hot tub water.
- Get an umbrella: Having an umbrella to protect your drink, and your clothes while you are soaking in the water is a good idea.
- Have dry towels: Having dry towels (under the umbrella) is a good idea too. You can use the towels once you get out of the hot tub.
I recommend using dry slippers when you get out of the hot tub. You don’t want to slip and get injured on wet ground.
Is It Safe to Use a Hot Tub During a Thunderstorm?
You can use your hot tub while it’s snowing and raining, but can you use your hot tub during a thunderstorm?
No, you should never use your hot tub during a thunderstorm whenever your hot tub is outdoors or indoors. Water is a good conductor of electricity, and you can easily get an electrical shock. The lighting travels through electric lines, and then plumbing lines, and then into your water.
There’s a saying that goes “if you can see the lightning, you’re too close”. So, if you are in your hot tub and see a thunderstorm, it’s advised to get out of the hot tub water immediately.
Should I Unplug My Hot Tub in a Thunderstorm?
It’s always important to take the right steps in cases like this. So, should you unplug your hot tub in a thunderstorm?
Yes, you should unplug the hot tub during a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms usually last up to 30 minutes, so having your hot tub off for 30 minutes isn’t a big deal.
If the thunderstorm hits your hot tub while it’s plugged in, then it can easily break your electrical plumbing lines, or lead to a surge in power. It’s best to prevent that from happening by unplugging the hot tub.
Is Rainwater Bad for a Hot Tub?
While you are enjoying the hot tub, a lot of rainwater gets inside your hot tub. Is that a bad thing?
No, rainwater isn’t bad for your hot tub interior but it does affect your water chemistry. Most of the time it will affect your pH and alkalinity levels.
Depending on where you live, the rain could be very acidic. The acidic rainwater can affect your hot tub water chemistry. The best thing to do about this is to wait until the rain is over and test the hot tub water chemistry.
Usually, the pH level will be highly affected. Acidic rainwater will lower your pH levels. Low pH levels can cause corrosion around your hot tub, plus it reduces the ability to control total alkalinity. To raise pH and alkalinity levels, you can use baking soda. The ideal pH levels should be between 7.2-7.6 pH.
Does Rainwater Affect Alkalinity?
We explained that rainwater affects pH levels, does that mean that it also affects total alkalinity?
Yes, rainwater affects total alkalinity. Usually, the total alkalinity levels drop during rain because of dilution, which also causes pH levels to be unstabled.
The alkalinity is like a “shield’ that prevents the pH levels to drop or increase fast. It keeps the pH at a balanced level. If the total alkalinity levels drop, that means the “shield” also drops.
Having unbalanced alkalinity isn’t something you want. If you have low levels of alkalinity then it can cause hot tub corrosion(if you don’t fix it for a while), and it’s also way harder to deal with than high levels of alkalinity. High levels of alkalinity can cause green water (such as algae), and increase the pH levels fast.
To increase the alkalinity levels, you should use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). You should add 1 tablespoon of baking soda for every 100 gallons of water in your hot tub. The ideal alkalinity levels should be between 80-120 ppm.
Can You Use Rainwater To Fill A Hot Tub?
We are always looking for ways to save some money while using the hot tub. Most people spend a lot of money (on water bills) to fill up a hot tub. Depending on how large your hot tub is, it can hold from 300 to 600 gallons of water.
That’s why we only drain and re-fill the hot tub water every 3 months, and use chemicals to keep it clean. To save money, people look for different water sources, one of them is rainwater. So, can you use rainwater to fill a hot tub?
Yes, you can use rainwater to fill a hot tub. But, it’s advised to have clean barrels to hold the rainwater and use a filter when filling the hot tub.
The rainwater is going to be filled with dirt and debris. If you add rainwater to your hot tub, your hot tub filters will have to do a lot of work. Your hot tub can have 1, 2, 3 (or more) hot tub filters. Once you add the rainwater, all the dirt and the debris will have to go through the filters.
The more dirt the rainwater has, the more work you and the filters have to do. I usually recommend cleaning your hot tub filters every few hours for the first two days. Just take out the filter, clean the filter, and then put it back on. If you don’t do this then you will end up with dirty water and broken filters (that cost a lot of money to replace).
Using a hose filter while adding rainwater is also a good idea. It will filter out most of the dust and only allow clean water to go through. This means your hot tub filter will have to do less work.
If you don’t want to deal with a lot of dirt, then here’s a good trick that I use: I fill half of my hot tub with normal water, and then the other half with rainwater (that is filtered by a hose filter). This way I deal with less dirt water and spend 50% less money. It’s a win-win.