How To Clean An Inflatable Hot Tub?

Cleaning your hot tub is an important part of hot tub care and maintenance. However, not all hot tubs have the same cleaning methods and steps.

Cleaning your inflatable hot tub is a tad different from regular hot tubs because of the parts and design of the inflatable hot tub. So, how to clean an inflatable hot tub? Let’s discover that.

This post will introduce you to the tools needed to clean your hot tub as well as the best way to clean your inflatable tub regularly. So let’s get cleaning.

Table of Contents

How to Clean an Inflatable Hot Tub?

Cleaning an inflatable hot tub requires the following steps and you need the following tools to clean your hot tub:

The manual
A spa net
A garden hose
Warm water
Dish soap
Cloth/Rags

1. Turn Off the Power

Before you begin cleaning, you need to prepare your inflatable hot tub and the first step to doing that is to turn off the power of the tub so you are not at risk of electrocution.

Your inflatable hot tub might have a specific way to do this, so consult the manual if you aren’t sure.

2. Remove Large Debris

With hot tubs, you start big, not small. Scoop the leaves and other debris floating on the surface of the water with your spa net. This is an important step.

If you attempt to drain the tub with leaves in the water, the leaves and other debris will clog the drainage valve when you attempt to drain the water. A clogged drainage valve would not work well.

3. Disconnect the Filter Pump

After you have removed the debris, the next step is to disconnect the filter pump but you need to ensure it is turned off and unplugged before you do so.

When it’s turned off and unplugged, insert the stopper plugs, loosen the hose clamps, and take out the debris screen inside. Then you should carefully detach the hoses from the filter pump and take out the filter housing and the cartridges.

Again, consult your manual before you do this if you haven’t done it before or ask for professional help if you aren’t too sure about it. Better safe than sorry.

4. Clean the Filter Pump With a Garden Hose

Some inflatable hot tubs come with a garden hose. If yours did not or you can’t find it anymore, you can rent one or buy another and then use it to flush out the filter pump.

The filters don’t need to be scrubbed or washed with soap, at least not regularly. So just use the garden hose to wash down the filters.

You can’t clean an inflatable hot tub with water in it so you need to empty the hot tub.

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5. Attach the Garden Hose to the Drainage Valve

All inflatable hot tubs have a drainage valve at the bottom or base of the tub. The drainage valve can be unscrewed or opened to allow the water to escape. You need to consider the possibility of the water in your hot tub killing the plants around your garden or yard.

This means you don’t want the water in your tub to be drained on the floor or base where your hot tub sits. That can also weaken the base causing it to give way eventually, especially if the hot tub is placed on a wooden deck.

Also, you might live in areas where greywater is not allowed to be disposed of carelessly. Attach a garden hose to the drainage valve so the water is drained somewhere allowed like the gutter or sewer. You might need a garden hose adaptor for this. An adaptor is often a black round plastic that allows the garden hose to fit perfectly in or around the drainage valve.

After you have attached a garden hose to the drainage valve, you can easily unscrew or open the valve so the water escapes through the hose.

6. Clean the Hot Tub

After you have rinsed the filter pump and you have drained the hot tub, then you can start cleaning the tub. Most inflatable hot tubs are made from Fiber-Tech materials which make them very easy to clean. With an inflatable hot tub, you can use a cloth soaked in warm water to wipe the tub and get rid of stains.

Just get a bowl of warm water and add a bit of dish soap. Then mix to form a lather. After, soak a rag or soft cloth in the warm water and rub it against the dirty parts of the inflatable hot tub. You don’t need to scrub or use much force. Simply wipe the inner part and outer part of the hot tub with the damp rag.

You need to pay attention to the waterline too. The water line is that dirt line that forms on the inner surface of your hot tub where the water reaches. It can also be referred to as a dirt line. That line forms due to the accumulation of dirt, body and hair lotions, sweat, hot tub chemicals, hot tub oils, and other products that you add to the water over time. Cleaning the water line might require more effort on your part.

As a safety precaution, do not use any scrubbing brush whatsoever on an inflatable hot tub. Even the softest brush might still scratch the surface of your hot tub and though you might not notice the effect of that scratch on the hot tub immediately, constant scratches after some time will damage the hot tub and shorten its lifespan.

Related Read: Can You Clean a Hot Tub Without Draining it?

7. Clean the Hot Tub Cover

The hot tub cover is a crucial part of your inflatable hot tub. When you heat the water, you likely leave the cover on to conserve the heat by making sure steam doesn’t escape. It’s a good way to make your hot tub hotter and ensure the heater doesn’t use much energy in heating the water.

When you put the cover on the hot tub, the steam from the hot tub rises and is trapped underneath the hot tub cover. That’s a mixture of hot tub chemicals, oils, and sweat getting stuck underneath the hot tub cover. When you heat the water, the steam that got stuck underneath the cover becomes moist and drops back into the water.

If you don’t clean the hot tub cover regularly, even if you add the freshest water, it will get unsafe and contaminated quickly. To clean the hot tub cover, use the same method of wiping the dirt off with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.

Related Read: Can You Clean a Salt Water Hot Tub?

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How to Keep an Inflatable Hot Tub Clean?

The best way to keep an inflatable hot tub clean is to clean it regularly. Parts like the filter should be cleaned weekly or bi-weekly and the tub itself can be cleaned every time you drain the water. In addition to that,

1. Take a Shower Before You Get in The Tub

We usually have a hot tub dip in the evening and after a stressful day. By that time, you have probably used a few body products and hair lotions. Not to mention the dried-up sweat from your armpits and feet. Taking a dip in your hot tub without taking a shower first will contaminate the water quickly.

2. Use the Hot Tub Cover

After you are done using your hot tub, make sure to use the hot tub cover to cover the “water area”. This is how you keep the pests away from the water and keep the water clean.

3. Don’t use Aggressive Chemicals

While hot tub chemicals do clean the water, using aggressive chemicals will damage the hot tub and cause corrosion too because the level of acidity (pH level) and alkalinity of the water will be too high.

4. Keep The Hot Tub Running

You should keep the hot tub running even after you are done using it. This way you can easily filter the dirt and debris out of the hot tub.

Related Read: Do Inflatable Hot Tubs Have Jets?

Why Can’t I Just Drain and Refill My Inflatable Hot Tub?

Draining the water in your inflatable hot tub and refilling the tub with new freshwater is a good part of hot tub cleaning and maintenance but it’s not enough.

The water in the hot tub isn’t changed every day like the one in your bathtub. The water stays in the hot tub for weeks and months and is regularly treated with hot tub chemicals and oils. Not to mention the chemicals, body fluids, and lotions that get in the water from your body.

If you change the water in the tub without washing or cleaning the tub itself, you will just be adding new freshwater into a dirty container.

This means the water you put in will become dirty and unhealthy quickly. So in addition to changing the water in your hot tub, you should endeavor to clean the tub itself after you drain it and before you add new freshwater, make sure the tub is dry.

I hope you found this article useful. If you have any comments or questions, you can leave them below and I’ll answer them as soon as possible.