First Time Hot Tub Drain and Refill

[ramsfan]

Hello, I am sorry to ask for help here, but I have done lots of research, and am confused - simply because there is so much information available.

I am a newer Hot Tub owner, I filled and got it all running about 3 months ago. I have kept water chemicals in pretty good shape. I have made a few mistakes, for example early on not adding Chlorine after lots of people used it for a long time, also forgetting that when I add fill water I have to keep a closer eye on TA for example. All in all, I did pretty well, and the water is still usable, but I would like to change it, clean the tub (which I bought used), and refill.

In general, it seems like these are the steps in my mind (and I am open to correction).

Use some Aww Some with the current water.
Drain the water
Possibly refill and use Aww Some again
Drain water
Clean Tub
Refill water, get chemicals tested and going, heat water, then all set.

I have too many questions, but is there is a good solid link to the steps, and also the tips with each one? I have come across so many tidbits, like "make sure the Chlorine level is low when using Aww Some with current water", "blow out the jets with a Shop Vac to get all water out of lines", "clean the tub with vinegar", etc...

Thank you!

 

[MPurcell]

Everything you have written sounds fine, although as far as I know, you probably don't need the vinegar. The ahh-some guy usually recommends using a little ahh-some dissolved in water to clean the surface with. I'm assuming from what you say that you did not use ahh-some when you first filled the used tub. In that case, you might or might not need two ahh-some treatments. It would depend on how much gunk you get out of the plumbing the first time. If there is a lot of stuff, I would probably go with a second treatment. If you blow the pipes out with air, there will be less potential gunk added to the fill water, but you wouldn't need to do that between ahh-some treatments. Or instead of using air, you could do a partial fill, run the pump, and drain again to purge the plumbing before you do the final fill.

 

[ntobik]

I typically drain our tub every few months as well. More often in the spring/fall vs the summer when it isn't used as much.

There is a drain valve as part of the plumbing. I used this a few times, but it never go the tub fully empty. I have a small portable sump pump I use in the pool that I now use to drain the tub. Here's what I do:

1) Shut off all of the suction lines and pumps. I want to keep water in the plumbing if possible.
2) Put in the sump pump and pump to a drain.
3) Spray down the tub with Simple Green and wipe with a microfiber towel. - During this stage there will be a pool of nasty soapy water in the bottom of the tub. Expect this.
4) Spray off the tub with a hose a few times. Wipe again with a microfiber to get soap residue off.
5) Use the sump again to suck out the soapy dirty water. Add water as necessary to complete this step.
6) Fill fresh with a hose
7) Open all valves and turn the tub on

Note: You *might* find a jet suddenly stops working. The jet itself isn't broken, when you drained you created an air lock. You need to get rid of the air lock for the jet to work again. I don't know how you'd do this for your specific tub, but in mine I've had this problem in the past. There is a way to fill that ensures I have water in all the lines and the air is out. Just a heads up. Nothing broke when you emptied it.