How to Care for a Hot Tub in the Summer

Not sure how to properly care for a hot tub? Wondering what to do with it all summer? If a heat wave is heading your way, you should know that high heat brings an increased risk of bacteria growth and other safety concerns, so it’s important to learn the proper methods of maintaining it throughout the hottest months of the year.

If you’re interested in using your hot tub throughout the summer, the following are some key tips to help you care for and use your hot tub safely.

Best Temperature for Hot Tub in Summer

You can change your hot tub’s summer setting depending on the experience you want. If it’s a cool summer night, your regular hot tub temperature may be just fine. But if it’s a hot day, and you want to cool off, you can turn down your hot tub temperature.

Any hot tub temperature cooler than your body temperature will feel refreshing. Try 30 degrees Celsius, or 85 degrees Fahrenheit, to cool off in your hot tub.

Should You Use the Tub to Cool Off?

Using a hot tub in summer, even to cool off, may lead to heat stress. If you feel overwhelmed or light headed in the hot tub, head to an air-conditioned space to recover. Follow these additional tips to avoid heat stress:

• Limit yourself: If your hot tub is at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius in the summer, you should only enjoy it for 15 minutes at a time.
• Drink plenty: Liquids help your body regulate its temperature. Choose water or drinks without alcohol or caffeine.
• Relax first: If you’ve just enjoyed a game, a run, or any other physical activity, give your body time to adjust and stop sweating before you enter the hot tub.

Sanitize Your Hot Tub

Your hot tub is more liable to get out of sync if you’re using it in the summer. Your sweat can feed bacteria and temperature changes can make the water more hospitable for bacteria.

• Test regularly: Using testing strips or send your water in for a test every few days to be sure that your normal sanitizing routine is doing the trick.
• Drain the tub: Tubs need to be drained every four months at least. Draining it in the middle of summer is a smart idea to keep it fresh.
• Shower first: If you take a quick, lukewarm shower before you hop in the hot tub, you’ll add less sweat and dead skin to the tub, which helps keep it under control.

Free Service After Sample Testing

Not sure how your tub is doing? Find out and save. Oakville Home Leisure offers free hot tub service if you bring in a sample of your hot tub water for testing. Speak with one of our team members for more details. Or contact us for more information on how to care for your hot tub in the summer.