HELP! How do you clean and/or drain a hot tub?
Thank you for any tips or instructions,
A desperate mom with three teenage sons (and their 20 friends).
Answers:
Draining, cleaning, and refilling isn't the problem. Getting it warm is. Spa heaters are typically super slow to heat, unless you are lucky enough to have a gas fired heater. (Few of them do.) Wish I had better news, but it ain't so.
Other answers:
You can easily clean it in 3 hours if you have a pump and a wet/dry vac. First pump the water out, then vac it and fill it back up. Easy. If you don't have a pump then you may have to use buckets. Time consuming but it will work, especially if you have 3 teenage sons. You can also try pumping the water out using the existing equipment. Look to see if there is a drain plug on the filter. If so remove it. If you are below water level the water will release through gravity. If not, turn on the filter pump and the water will be pumped out. Be careful, make sure you know where the water will go before you remove the plug. Once the water is drained out, use the vac. If you don't have one, then it'll have to be buckets and sponges or mops and a garden hose. It's doable. Make sure you put the plug back in before you refill it. You will then have to regain prime on your pump. I hope you know how to do that. If not, then you won't be able to use it. Good luck.
PS-EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Make sure the pump is turned off (and won't come back on again) before you remove the water. If the pump comes on without any water in the lines you could damage any plastic piping around the pump and damage the mechanical seal for the pump.
You can easily clean it in 3 hours if you have a pump and a wet/dry vac. First pump the water out, then vac it and fill it back up. Easy. If you don't have a pump then you may have to use buckets. Time consuming but it will work, especially if you have 3 teenage sons. You can also try pumping the water out using the existing equipment. Look to see if there is a drain plug on the filter. If so remove it. If you are below water level the water will release through gravity. If not, turn on the filter pump and the water will be pumped out. Be careful, make sure you know where the water will go before you remove the plug. Once the water is drained out, use the vac. If you don't have one, then it'll have to be buckets and sponges or mops and a garden hose. It's doable. Make sure you put the plug back in before you refill it. You will then have to regain prime on your pump. I hope you know how to do that. If not, then you won't be able to use it. Good luck.
PS-EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Make sure the pump is turned off (and won't come back on again) before you remove the water. If the pump comes on without any water in the lines you could damage any plastic piping around the pump and damage the mechanical seal for the pump.
Rent/buy a sump pump or industrial size wet vac; suck the crap outa the bottom--don't stir it up. Turn on the filter. Add Bromine-not chlorine. Use a broom to scrape the sides. Keep that filter goin'. OR Cover the darn thing with 2 pieces of ¾ plywood.