Step-by-Step Guide on How to Drain a Hot Tub Safely

Owning a hot tub is one of life’s luxuries, but even some of life’s luxuries need maintenance. If you’ve been wondering how to drain a hot tub without turning your garden into a swamp, you’re in the right place. Properly draining a hot tub is essential for good water quality, equipment longevity, and user safety.

Over time hot tub water accumulates body oils, lotions, detergents, and dissolved solids. Even with diligent sanitising, these contaminants build up and reduce the effectiveness of chemicals.

Hot tub maintenance is an important part of being a hot tub owner – just like a car they need regular maintenance, services and repairs. Most hot tub manufacturers and hot tub engineers recommend changing spa water every three to four months, depending on usage.

Here’s our guide to draining a hot tub safely and efficiently, helping you to keep on top of your hot tub maintenance:

Turn the power off. Before you do anything involving water, plumbing and electrics you need to turn off the power at the isolator. This is critical for your safety and it protects the hot tub.

Gather your supplies. You’ll need: a garden hose, a submersible pump (optional), towels or a wet/dry vacuum, hot tub/spa surface cleaner and a soft cloth or non-abrasive sponge.

Attach the drain. Find the drain valve, which is usually located at the base of the hot tub cabinet. Attach your garden hose securely to the threaded spout and run the other end to an appropriate drainage area. Draining a hot tub can take hours, so we recommend using a submersible pump.

Clean the shell. After draining a hot tub, you need to use a non-abrasive cleaner designed specifically for hot tubs. An important point on your hot tub maintenance checklist is avoiding household cleaners. This is because most of them contain foaming agents or residues that can disrupt water chemistry when you refill your hot tub. Using the hot tub friendly cleaner wipe down the shell surface, the jets (use a small brush if needed) and the waterline build-up. Rinse thoroughly to remove any cleaning product residue.

Clean or replace the filter. Your filter works hard to keep body oils, lotions and other dirt from your hot tub water. Remove the filter and rinse it thoroughly with a hose. For a deeper clean, soak it in a filter-cleaning solution as per the manufacturer instructions. If the filter is worn or damaged, replace it. A clean filter improves circulation and helps maintain balanced water chemistry once you refill. We recommend cleaning your filter once a week (if your hot tub is in regular use) and replacing it annually.

Close the drain. Ensure the drain valve is tightly closed before refilling. Place the hose in the filter compartment if possible to help reduce air locks in the plumbing system. Fill the hot tub to the recommended water level.

Restore power and balance the water

Once full:

Turn the isolator back on.
Prime the pump if necessary.
Test and balance water chemistry (alkalinity, pH and sanitiser levels as per your hot tub make and model).

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