The Spa Guy

A quick note, I am rarely on Facebook- almost never. I would cancel my account completely if it weren't for my business presence here. It is highly unlikely that anyone will receive a prompt response to a message sent to me on Facebook. Like my auto-reply says, it is best to call or text me at 541-848-9241. If that doesn't work for you, you can email me at [email protected]. To reply to some older inquiries I have received and have not answered- I am operating out of Bend, Oregon. Sorry for any inconvenience.

"Help! My hot tub stopped working and it’s freezing tonight!"

If your hot tub goes on the fritz in the winter, what should you do? First, contact your local spa repair person and get on their schedule. If you are lucky, they can come right out within a day or two. If they are in a high-demand season, you may have to wait two to three weeks, if not more, to get an appointment.

So what do you do with your inoperable, outdoor tub of water in the middle of a cold snap? The science is that when the outside temperature drops below 32 degrees F, water turns from liquid to solid, and in so doing expands into more space than it previously occupied. If that space is restricted, something has to give, and ice usually wins the battle against PVC plastic. So, you don’t want your spa to freeze, ever.

This is the perfect opportunity to say that if you are ever going to decommission your spa for a period of time that will span the winter months, GET YOUR SPA PROFESSIONALLY WINTERIZED! Winterization is worth every penny unless you live in an equatorial zone. In that case, winterization is a scam. Everyone else, winterize.

Rather than harp on the excruciating level of damage that can befall a spa that has become the yard’s largest ice cube, let me tell you what you can do before help arrives.

First, assess your degree of emergency. Is your spa water still warm? Spas tend to be well insulated. A warm spa without power can take weeks to drop to a temperature that can cause any harm.

How cold is it going to get in the coming days? If your day temps are in the 50 degrees F range and drop to 29-30 degrees F at night, only to rise above the freezing mark relatively quickly after sunrise, then you may not need to do a darn thing. Is the spa circulating the water even though it isn’t heating? If it is, in most cases the spa will not freeze, so don’t panic.

However, if your spa is outdoors and a hard freeze is either here or coming, what can you do to protect your asset? Fortunately, there are several things.

The most ideal solution is to drop a trough warmer into the tub. I get that not everyone owns, or knows someone who owns, or can just run out and buy a trough warmer, so what else can you do? Basically, anything that adds heat or insulation to your spa is a plus. Should you put blankets over your spa? Yes, though I recommend then covering everything with a tarp for further protection. Should you wrap it in fiberglass wall insulation? If you have it lying around, yes. It can't hurt.

The pictures I’ve included show the partial covering of a hot tub with a tarp. The panel to the access compartment has been removed and a space heater has been placed in the area created by pulling the tarp out like a tent in order to give some distance between the heater and the spa. The heater should be placed blowing into the access compartment. Even a regular, incandescent light bulb placed similarly can provide protection from freezing.

As with anything, be smart. Don’t place heaters directly against flammable material like wood framing in the spa. Use a dinky (but functional) ceramic heater, not some real-flame, hot-air balloon inflater. You’re just trying to provide enough heat to keep water liquid, not kiln-dry clay. And remember, keeping water liquid is accomplished at much colder temperatures than are necessary for keeping humans comfortable!

If you’re really desperate and/or concerned, there is another option that works very well but ultimately requires a bit more work. And it only works well if your pump(s) are still functioning. If they are, you can pour a gallon or 2 of antifreeze into your spa and mix it well by running all of your jets. Then you can shut the spa down indefinitely. Even if it is losing water, it won’t matter. Antifreeze, however, tends to be very pungent and it will likely take at least three complete flushes before the smell subsides to a tolerable level. This means a lot of time and a lot of water post-repair.

Regardless, make it a rule not to let your spa freeze. Either winterize it, or add insulation and heat however you can when the spa won’t heat on its own. I’m sure your spa technician would love to be able to be in more places than one at a time. But until that becomes a teachable skill, you are going to need to do what you can to keep your hot tub in liquid form until they can get there. Follow these suggestions, or get creative with your own. Be proactive but be patient, and as always, be at peace. Happy tubbing!