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The best thing with which to clean a hot tub is whatever the manufacturer recommends; in most cases, this is a gentle surface cleaner and a soft cloth. Recommended hot tub cleaners can include specially formulated cleaning agents, mild dish soap, baking soda, vinegar, or diluted bleach. For your hot tub exterior, choose wood or vinyl cleaner (depending on the casing material).

You should never use household cleaning products, harsh chemicals such as undiluted bleach or acids, or abrasive cleansers or cloths, as these can scratch or etch your hot tub’s coating or shell and cause permanent damage.

If you don’t clean your hot tub filters, they’ll build up dirt and grime, preventing them from filtering out contaminants like dirt and bacteria. The dirty water will then circulate through the filter and back into the hot tub, leading to dirty water, a damaged pump and jets, and low heat. This can lead to higher hot tub costs because you may have to pay for repairs.

Similar to a hot tub, swim spas last anywhere from five to 20 years, depending on quality and your attention to maintenance. The best way to increase the lifespan of your swim spa is to carefully maintain it—including draining it around every six months to deep clean the parts.

Properly maintaining your hot tub will prevent serious issues from occurring down the road. You should replace the filter once a year, regularly look for and repair small cracks in the shell, and test the water quality every few months. You can do this yourself for less than $100 per year.

You can also hire a hot tub service to service your hot tub annually to identify problems early, which could save you money in the long run. They cost about $100 to $200 per call.