Should I Drain My Hot Tub for the Winter?

We get the question a lot: Should I drain my hot tub for the winter? Royal Spa hot tubs do not need to be drained for the winter. Drain the hot tub only if it’s very cold and you will be gone for an extended period (weeks or more).

Winter is an excellent time for a hot soak in your spa. There’s no reason you can’t use it all year round. We designed our hot tubs to handle Indiana’s worst weather.

You can leave your hot tub running 24/7 during the winter. It will not freeze. Leaving it on the hot tub is ready for you to use anytime. If we have 2 or 3 weeks of bad weather, the spa will take care of itself virtually. Just look in on it once a week or so.

If you know you will not want to use the spa all winter, you could drain it. You don’t have to, but you can. Read this article about winterizing your hot tub if either of these situations applies.

If you’re a snowbird and will be gone for three to six months, we recommend draining the hot tub.

Should the power go out to your hot tub for some reason, as a general rule, you’ve got at least seven days before you run the risk of something necessary freezing and breaking. Usually, it takes 10 to 14 days. It will not freeze overnight.

Leave the cover securely fastened during a power outage and shut the cabinet door. Additionally, you could put a light bulb or space heater in the cabinet around the mechanicals to buy a few more days.

Hot tubs don’t generally shut down. When they do it typically takes no more than flipping a breaker switch to bring it back on. The worst thing is not being home when it happens or not figuring it out within the first 5 to 7 days.

Most of the time it’s something very simple. On rare occasions, if something on the spa has failed, that’s a little more involved, and you’ll want to schedule a service call quickly.

Draining or winterizing your hot tub is a significant process. You don’t want to do it if you don’t have to. If you have questions about your specific situation, give us a call or send us an email.

And if you don’t have a Royal Spa, good luck!