A good quality hot tub cover is an important investment which will help keep your spa water clean as well as save energy and money, so it’s worth looking after properly. With proper care and maintenance your spa cover should last for years.
Use a Hot Tub Cover Lifter
It’s well worth investing in a hot tub cover lifter mechanism. Trying to do without and removing and replacing your spa cover by hand risks damage to the cover, as well as potentially risking injury to yourself by stretching or pulling your back, as covers can be quite heavy, especially if wet. A cover lifter is a relatively inexpensive way to make using your hot tub much easier.
Maintain Correct Water Chemistry
Ensuring that the water chemistry (especially pH and alkalinity) of your hot tub is kept properly balanced will help to prevent the underside of your spa cover being attacked by chlorinated moisture, which can cause the vinyl to become brittle over time. Using a floating thermal blanket on top of the water can further protect the underside of your hot tub cover as well as helping to reduce heat loss and save energy.
Cleaning Your Hot Tub Cover
It’s important to keep your hot tub cover clean, but you need to be careful what cleaning products you use in order to avoid damaging or degrading the vinyl surface. You need to use a gentle non-abrasive cleaner with a soft sponge. Avoid cleaning products which are abrasive or which contain alcohol, bleach, detergents or oils. Abrasive cleaners can strip the top layer of the vinyl covering.
The first step in cleaning your hot tub cover is to rinse it down with water from a hose to loosen any dirt. Once the water has mostly run off apply your non-abrasive cleaner to your sponge and gently wipe the surface. For any especially tough areas of dirt such as bird droppings do not simply rub harder. Instead spray on some cleaner, wait a few minutes for it to soak in and then wipe away, repeating as required. It’s a good idea to rinse the cover with water again after cleaning to remove any residue of your cleaning products.