Hot Tub Cleaning and Servicing page 3

Hot Tub Vacuum

Hot tub vacuum (called a hot tub vac), attaches to a telepole and a garden hose and operates by forcing water from the hose into the unit, where it is diverted into dozens of tiny jets, which are directed up toward a fabric bag on top of the unit. The upwelling water creates a vacuum at the base, sucking leaves and debris into the unit and up to the bag. Water passes through the mesh of the bag, but the debris is trapped.

Fine dirt will pass through the filter bag; however, a fine-mesh bag is sold for these units, and simply double-bagging will capture more dirt. I use a fine-mesh sock or ladies' hosiery, attached to the hot tub vac inside the bag provided for finer filtering of dirt.

There are two other types of hot tub vac. The hand-pump model creates its own suction, and a battery-powered unit has a built-in pump.

Tile Brush and Tile Soap

Tile brushes are made to snap into your telepole so you can scrub the tile without too much bending. Mounted to a simple L-shaped, two-part aluminum tube, the brush itself is about 3 inches x 5 inches (8 centimeters X 13 centimeters) with a fairly abrasive foam pad for effective scrubbing.

I have found that these brushes are valuable for wiping a bit of algae off ladders or other tricky spots in hot tubs, but the elbow grease required to remove body oil, suntan oil, and scale from tiles is much more than you can get at the end of the telepole. Therefore, I also carry a barbecue grill cleaning pad. It has a convenient grip handle and an abrasive Brillo-type pad, much more effective at cleaning tiles. Since this will also require getting on your hands and knees around the entire circumference of the hot tub, carry a foam kneepad as well!