Hot Tub Repairs and Remodeling

Hot Tub Leak Repair

To fix a suspected leak, first you have to locate it. Leaks are usually signs that something else has gone wrong. For example, a cracked pipe may point to a shifting foundation of the hot tub itself. Moreover, leaks often come in bunches. When you suspect a leak, look for all possible locations and determine why the leaks occurred in the first place.

The first place to look for leaks is in the exposed equipment and plumbing. If that fails, there are three basic ways to find hidden leaks that are available to do-it-yourselfers and two more ways that typically require professional help.

Hot Tub Evaporation Test

RATING: EASY
The simplest method of leak detection is to fill a bucket and place it on the deck adjacent to the hot tub. Mark the level in the bucket with an indelible felt-tip marker, and do likewise for the water level in the hot tub. Turn off the hot tub circulation to eliminate any variables in evaporation.

After several days, mark the new level of water in the bucket and hot tub. They should have evaporated an equal number of inches (or millimeters). If the hot tub level has lowered significantly more, there is likely a leak. If both vessels have lowered a similar number of inches, then there is no leak.

Dye Test

RATING: ADVANCED

Perhaps the simplest method of detecting a leak of the vessel itself is to "shoot" a dye test. As the name implies, a colored dye is disbursed in suspected areas and as the dye disappears, the leak is found.

1. Prepare Clean and brush the hot tub thoroughly. Cracks can sometimes be hidden by dirt or other material settled in the crack itself. Pay careful attention to steps, corners, and around fittings.

2. Inspect Turn off the circulation and begin the examination on a calm day. Wind rippling the surface will make it difficult to see small cracks. You may also want to squirt a little tile soap across the surface to sharpen visibility further (and you may need to repeat that process from time to time during the exam). Examine the hot tub for for obvious cracks, beginning with the tile line. You may not need to go much further if you see gaps or missing tiles. Tap the tiles with the handle of a screwdriver (or gently with a hammer) to see if any fall off, are loose, or sound hollow. Note any "positive" locations. Continue to visually inspect the interior surfaces, looking for cracks or discolored patches of plaster (or plastic in the case of acrylic hot tubs), noting anything you suspect.

3. Apply the Dye The dye test itself can easily be conducted by using an old test kit reagent bottle or similar squeeze bottle filled with food dye (available at any grocery store). Some technicians use phenol red (from their water testing kit), but you will need to check many locations and it is unwise to inject that much acidic chemical into the water. Work around the hot tub, particularly the locations of suspected leaks from your exam. You will need to get into the hot tub, including reaching down to the main drain, to do a thorough job. At each crack or suspected area, aim the nozzle of the bottle at the crack. Squeeze a bit of dye into the area and watch it. If the dye simply swirls around the crack without being sucked in, then there is no leak in that area. If, however, the dye is sucked into the crack, it is riding on a flow of water leaking from the hot tub. The speed with which the dye disappears will help you estimate the size of the leak.

4. Find All the Leaks As with the visual inspection, continue around the entire hot tub, looking for leaks, to exhaust all possibilities. Be especially careful around skimmers, steps, rails, ladders, or other fittings Light niches are often the source of unexplained leaks, so pay close attention to the entire light fixture area. If you are having an especially difficult time finding a leak, you may even wish to remove the light fixture and dye-test directly into the niche itself, concentrating on the area where the cable passes through. Don't forget the interior of the skimmer and the main drain as well as return outlets. When you have thoroughly examined the hot tub with the dye test, you will know what repair problems you are faced with.

Drain Down Test

RATING: ADVANCED

If you have tried the evaporation test and dye testing and still not found the leak, try the drain-down method.

1. Prepare Turn off the equipment and mark the level of the water in the hot tub.
2. Mark Mark the level again at the same time each day to establish a rate of leak. Because of normal evaporation, the level will continue to decrease indefinitely; however, the objective is to determine when the level stops lowering as a result of the leak. If, for example, you record a loss of 2 inches (50 millimeters) per day for 4 days, then the rate slows to 1 inch (25 millimeters) every 5 days, you will know the level at which the rate slowed was the level of the leak. Mark that level of rate transition.

3. Inspect Examine all possible leak areas along the transition level. The leak must be along this line. For example, if the water loss slowed when it reached the level of a particular return outlet, you might reasonably suspect the leak to be in that plumbing line. If the water slows when it lowers to the area of the light niche, the leak will likely be in there.

The only fault of this method is that it is an indicator, not a precise tool. Since water seeks the same level in all plumbing and parts of the vessel, the water may stop at the level of a certain plumbing fixture, but the leak may actually be in an entirely different location which is coincidentally at the same level. In any case, the new level will tell you where to look further and where you need not look.

Leak Detectors and Pressure Testing

RATING: PRO

When the above methods fail to help you locate the leak or you wish to further verify your assumptions, there are two other detailed methods of leak location which usually require the services of a pro. There are electronic listening devices called geophones that can actually "hear" water dripping or flowing. By applying such devices around the hot tub and related plumbing, an operator can identify where water is moving out of the system. Because these devices are expensive and their operation requires a great deal of experience and skill, most service technicians don't buy or use them. There are numerous professionals who do, however, and are easily found in the phonebook or through referrals at your supply house. The second method used by other professionals to help you find your leaks is pressure-testing equipment. It is not difficult to pressure test a plumbing system with the knowledge already presented in this book. However, the amount of time and additional equipment (plugs, adapter fittings, compressed air, and related fittings) makes this type of testing impractical for most homeowners. The companies that conduct leak testing may also conduct pressure testing.

Repairing Hot Tub Leaks

Now that you have determined where the leak is located, what's next? Repairs can be fairly simple or require extensive disassembly of the hot tub and its surroundings. If the jets are found to be leaking around the faceplate, they probably need to be tightened. Use your jet wrench to check each fitting. Time, harsh chemicals, and heat can deteriorate the gasket between the jet body and throat, so tightening might not seal the leak. Unfortunately, you can't usually replace gaskets. If you remove the throat, the jet body behind the hot tub will invariably shift slightly, making realignment for reassembly impossible. If you can access the jet body, replacement of the gasket is possible.

If the gasket seal is found to be leaking, try draining the water level down below the jets and unscrew the throat slightly. Allow the area to dry completely. If the gasket is brittle and/or extremely deteriorated, remove it. Take a new gasket and cut it along one side so you can open it and slip it around the jet throat. Obviously, the place where you cut the gasket will not seal when you tighten the throat down, so fill the gap with silicone sealant, then tighten. Wipe the excess sealant that oozes out as you tighten away from the face of the jet. Wipe in an even, steady motion, forcing the material into the seal area and smoothing it over the joint of the jet face and hot tub wall. The objective is to form a watertight seal and thoroughly cover the work with the sealant. Allow the work to dry completely before refilling the hot tub and dye-testing again.

Similarly, the integrity of other joints, such as the skimmer, drains, and light fixtures, is often compromised. In each case, tighten whatever you can and then seal the entire assembly with silicone sealant. These seals will often leak again as the silicone shrinks from constant temperature extremes and harsh chemicals, but this provides an inexpensive and quick way to extend the life of the hot tub. Of course, the best repair is to completely disassemble the leaking component and replace its gasket or the component itself. But if the hot tub installation does not allow that as an option, silicone is your best bet. If you have made these repairs in numerous places in a hot tub, you need a complete overhaul. In this case, you remove enough of the deck and backfill to expose the plumbing, replace the fittings and fixtures in the hot tub, then rebuild the assembly.

I usually advise the customer that the charges will be actual time and materials, at a preapproved labor rate and parts estimate, with a probable total but no guarantee. The advantage of the rebuild is that the customer doesn't keep throwing $100 repairs into the hot tub for prolonged periods. One other choice is to fiberglass the leaking fitting(s) to the shell as described later.

Cracks

The other type of leak that a hot tub is subject to is the crack. Earth settling or shifting, kids jumping in the hot tub, and age can create cracks in the hot tub. Acrylic hot tubs can be repaired as described below, and fiberglass hot tubs can be repaired with the techniques described in the hot tub section.

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