A clean hot tub is a happy hot tub.

With a Colorado winter right around the corner, owning a hot tub has never seemed more appealing. Indeed, households all across America have been buying hot tubs at record rates over the last two years. There are some serious benefits to owning a hot tub, especially when the weather gets cold. A good soak outside is an easy way to turn a chilly night into a cozy one, after all. 

However, owning a hot tub also comes with a suite of considerations. You'll want to make sure it's properly maintained and chemically treated, especially as you get into the colder months. With plenty of people about to enter their first winter as hot tub owners, let's go over everything you'll need to know to keep your hot tub running cleanly and smoothly.

To that end, here's what you should do ...

… Every Day (That Your Hot Tub Is in Use)

• Top off the tub's sanitizer levels at the end of the day using the brand's recommended sanitizer. 
• Check the water temperature to make sure your tub is heating properly. 

... Every Week

• Clean off both sides of the spa cover then dry them off. This prevents the buildup of gross stuff like mildew. 
• Test the tub's sanitizer, pH, and alkalinity levels. Adjust if necessary. 
• Add a dose of a stain and scale control solution. This will stop calcium from building up on the sides of the walls—which can cloud up the water. It can also remove recent metal stains if you apply it quickly enough! 
• Rinse the hot tub's filters. Naturally, this is a good time to fish any particulates out too.

... Every Month

• Deep clean the hot tub filters. If you've been using your hot tub repeatedly, you might want to do this a little more frequently. Once you start smelling the filter funk, you're already overdue. 
• Check each jet individually to make sure that it's working properly. This means checking that it's actually pushing out water pressure, along with gently moving it around to ensure that it hasn't calcified in place. 

... Every Few Months

• It's time for the deep clean! Every three or four months, you should be prepared to empty and thoroughly clean the hot tub—pipes included! 
• During this time, you should also replace your hot tub's filter. 
• While you're at it, make sure to clean the outer walls in order to ensure that no contaminants are building upon the outside. 

While owning a hot tub requires putting in a bit of work, the results are worth it. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.