How To Extend The Life Of Your Hot Tub Cover

One of the most important components of any hot tub is the hot tub cover. Not only are they a vital part of the hot tub's insulation system, they also drastically reduce the amount of dirt and debris that enter the water; keeping the water clean and clear with fewer chemicals and maintenance.

If not properly taken care of, however, hot tub covers can quickly deteriorate. Today, we will discuss some simple ways to maintain and extend the life of your hot tub cover.

Check For Mildew

Over time hot tub covers can begin to grow mildew, especially in the seams. To prevent this from happening check the underside of the cover every few weeks. If you notice any spots of mildew forming, simply spray the areas with a natural enzyme based cleaner like Clean & Perfect and remove them with a cloth or paper towel.

Don't use household cleaners when cleaning your hot tub cover as most contain sudsing agents that can cause a lot of foam to build up in the water and adversely affect the balance of the water.

Open The Cover

Sanitizers like bromine and chlorine are essential to ensuring that your hot tub is safe to use. Unfortunately, they can also damage the underside of your hot tub cover.

This damage occurs when the hot tub cover is left closed for long periods of time. Over time, chlorine/bromine will leave the water and get trapped in the air pocket between the water and the underside of the cover. If not allowed to escape, these chlorine / bromine gases will build up and begin to eat away at the underside of the cover as well as the vapour barrier surrounding the insulating foam.

To prevent this damage simply go out and open your hot tub cover for 5 minutes anytime that the hot tub hasn't been used for more than 4-5 days. This will allow any built up gases to escape and can greatly increase the lifespan of your cover.

For the same reason, you should also leave your hot tub cover fully open for at least 15-30 minutes every time that you "shock" the hot tub. This allows excess chemicals from the shocking process to escape from the hot tub water.

UV Protectant

Over time, the vinyl outer skin of hot tub covers can be damaged by the UV radiation from the Sun; drying the vinyl out and causing it to become brittle and easily torn. To prevent this get a UV protective cleaner designed for hot tub covers. Spray and wipe down the cover every month or so to keep it soft and supple.

Note: Avoid using Armor All or similar cleaners on hot tub covers. Despite their labels saying that they're safe to use on vinyl, we've found that over time Armor All can damage and fade the vinyl skin of the hot tub cover.

Cover Lifter

Not only do cover lifters make it easier to open and close your hot tub cover, they can also prolong the life of the cover. Hot tub covers are commonly damaged when they're regularly removed by hand. Small tears in the seams can form if they're handled roughly and the vinyl outer skin can be punctured by things like loose nails, wood splinters and sharp rocks.

Keeping your cover on a cover lifter eliminates this potential damage, keeping your cover looking better for longer.

Cover lifters not only make it easier to open and close your hot tub cover, they can also prolong the life of your hot tub cover.

Check For Small Rips

Small rips or tears in a hot tub cover can cause big problems down the road. To help extend the life of your hot tub cover, do a periodic check for rips and fix any that you come across ASAP. For more info on how to properly repair rips in a hot tub cover, check out our in depth hot tub cover repair guide.

Wrapping Up

Hot tub covers are vital to the both the insulation and filtration system of the hot tub. Following a simple maintenance schedule and doing the odd minor repair will ensure that you get the longest life possible from your cover. No cover lasts forever though and when it is time to replace your cover, make sure that you choose the right one!