Welcome back to the Chronicles of a Hot Tub Newbie! 

As a hot tub newbie, you are probably feeling overwhelmed by the number of applications and features that come with a hot tub. Don’t worry, we’re here to help! I work on the marketing team at Margaritaville Hot Tubs and I am still learning new things every day! Buying a new hot tub is like buying a new cell phone… you have absolutely no idea how to use it at first, but once you figure it out, it’s freakin’ awesome! Along the way you’ll discover new things and it will remind you why you purchased this awesome product in the first place.

One of the best parts of owning a Margaritaville Hot Tub is the ease of use. For the most part, navigating the tools and features of our hot tubs is pretty simple. In my opinion, this is great because it gives you more time to enjoy your new hot tub, not spend all your time trying to get it up and running!

If you prefer to watch a video on how to treat your hot tub water then press play below!

To get things started, all you have to do is fill it up, plug it in, wait a few hours while it heats, then you’re ready to start hot tubbing! Make sure you fill your hot tub by placing the garden hose in the filter basket - this will prevent air locks.

Before you jump in, while you’re waiting for the water to heat, now is a good time to treat your hot tub water. My first time filling up my FlipFlop tub, I made the mistake of getting in without chemicals….Yikes! Not to mention, I didn’t even have the correct chemicals because I was so excited to own a Jimmy Buffett inspired hot tub!! In short, keep your family safe, don’t make that mistake.

It’s important to maintain your hot tub water by making sure your water chemistry is right, your elements are balanced, and your water is always sanitized. Once you get the hang of this, it’s so easy.

For starters, here’s a list of pretty much all the items you will need: 5-way test strips, Sodium Dichlor, MPS, pH up, and pH down. All of these chemicals can be purchased at your local pool or hot tub store. Sometimes you will see that after testing your water, it’s perfect and there is no need for all these chemicals. But, it’s important to have them on hand, should your water need to be balanced or sanitized.

To begin, you’ll want to take one of your five way test strips, dip it in the water and get a reading on your water. The test strip gives you an immediate reading to help you understand your water’s level of alkalinity, pH, and calcium hardness. Watch the video above or read your owner’s manual to find out what the optimal numbers are for each part of your water. Once you know where your water stands, you can use the chemicals to adjust these elements to get the water just right!

After balancing out your water’s elements, it’s time to sanitize your water. It’s tempting to use tablets and floaters in your hot tub, but you should never do this. It’s important to use granular chlorine and MPS, which is a non-chlorine oxidizing shock. When you get ready to pour your chemicals in, activate your high-speed jet pump and place your chemicals in the filter basket. This will distribute your chemicals throughout your plumbing line and treat your water immediately. Adding the chemicals to the middle of the hot tub will cause the granules to trickle down and settle on your hot tub shell. Let the chemicals circulate with the jets on high for 15 minutes. Now it’s ready to enjoy!!!

All of this information can be found in your owner’s manual and I highly suggest reading it and following along. But, for those who struggle with written directions, hopefully these vlogs help guide you in the right direction!

If you have any questions or concerns about your hot tub water, or your hot tub in general, please contact our customer service team at ahsservice@watkinsmfg.com or 888-961-7727.