How To Clean A Hot Tub With Vinegar (Quickly & Easily!)
When it comes to matters of cleaning and sanitization, vinegar is a panacea. You can use white distilled vinegar to deodorize, sanitize, and kill mold in almost any situation. What many people don’t realize is that vinegar can also be used in your bathing area. More specifically, it’s a great cleaning agent for hot tubs. The question is, how can you use it to make your tub spotless?
The best way to clean your hot tub is to drain your hot tub completely. In a squirt bottle, mix a solution that is one part water, one part vinegar. Spray it liberally, let it sit for five minutes, and then wipe down the tub with a rag.
Cleaning a hot tub with vinegar is easy, but getting other information about what this means for your tub isn’t. If you aren’t sure whether or not this option is right for you, take a look at the answers below.
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Is It Safe To Clean A Hot Tub With Vinegar?
Yes, but there’s a catch. While cleaning with white distilled vinegar is a safe and effective way to cut down on bacteria and fungi, it’s important to note that you still need to test your water and make a point of keeping your hot tub sanitized using shocks, clarifiers, and balancers.
Even so, vinegar remains one of the safest ways to clean a hot tub, and it’s fairly effective too. If you are worried about having small children get into your cleaning products or are concerned about pets getting sick, vinegar is a great choice.
Can You Clean A Hot Tub Cover Using Vinegar?
Cleaning a hot tub cover with white vinegar is fairly easy to do, and also happens to be a safe method. Vinegar is effective at cleaning, but won’t dry out most covers. To clean a hot tub cover with vinegar, spray the cover with a 50/50 vinegar-water solution. Let the solution sit for 10 minutes, then wipe it down with a sponge. Let it air dry.
Can You Clean Your Hot Tub Filter Using Vinegar?
Absolutely! However, the process for cleaning a hot tub’s filter is going to be a little different than a simple wipe down with a 50/50 solution. Since filters have so many different nooks and crannies, you are going to have to follow these steps below:
- Drain your hot tub. It’s not a good idea to have a hot tub filled with water without a filter being in place. We suggest you take this time to clean your hot tub too.
- Remove the filter from your hot tub. Give it a quick inspection to see how dirty it is.
- Make a mixture of equal parts white distilled vinegar and water. Put the mixture in a large bucket or tub. Make enough of the mixture to fully submerge your hot tub’s filter.
- Gently place the filter into the bucket, and let it soak for two hours. This would be a good time to read about how you can lower alkalinity in a hot tub. After all, you’re probably going to need to check your hot tub later.
- If your filter is extremely dirty, leave the filter inside the mixture for an additional half-hour. You should see any mildew or sludge dissolve in the solution.
- Take the filter out of the bucket, and wipe it down with a paper towel. This should remove any stuff that is stuck to your filter.
- If your filter is extremely dirty, try to clean it using a commercial filter cleaning solvent. If the solvent doesn’t work, then you will need to replace your hot tub filter. It’s only sanitary.
How To Maintain Your Hot Tub With White Vinegar
Though giving your hot tub a thorough cleaning is always a welcome treat for your tub, the truth is that most people aren’t going to be doing daily cleanings. Sometimes, regular maintenance is the best course of action. Here’s how you can use vinegar to maintain your hot tub correctly:
- It’s recommended to soak your hot tub in vinegar twice a year. This doesn’t mean that you have to fill up your hot tub with vinegar. It just means draining your tub, spraying white vinegar on the tub’s shell, and walking away for a bit. Let it soak for an hour, wipe it down, and then run your tun the way it normally would.
- Whenever you notice spots or stains on the sides of your hot tub, use a rag soaked in vinegar to clean them off. Spot cleaning should be done whenever necessary. A once-weekly wipedown can also prove to be very useful, especially if you want to keep your hot tub in ship-shape for a while.
- Regularly use professional hot tub maintenance tools. Vinegar alone is not going to be enough to keep the tub’s water sanitary. Always test your hot tub waters to make sure that it has the right pH balance and that it doesn’t have mold or fungi on it.
Will Vinegar Kill Mold In The Hot Tub?
A common issue with both pools and hot tubs is mold, and truthfully, it is a recurring problem for almost any homeowner. Though you may need to do multiple treatments, it’s worth noting that vinegar is a fairly powerful mold killer. Studies showed that white vinegar is capable of killing the majority of mold that affects pools quickly.
With that said, there will be moments where vinegar will not be able to fully eliminate mold. If you notice that your hot tub’s mold problem keeps getting worse, you may need to get a more caustic fungicide to do the work. Bleach and chlorine are two of the more common mold-killers for vinegar-resistant molds.
How Effective Is Vinegar Against Calcium Buildup?
A hard water problem is pretty rough on hot tubs, but thankfully, you don’t have to shell out money for a hard water dissolver. Believe it or not, vinegar is one of the most reliable ways to clear up hard water buildup. It doesn’t matter what the buildup is on, either. Vinegar will clear it up fast. In fact, it’s the recommended tool to use when cleaning a Ninja Coffee Bar for that very reason!
What Does Vinegar Do To Hot Tub Water?
While vinegar can be a remarkably good hot tub cleaner, it’s important that you don’t mistake tub cleaner with tub water correctant. In recent years, there are many stories of people who have started to correct water pH using homemade ingredients. That includes vinegar! Generally speaking, it is not a good idea.
Though there are stories of people using vinegar to correct water quality issues in their hot tubs successfully, it’s a bit risky. White vinegar that’s mixed with water may not work well with alkalinizers that you introduce to the tub. Moreover, it’s also worth remembering that vinegar has a distinct odor. That odor will be there for a while if you decide to add it to your hot tub.
The best thing you can do when it comes to hot tub water maintenance is to use professional-grade water maintenance tools.
What Strength Vinegar Should You Use?
Most vinegars on the market have an acidity between 2.5 and 4, which is fairly acidic. However, it’s still less caustic than most commercial cleaners. When mixed with some water, you needn’t worry about the vinegar eating away your hot tub. It’s a surprisingly gentle cleaner!
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Related Questions
Can I use bleach in my hot tub?
Using bleach in your hot tub is generally an okay idea, as long as it is being used correctly. Bleach can potentially work well as a hot tub pH balancing agent, but it can be somewhat harsh on the shell of your hot tub. If you want to clean your hot tub’s shell, add bleach to a large quantity of water to sanitize your hot tub.If you choose to use bleach as a cleaner, make sure that you dilute it heavily. Bleach is fairly caustic and can easily eat away at the protective coating of your hot tub.
Does vinegar lower the alkalinity of a hot tub?
While it’s true that vinegar lowers the pH of a hot tub’s water, however, it’s worth noting that pH is not the same as alkalinity. A hot tub’s alkalinity will not be affected by vinegar, even if the overall water will be more acidic. This is why it’s not a good idea to use vinegar to balance out your water. It won’t lead to the effects that you want to have happen, and can even make balancing your water more difficult.
What’s the best way to kill bacteria in a hot tub?
If you want to kill bacteria in a hot tub’s water, you will need to use a commercial pool sanitizer. The best ones for antibacterial purposes contain either bromine or chlorine. Regular sanitization sessions are a must, as is maintaining hot tub pH and alkalinity levels. If you notice your hot tub turning cloudy, address it immediately with a sanitizing shock.
Ossiana Tepfenhart is an expert writer, focusing on interior design and general home tips. Writing is her life, and it's what she does best. Her interests include art and real estate investments.
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