How to Clean Mould From an Inflatable Hot Tub

How to Clean Mould From an Inflatable Hot Tub: Cleaning Tips for Beginners

Last Updated on January 10, 2023

An inflatable hot tub is fantastic to have in your home. Aside from making it an excellent spot to relax, a hot tub also offers various health benefits. Relaxing in a hot tub improves your blood circulation, resulting in your blood pressure going lower. It also helps in relieving stress, tension, and anxiety. Are you feeling a bit more stressed lately? Dip yourself in your hot tub and see how it can right away relieve some of that stress!

One of the most excellent perks of an inflatable hot tub is it is easy to clean provided you stick to a regular maintenance programme. You can also tuck it away quickly if you think you won’t be using it for a while.

However, if you have not attended to it for a long time, you may have to go the extra mile in cleaning it. If you’ve left your hot tub unattended for too long, not used the correct chemicals, or even stored it when damp, and you could be left with some unsightly mould stains.

But, how to clean mould from an inflatable hot tub?

Read on to find out!

Prepare Your Inflatable Hot Tub for Cleaning

Before you can start removing those stubborn mould stains from your hot tub, you’ll need to get it ready to clean. If your inflatable hot tub has been incorrectly put away and you’ve just got it out to use and found it is covered in mould, skip this step and go straight to the cleaning part.

Step 1: Power Off &; Remove Debris

First of all, you’ll need to make sure that the power to your hot tub is turned off. Then you’ll need to drain the water. Before you start draining, remove any larger pieces of debris, such as leaves. A spa net is a good help, or you can use your hands. If you don’t remove leaves or debris, you may end up with a blocked drainage valve, so make sure you don’t skip this step.

Step 2: Disconnect &; Clean Filter

If necessary, insert any stopper plugs; refer to your tub manual to verify your model’s exact procedure. Then remove the hoses by loosening the hose clamps and any debris screens from the inside.

With the hoses disconnected from the filter pump, open the filter housing and remove the spa filter cartridges. Rinse out the water care system housing thoroughly with your garden hose and clean your water filters or replace them if needed.

Step 3: Drain Your Inflatable Hot Tub

Before draining your hot tub, make sure you have a suitable drainage point for your hot tub water. As hot tub water contains chemicals, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t get any runoff into nature. Grass and garden plants are likely to die if exposed to your hot tub water, so plan where you will drain before starting.

The easiest and safest way to drain your spa water is to connect a garden hose to its drainage valve. To do so, you will need to use the garden hose adaptor that came with your inflatable hot tub. Screw the adaptor onto the valve, attach the hose, and open the valve to drain the water.

If your spa is well overdue a good clean, you can make your job a little easier by spraying the surface with fresh water as it drains. It will get rid of the worst build-up without any elbow grease required.

Cleaning Mould From Your Inflatable Hot Tub

Now that your inflatable hot tub is ready, it’s time for the most critical part – cleaning it! Here’s our step-by-step guide to cleaning your inflatable spa.

Step 1: Clean the Outside of Your Inflatable Hot Tub

With a spray bottle of warm water or a bucket, take a soft cloth and start cleaning your hot tub’s exterior. Using a scrubbing brush, even a soft-bristled one, can damage the exterior and interior of your inflatable hot tub, so stick with a microfibre cloth or similar.

Step 2: Clean the Interior

Just as you did for the exterior, clean the interior with a soft cloth and water. Don’t forget to rinse out your cloth every so often or switch to a clean one if your spa is particularly dirty. Move on to cleaning your spa cover.

Step 3: Focus on the Water Line and Stains

Once you have given your hot tub an excellent clean, you may need to go back over the waterline and focus on any stains. The scum line is often a problematic area as this is where you will get a build-up of chemicals, oils, and dirt.

If water and a soft cloth aren’t making any headway against mildew stains, the easiest and safest solution is to use a special spa cleaner. The problem with using regular household detergents is that they can cause foaming to get into your air bubble jets or filter system. Special spa cleaners are also often rinse-free and specially designed to clean your hot tub nice and easy.

If you need to clean your spa right away and don’t have any special cleaner at home, you could try spot cleaning with a very mild liquid soap, taking care not to allow it to get into your hot tub system. Alternatively, please look at some of our other recommendations below for household products suitable for removing mildew and other stains from your inflatable hot tub.

What Can I Use to Clean Mould From My Inflatable Hot Tub?

Does your hot tub have mildew spots, and you don’t have any special cleaner on hand? You may be wondering if you can use any household cleaners to remove mould from hot tubs without damaging them.

Yes, you can!

White vinegar is a popular option for cleaning inflatable hot tubs as it is highly effective without causing any damage. It also has plenty of other household cleaning uses. It’s cleaning, disinfecting, and deodorising properties make it a highly versatile choice, especially for fragile items.

To ensure that white vinegar is most effective on residues, such as limescale, calcium build-up, or mould, use it undiluted in a spray. Spray it on and rub it off with a soft cloth. For stubborn stains, mildew and mould, leave it to work for at least an hour. Otherwise, dilute 50% with 50% water for an extra boost for hot tubs that don’t need extra power.

If you are struggling with limescale build-up on your air jets, use an old toothbrush with clean white vinegar to gently scrub away the residue from your jet nozzles. While you’ll need to give your spa a quick rinse out if it was filthy, you won’t have to worry about rinsing out all traces of white vinegar, and it can be left in your hot tub. The strong vinegar smell will soon dissipate, leaving you with a clean, hygienic hot tub that’s ready to be filled up for your next relaxation session.

Can I Put Bleach In My Inflatable Hot Tub?

You may be tempted to try using bleach in your spa water. After all, liquid chlorine is a popular choice to treat water in pools and prevent algae growth and bacteria. However, unlike professional pool and hot tub products, the chlorine in household bleach is not stabilised.

It is not recommended that you use household bleach in your water as a hot tub disinfectant. There are plenty of professional specialist products that will keep your pipes free from build-up, as well as preventing your spa water from becoming a breeding ground for bacteria, algae, and mildew.

Some hot tub owners who have left their spas unattended for several months may face many moulds or mildew staining even after a thorough clean. In this case, you could try using a bleach solution to wipe down your spa interior lightly. Be careful to avoid extreme scrubbing, which will likely damage your hot tub surface. Ensure that you thoroughly rinse any bleach cleaning solution, as you won’t want to risk a reaction with your hot tub water chemicals or alter your water pH levels when you refill.

How to Keep Your Inflatable Hot Tub Clean

To prevent bacteria and algae from forming in your inflatable hot tub and to make the cleaning process much faster and easier, here are our top tips for keeping your hot tub clean and mildew-free.

  • Shower first – showering before relaxing in your hot tub will remove dirt, body oils, cosmetics, and lotions. It will prevent them from coming off in your spa and creating build-up at the waterline and on your hot tub surfaces.
  • Regularly clean and change your water filter – clean your filters at least once a week and replace them regularly at the first sign of deterioration. Regularly cleaning filters is essential to a cleaner spa.
  • Use your hot tub cover – replacing your tub cover whenever you are not using your spa will protect it from airborne debris. Plus, keeping your hot tub cover on will also reduce your running costs and heat time.
  • Use Scumbug absorbent sponges – these handy sponges absorb oils, residues and even tiny insects, helping to keep your spa water clean and reducing your maintenance requirements.

How to Store Your Inflatable Hot Tub

Lastly, make sure that you correctly store your spa if you’re not going to be using it for some time. After a thorough clean, you’ll need to make sure that your hot tub is completely dry before folding. Failure to do so before storing it can result in mould and mildew growth while it’s being tucked away.

Once your hot tub is completely dry, both inside and out, including the pump and pipes, you can deflate it. As you lay it out flat to fold, double-check for any damp areas. Keep it dry and protected while in storage.

Home Is Where the Hot Tub Is

Having an inflatable hot tub is an excellent addition to your home. It’s a great place to relax, destress, and even enjoy some barbecue time beside it with your family and some close friends. However, you need to regularly maintain it if you want to use it for a long time.

Cleaning your hot tub is much easier with regular maintenance and good special cleaning products. With a bit of elbow grease and determination and all of our handy tips on how to clean mould from an inflatable hot tub, your spa will be as good as new! Just remember that keeping your hot tub water clean is more than just regular cleaning; make sure only to store it when it’s scorched to prevent mould from occurring in the first place and clean yourself before use.

Do you have other tips on how to clean mould from an inflatable hot tub? We’d love to hear them! Let us know in the comment box below!

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