Hot tub hoovers: Can you? Should you?
Hot tub hoovers or vacuum cleaners are special-purpose variants of the standard household variety.
They’re designed to remove dust, grit, and debris from the bottom of your tub. Plus, they’re a handy addition for helping you empty a tub you’re cleaning or that you’ve finished with for now.
But choosing a hoover for hot tub maintenance takes a little care. Here are a few things to think about and the types of models you’ll find readily available:
Can you hoover a hot tub?
Yes. In fact, if your hot tub isn’t linked up to the plumbing in your home, a vacuum cleaner is a great tool to use to empty it as fast as possible.
However, don’t go plugging in your Henry Hoover just yet. You need a special kind of vacuum cleaner to do this.
Can I use a shop vac to clean my hot tub?
Standard shop-bought vacuum cleaners are not what we’re talking about here. You need to check that your hoover is what’s known as a “wet-dry” vacuum cleaner.
Otherwise, you’re putting yourself in line for an expensive replacement purchase!
Why use a hoover for hot tub cleaning?
- Speed and precision – a vacuum cleaner is a quick way to extract water and debris from your hot tub. Plus, you can measure the quantity of water you’re extracting as you go and even collect the dregs and drips that would otherwise necessitate the use of many towels.
- Top-to-bottom cleaning – you can skim any detritus from the top of the water (if you’ve accidentally left your outside tub uncovered overnight, for example) as well as pick up dirt from the bottom.
- Fast emptying – if your tub isn’t near a drain or you’re emptying your tub and you’re down to the end of the job where progress gets slower, a wet/dry vacuum cleaner is one of the best solutions.
The types of hot tub hoover on the market
There are a huge number of different models of vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning hot tubs and similar installations like swimming pools.
It’s a smart idea to check hot tub hoover reviews carefully to see what you’re getting. Many models are designed to look the same (a blue plastic finish is very popular) and obviously many share a similar form due to their function.
However, these hoovers differ wildly in quality. To choose the one that’s right for you, you might want to consider:
1) Rechargeable electric hoovers
These fairly standard (though also often fairly bare-bones) models of wet/dry vacuum cleaners are designed to be plugged into an electrical socket to charge and then move around freely without a power cord when in use.
These models aren’t very heavy-duty, but they are flexible, manoeuvrable, and great in certain circumstances. That said, if you want to empty a lot of water, you might want to look elsewhere.
Make no mistake though, some manufacturers produce highly effective vacuum cleaners that fall into this category. However, because of the often lower price point, you can also find the market flooded with knock-offs and substandard options.
Shop carefully and check reviews to avoid disappointment.
2) Pump action hoovers
If you want a real workout at the same time as you’re taking care of some hot tub maintenance, a pump action wet/dry hoover is a possible option.
Even more so than the rechargeable type though, you won’t want to use a pump action cleaner to empty a significant amount of water from your tub (unless you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger or some kind of masochist!).
But, if you want something to remove some light dirt or debris from your tub every now and again, this kind of thing might be worth considering.
3) Full multi-function, multi-purpose vacuum kits
Heavier-duty models like this need to be plugged into a power supply to do their work. They tend to come with many bells and whistles – things like alternative heads and handles, longer poles – and to be suitable for larger bodies of water too. Things like:
- Swimming pools
- Paddling pools
- Fountains and ponds
As you might expect, being a rather more substantial bit of kit, they tend to come attached to a higher price point as well.
However, if you want something that will stand the test of time and make emptying a large tub a more manageable process, you might want to look for something in this category.
4) Specialist jet vacuums
One of the hot tub maintenance and emptying tasks that takes first-time ‘tubbers by surprise is the need to flush or suck water from the vents and jets beneath the water line when cleaning.
You can get specialist hot tub hoovers designed to handle this job for you. But, as many of these are perfectly suitable for pulling double duty on other occasions when you’d need a wet/dry vacuum (emptying your tub, for instance), they’re well worth considering as your only purchase.
Want more handy hot tub info like this sucked right into your inbox each month?
Sign up for our FREE newsletter or article alerts to get more tips from hot tubbers, for hot tubbers!