How to Fill a Hot Tub With Well Water

If you’re one of the more than 23 million households using well water, you may wonder how that affects filling your hot tub. While well water can have higher levels of minerals and metals, that doesn’t mean you still can’t fill your hot tub with it.

We’re going to share some tips on how to not only fill your hot tub with well water but how to maintain it. We’ll also answer some common questions, many of which you may have yourself when it comes to filling your hot tub with well water. 

5 Easy Steps to Fill Your Hot Tub with Well Water

Filling your hot tub with well water doesn’t have to be a major project when you follow these five easy steps.

1. Check Your Well’s Flow Rate

Before you can even think about filling your hot tub, you need to make sure the flow rate is fast enough and strong enough. You can measure the flow rate by seeing how many gallons of well water you can collect in a minute. Fill a 5-gallon bucket by keeping track of how many times you fill the bucket. Once you add the numbers of how many times you’ve filled your basket, you’ll have your flow rate.

You can estimate how many minutes it will take to fill your hot tub by taking the hot tub’s volume and dividing it by the flow rate. A hot tub typically takes about 30-45 minutes to fill. But, this can fluctuate depending on the water source.

2. Test Your Well Water

Before you put the water in your hot tub, you want to test it for metals and chemicals. Use a metal test kit to test for metal levels and a pool chemistry test kit for information about the chemicals in the water. This can let you know if your well water is safe.

3. Attach the Hose

Once you’ve determined that the flow rate and water quality are adequate, it’s time to start filling your hot tub. Attach one end to the tap that’s closest to your pump. Use the other end of the hose to attach a prefilter. This will help to filter out excess metals and minerals. Plus, this will save you time trying to balance the water once your hot tub is full. Once everything is connected, place this hose end into the hot tub.

4. Turn on Your Well Pump

Be sure all hot tub equipment is off when you turn the well pump on and start to fill your hot tub. As we mentioned above, it should take no more than 45 minutes. But, if your flow rate isn’t that great, it could take longer.

5. Balance Your Water

Once your hot tub is full, it’s time to test the water. Once you do this, the results will indicate if you need to add any chemicals to balance it. If you do, don’t add all chemicals at once. It’s best to space them out.

After you’ve completed all of these steps, you’re ready to enjoy your hot tub! But, you have to keep up with maintenance to keep water healthy and your hot tub running properly.

Maintaining Your Hot Tub with Well Water

All hot tubs require chemicals no matter your water source. Chlorine and chemicals needed to balance the pH are often required. If you have a well, you’ll also have to pay attention to products that deal with metal components and scaling. These products will help to filter out minerals and metals and prevent them from reacting in the water. If you don’t use these products, you may notice discolored water from time to time and a buildup along the shell of your hot tub.

FAQ About Filling Your Hot Tub with Well Water

Will well water stain my hot tub?

Although well water has been filtered naturally underground and hasn’t been mixed with other substances, it can contain higher levels of minerals and metals. These higher levels can stain the soft surfaces of your spa. If you don’t maintain your spa, it can cause scaling as well. If your water has higher than normal levels of magnesium and calcium it can leave these minerals behind once the water evaporates. Remnants of these minerals can look like fish or reptile scales. These can damage your hot tub by plugging up your pumps and harming other parts of your hot tub.

Is it hard to balance well water in my hot tub?

Not at all as long as you keep up with maintenance. Test the water regularly, especially if you notice it starts to turn brown, green, or cloudy. This will let you know what chemicals are lacking so you can add them and keep your water balanced.

Will filling my hot tub dry out my well?

It is extremely unlikely that filling your hot tub will run your well dry. If you are filling up your hot tub 3-4 times annually, it shouldn’t be a problem. Most wells are very deep and have enough time between each heavy usage to recover.

Will I burn out the well pump when filling my hot tub?

Since you’re not spending a long time filling your hot tub, your well pump shouldn’t burn out. Most hot tubs use only 300-400 gallons to fill. Some people fill a swimming pool with a well that takes much more water. So, using your well to fill your hot tub shouldn’t be a problem.

Well Pump Service and Maintenance from A&T Well and Pump

If you’re looking for well pump service and maintenance in the Raleigh area, one call to A&T Well and Pump is all you need. We have been serving the area since 2006 and have the expertise you can rely on for your well pump. Call us today at  (919) 980-0981 or contact us online for more information on our services.