While a hot tub leaking from the bottom is a serious problem, you don’t need to worry too much. You should deal with the problem as soon as possible, but it also seems unlikely that the problem involves your spa shell.
In most situations, you can deal with a hot tub leaking from the bottom easily enough. There are just a few simple things that you are going to want to keep in mind.
When Your Hot Tub Is Leaking From The Bottom
The first thing you are going to want to do is consider the most common types of hot tub leaks:
• Leaky spa pumps: If your spa pump is leaking, the likely culprit can be shaft seals, unions, or wet end volutes.
• Leaky spa lights: Loose/cracked lens can lead to leaks. Your light housing or niche is usually found on the same side as your spa pak, so it shouldn’t be too difficult at all to service your tub.
• Leaky spa filter: Locking filter rings have sometimes just become a little too loosened, so you’ll just need to have them tightened up. In most cases, new gaskets or O-rings are going to be your best bet for dealing with the problem.
• Leaky spa plumbing: Occasionally, you can find yourself dealing with leaks in your PVC pipe. You can also find leaks alongside the backsides of spa jets. Loose locknuts are another potential problem to keep in mind. Finally, you could find yourself dealing with disintegrating spa jet gaskets. Spa plumbing leaks are particularly common at the glue joint areas.
Finding a specific leak can be challenging. You will want to perform visual inspections of the pump, the union fittings, the heater, the valves, the connections, and the shell. If you find the leak in any of these places, the work involved can vary from one aspect of the tub to another. For example, if the culprit is the pump, you may need to replace the pump seal. In many cases, you will need to have the pump replaced entirely. Union fittings can become loosened rather easily. If the union fittings are responsible for causing the leaks, having the fittings tightened is more often than not going to be the best bet.
You can also put trace amounts of food coloring in your water. Watch where the water leaks to. This is a good way to figure out where the leak is coming from if you can’t visually detect anything.