Hi there hot tubbers!

As you begin setting up your very own backyard escape to paradise, we hope you find the How-to Video Guide for the Hot Tub Novice helpful. Now that you’ve got a better idea about WHAT it takes to set up your new Margaritaville hot tub, let’s talk about the HOW!

As a first-time hot tub owner (or at least first time Margaritaville Hot Tub owner) you might make some mistakes in the set up process…just like I did! Don’t worry, that’s what these follow-along video guides are for! If you want to skip all of this reading and prefer a video guide, scroll down to watch the video!

The most important thing to remember when setting up your tub is: order matters! We know you’re anxious to get the hot water going and the margaritas flowing… But first things first, let’s make sure your hot tub is setup the right way so you don’t have to go back and start over. Nothing is permanent, so if you do happen to set things up out of order, no worries at all. You might just have to go back and repeat one or two steps.

The first time I set up my Margaritaville FlipFlop hot tub, I filled it up with a garden hose, plugged it in, and jumped right in! After I enjoyed my first soak and I was putting my cover back on my hot tub, I realized I didn’t have my cover lifter installed. The reason this was a mistake was because owners have to place the cover lifter legs underneath the hot tub in order to install it. You can imagine how impossible it would be to install the legs if the hot tub was already filled with water…OOPS! So I had to drain my hot tub water, install the cover lifter (which took less than 5 minutes), then re-fill my tub with water and let it heat up again. This was a big first-time-hot-tubber mistake that could have been avoided had I had a step-by-step guide like this! Don’t make the same mistake I did, be sure to install your cover lifter first, then fill your hot tub with water.

A cover lifter is not a necessity, but let me tell you, once you own one, you will never want to live without it. A cover lifter is awesome because it allows you to lift a heavy cover with one hand. The cover lifter makes it very easy for one person to open and close the cover (see for yourself in the video below!).

If you don’t have a cover lifter and you remove your cover and leave it on the ground while using your hot tub, the underside of your cover will get wet. It becomes very easy for the wet cover to track gravel, dirt, and/or dust into your hot tub. You definitely don’t want a dirty tub. Having a cover lifter allows the cover to stay clean and rest on the lifter, instead of the ground. See what that looks like in the video. 

 
While you’re installing your cover lifter, you’ll probably have your tool set out, so now would be a good time to also install your cover lock – it only takes 2 minutes. Check out the how-to video below for installing your cover lock. 

After you’re done installing your cover lifter and lock, it’s time to fill up your hot tub and add some chemicals. Follow this How-to guide to treat your hot tub water the right way.