Good hot tub etiquette vacation rental style is mostly about one thing: you are sharing a very small pool with strangers, just not at the same time. The family checking in Sunday will soak in the same water you did Friday, filtered and sanitized but the same water. A few small habits keep it clean, keep it hot, and keep our maintenance team from having to drain 400 gallons on a Tuesday.
Three of our homes have hot tubs, so we have opinions.
Rinse before you get in
Sunscreen, lotion, deodorant, hair product, and the sweat from your hike all end up in the tub. Those are what turn clear water cloudy and eat up the sanitizer. A quick shower before the first soak of the day, even just a rinse, does more for water quality than anything else on this list. If the home has an outdoor shower, that is what it is for.
Cover it every single time
An uncovered hot tub in Oregon in January loses heat fast and gathers fir needles faster. Put the cover back on whenever you get out, even for twenty minutes. Lift with the handles, not the edge of the foam, and set the cover fully down so it seals. Most tubs recover a few degrees in an hour with the cover on and barely gain anything with it off. If you find it lukewarm one morning, an uncovered night is usually why.
No glass. Ever.
A wine glass dropped in a hot tub means draining the entire tub, scrubbing the shell, and refilling and reheating, which takes most of a day. That is a lost soak for you and potentially the next guest. Use plastic, cans, or insulated tumblers. Most of our homes leave a set of unbreakable cups near the tub for exactly this.
Do not touch the settings
Tubs are set around 100 to 102 degrees, which is comfortable for most adults and within the range recommended by the manufacturer. Please do not crank it to the max or shut off the heater to "save energy." The jets and lights are yours to play with; the temperature and filtration cycle are not. If it seems genuinely off, text us and we will walk you through it or send someone.
Kids in the tub
Hot tubs are not designed for young children, and pediatricians generally say kids under five should stay out entirely. Older kids should keep soaks short, sit on the cool-down bench or edge, and drink water. A kid who is flushed and quiet is a kid who is done. Never leave children in or around the tub unsupervised, and keep the cover on and latched when adults are not right there.
Dogs and the tub
We love dogs. Dogs do not belong in hot tubs. Fur clogs filters, and the water chemistry is not good for them. Most dogs are curious for a minute and then lose interest. If yours is a jumper, keep the cover on when nobody is using it. Our cabins at Wildwood Basecamp and the coast are all pet-friendly, and we have a whole post on bringing your dog along.
Cloudy water and foam
Some cloudiness after heavy use is normal, especially if several people soaked without rinsing. It usually clears overnight as the filtration cycle runs. Foam typically comes from soap residue on swimsuits (rinse suits in plain water, no detergent) or from lotions. If the water is green, smells strongly, or stays cloudy for more than a day, let us know. That is a maintenance issue, not a you issue, and we would rather hear about it early.
Please do not add anything
No bath bombs, bubble bath, essential oils, or "just a splash" of anything. Every one of those creates a mess the sanitizer cannot handle and often means a full drain. If you want an aromatic soak, ask us; some hot tub-safe aromatherapy products exist, and we can point you to them.
Quiet hours and neighbors
Sound travels over water and through trees, especially at night. Most Oregon towns have quiet hours starting around 10pm, and many of our neighbors are full-time residents. A late soak is wonderful. A late loud soak gets a complaint, and in some towns that can affect the home's rental permit. Keep the volume to conversation level after ten.
Little courtesies
- Hang wet suits and towels outside or in the bathroom, not on wood furniture.
- Hydrate. Alcohol plus hot water dehydrates faster than you expect.
- Fifteen to twenty minutes per soak is plenty for most adults.
- On your last morning, cover it one more time and leave it as you found it.
That is really all of it: rinse, cover, no glass, no additives, watch the kids, keep it quiet. Do those and the water will be perfect for you and for whoever arrives after you. If you are choosing between our homes, three have private hot tubs and one, the Eugene House, trades the tub for air conditioning and a fenced yard, which in a Eugene August is its own kind of luxury. You can compare all of them on our direct booking page.