Is Your Boulder Hot Tub Leaking? Hot Tub Leak Checker and Cost Calculator

A typical uncovered hot tub in Boulder loses between 1 and 2 inches per week to evaporation, more in dry Front Range winters when cold air draws heat from the warm water surface. Keeping the cover on when not in use reduces evaporation by 90 percent. The bucket test compares the tub to open evaporation in the same conditions, which removes this variable from the leak calculation.

In Colorado, the three most common sources are: pump and equipment housing fittings that weaken after freeze-thaw cycling; jet body gaskets that deteriorate from UV and chemical exposure; and shell seam cracks at the waterline that appear after hard winters. Dye testing can pinpoint the exact source during a professional inspection.

It can. A moderate hot tub leak at about half an inch per day on a medium-size tub loses roughly 5 to 8 gallons per day, or 150 to 240 gallons per month. For a household already using 80 to 90 percent of its monthly water budget, that additional volume may push into Block 3 at $15.06 per 1,000 gallons. Use the calculator above to check your specific situation.

Run the bucket test above: place a container of hot tub water on the tub lip and compare the drop in both after 24 hours. If the tub drops significantly more than the container, a leak is likely. Also check for: wet spots on the equipment pad, mineral deposits around fittings, and soft ground near the equipment area after dry weather.