 Maintaining a Trouble-Free Hot Tub / Spa
Maintaining clear, clean water in your hot tub is easier than many people think. It requires only a few steps. The most important step is to check your spa water regularly (a minimum of weekly) and adjust as needed.
pH
Maintain pH in the range of 7.2 - 7.6.
Note: With a Salt System we will suggest you target 7.2, since the system will tend to increase pH over time.
SANITIZE
Maintain the proper level of sanitizer, usually bromine in a hot tub (or chlorine in a pool).
This is generally 3 - 5 ppm of Bromine, though with a properly installed Salt System it will be 2- 3 ppm.
TOTAL ALKALINITY
Total alkalinity is basically a measure of the mineral content of your water. It serves as a "buffer" for pH, helping to stabilize pH.
pH is measured on a scale from 0 – 14, with 7 being considered "neutral" water. You may know that anything above 7 is often called "Alkaline" (it’s also called "Basic"). This can cause some confusion with both pool & hot tub owners. Total Alkalinity is not the same thing as a pH reading greater than 7, but changes in pH will affect Total Alkalinity as will changes in Total Alkalinity impact pH. We’ve created that following chart to assist you in making changes to both pH and Total Alkalinity.
pH / Alkalinity Chart
CALCIUM
In Central Texas, we almost never see high Calcium levels, though many people think they have "hard water". Occasionally we do see too much Calcium in well water, but even this is rare.
- The proper level of Calcium is important primarily as another pH "buffer"; hence it helps to minimize pH swings in your water.
- In a spa not using a Salt System, you should maintain 150 - 400ppm of Ca.
- In a Salt System spa, maintain 100 - 250ppm Ca.
Note: Calcium scaling is rarely an indication of Calcium levels being too high. It is almost always an indication of pH getting too high (above 8.0). True Calcium scaling will be hard to remove and feel like sandpaper. If you have this problem, please give us a call. We can assist you in removing this.
OXIDIZE
Use an oxidizer to remove biological waste materials that build up over time in your hot tub.
Ozone is used extensively in commercial water treatment. An ozonator will dissolve ozone gas into your spa water via a jet mounted low in your hot tub. Ozone will never be the only sanitizer (and, in fact, in a hot tub it is not a sanitizer, though many mistakenly say it is). Ozone will however supplement your primary sanitation method by oxidizing waste materials, thereby reducing your sanitation need. It is a useful option in your spa, hence we recommend these, though an ozonator is not a requirement in a hot tub.
Chemically, ozone is O3. It is a very unstable molecule with a 1/2 life in spa water of about 20 minutes. However this instability is why it is so effective at removing waste products in your spa water.
- Shock (non-chlorine based - potassium peroxymonosulfate)
Pools are often "shocked" using a Super Chlorination process. Essentially the level of Chlorine is raised to 10x the usual level to remove the accumulated waste material in the water. The pool cannot be used for several days during this process.
Although Super Chlorination can be done in a spa, generally we use another shock, generically called "Non-Chlorine Based Shock". It actually contains potassium peroxymonosulfate. One major advantage is that you can use your spa again within 20 - 30 minutes after shocking with Non-Chlorine Based Shock.
Many hot tub retailers overprescribe the use of shock, but we recommend that you shock your spa every 1 - 2 weeks; based on the frequency of your use of your hot tub.
With Non-Chlorine Based Shock, it's the "peroxy" part of the molecule that provides the oxygen to oxidize waste material build-up.
DRAIN
Drain your spa on a regular basis:
FILTER
Properly filter your spa water.
- Some spas will come with, or provide an option for, a 24-hour circulation pump. They have a few advantages, but none are all that significant and in fact the most commonly installed circulation pumps are quite small and tend to have a high failure rate.
- Other spas will use a 2-Speed primary pump and use the lower speed for circulation. In these spas you generally want to circulate your water 4 - 8 hours a day.
- Be sure to clean your filters every week or 2 by spraying them thoroughly with a hose. There is a rather nice hose attachment called a Filter Flosser, that does a good job of helping you clean your filter.
- A few hot tub companies suggest that you must have a "No Bypass Filtration System". Considering what a filter does and how often your spa is circulating water, we can't understand why every drop of water has to go through the filter every time it goes through their pumps. Frankly we think they just like selling filters, as these spas can require as many as 5 filters to be changed annually. That's $250 - $350 a year just for filters!
SHOWER
Shower before using your hot tub.
A Few Additional Thoughts:
It is best to flush your spa annually with a Spa Flush to remove "Biofilm" that tends to accumulate in your spa. Though you can’t see this, it is an accumulation of bacteria that builds up on all surfaces in water (notably on the inside of your plumbing), hence an annual flush is a very good idea to maintain proper water quality in your hot tub.
Generally speaking you do not want to use Soft Water in a hot tub. Specifically do not use soft water produced using salts (either Sodium Chloride or Potassium Chloride). Softening water using these salts is the most common method, but this process will dramataically increase Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in your spa water.
Also, softening water is the process of removing Calcium & Magnesium, but as we discuss above you want some Calcium in your spa water.
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