Hot Tub Chemicals for Dummies - Your Guide to Spa Maintenance Made Easy
Are you new to hot tub ownership? Maybe just looking for a simpler way to maintain your hot tub so you can spend more time soaking. This hot tub chemicals for dummies guide should be very helpful.
Hot Tub Chemicals 101 - Keeping it clean
It is kind of gross but think about if you filled up a bath tub. Then kept the water hot for several months. You soak in it a few times a week for 3 months. It is going to be pretty gross. You get the idea. Keeping your hot tub clean and properly sanitized is absolutely critical to proper hot tub maintenance.
You need 4 things to keep your Hot Tub water clean, clear and fresh.
- Sanitizers - There are gross things that grow in warm water and you need something to keep the bacteria killed so that your family and friends don't get sick. There are a lot of different options for Hot Tub sanitizers like chlorine, bromine, biguanides, all have their pros and cons. Check out our post here to see what we recommend.
- Filtration - Almost as important as sanitizer is filtration. A good quality filter will pull all of the particles out of the water and keep it sparkling clear. Things that people leave behind while soaking, lotions, makeup, etc make the water cloudy and smelly. Bacteria that has been killed by your sanitizer will also start to make the water cloudy if you don't have a good filter. Most newer model spas have a good filter built in, but you need to make sure you clean it monthly and replace it when it is needed.
- Circulation - Get a hot tub with a 24 hour circulation pump if you can. It will keep that water moving through your filter 24 hours a day. Stagnant water is not good. It will also keep that good sanitizer spread evenly through all of the water and reduce the amount of sanitizer that you use. If your hot tub does not have a 24 hour circulation pump then make sure to review your manual on how to change the filtration cycles. At least 6 - 8 hours of circulation is highly recommended. You can program that by following the manufacturer's recommendations in your manual.
- Balancers - These are minerals and adjusters that maintain the ph, Total Alkalinity, and Calcium Hardness of your water. These are important to manage as well. If they are not managed properly the water can become very corrosive to your hot tub. These levels if out of balance can also inhibit the ability of the sanitizer to do it's job and make the water cloudy.
General Hot Tub Chemicals for dummies -Regular Spa Maintenance Schedule
- Daily (30 minutes): Soak in your hot tub. Enjoy the benefits of the wonderful combination of Heat, Buoyancy and Massage all rolled into one!
- Weekly/Monthly (5-10 Minutes): Test your spa water, shock as needed and add balancers as needed. This can either be done weekly or monthly depending on the type of sanitizer system that you choose. With the @ease system that we highly recommend it is only monthly.
- Monthly (10 Minutes): Clean your filter. We recommend keeping a spare filter on hand so you can just swap it out monthly and then clean it when it is convenient. It needs to be soaked in a filter cleaning solution to get it really clean. Replace as needed.
- Monthly (5 Minutes): Wipe down the spa above the waterline, condition the hardcover to keep the vinyl moisturized for a long life.
- Every 3-4 months (30 Minutes): Drain the hot tub, clean the inside of the shell, and refill with fresh water. Start your chemicals and balancing over.
Well that is Hot Tub Chemicals for dummies in a nutshell. Hope that helps and please leave a comment below if you have any other questions, we promise we will get back to every one of them!