Having a spa at home is just awesome, and your decision to invest in one deserves commendation for sure. However, the thing about spas, pools, hot tubs and just about any artificial waterbody, is that maintenance qualifies as a very important part which you simply can’t ignore, because all it takes is a few days of uncleaned water to turn your spa’s mineral rich water into a pool of bacteria, ripe for insects to lay eggs in! Read on for some handy maintenance tips.
Know Your Ranges
It is important to know exactly what your spa’s ranges should be in terms of water hardness, sanitizer levels, etc. Unless you know them, you can’t take action to maintain them, so here’s a proven guide that will not let you down.
Bromine – 2ppm to 4ppm, pH level – 7.4 to 7.6, Total alkalinity – 18ppm to 120 ppm, calcium hardness – 150ppm to 250ppm and chlorine – 1ppm to 3ppm.
Do keep in mind that truly good spas are always those that are maintained with their unique or at least a proven, specific water chemistry. These are reference ranges and should help you get started nonetheless.
Test the Water Regularly
You already have the reference ranges, so all that is left to do is maintain those ranges. A crucial part of that maintenance is of course, regular testing. Test each and every component of your spa’s water chemistry to make sure that they have not gone down or up beyond the expected ranges. Do so at least every two days, if not on a daily basis.
Understand that depending on what else you decided to add to the spa, the testing part will be more extensive and may require a different water chemistry composition altogether. Add what you need to in order to maintain your spa’s water chemistry, even when you are not using it.
Cleaning Spa Filters
Remember that bacterial mess we talked about in the introduction? Well, that’s precisely what is prevented by the water filters and the sanitizers, but only as long as both of them are in perfect order.
Sanitizers are part of maintaining the water chemistry and we have discussed that already, so make sure that you are cleaning out the filters every month. Some of them come with their own pressure gauges to help you discern when it’s time to clean it. The general rule is to clean it out right after the pressure gauge shows a rise of pressure by anything between 8 to 10 PSI from what the gauge was reading right after you had installed it for the first time, or cleaned it out the last time.
Replacing Spa Filters
It is recommended to change your spa filter every year if the spa sees regular use. Some filters may last up to two whole years, but that’s a risk not worth taking. In any case, when it’s finally time to get your spa replacement filter, do make sure that you get a good one, preferably something that qualifies as a Tier 1 spa replacement filter.
All the same tips also apply if you have a hot tub for instance, but the water chemistry might be different. At its core, cleaning and maintaining spas and hot tubs actually is not that hard, as long as you know what to do, and continue to do it on a regular basis.