How to properly clean and take care of your hot tub or spa

Hot tubs and spas can be very safe to use if properly treated and cared for. As a general rule of thumb, and without testing the water, spas should be clear without much foaming, low odors and appear to be in good condition.

There are several basic steps in proper hot tub and spa care to ensure safety of the bathers.

For best results, purchase a good quality test kit that will give you nice accurate and detailed results. If you use chlorine or salt as the sanitizer, the test kit should have a range of 0 to 5 parts per million, commonly referred to as PPM, for bromine spas the test kit should have a range of 0-10 PPM.

Always use caution when working with chemicals. Never mix 2 chemicals together, store the chemicals inside at room temperature and try to use the chemical in less than 1 year.

Always keep the water circulating to insure proper filtration and you must maintain a chlorine or bromine residual to prevent water related illnesses. Residential hot tubs should be drained every 60 days or less to control total dissolved solids. Commercial spas should be drained every 7 days or less.

It is very important to maintain the proper chemical levels in your hot tub. Always keep in mind that the sanitizer or chlorine product is what is keeping the water safe to swim in. If you use chlorine, keep the chlorine level between 3-5 PPM. It is very important to keep your chlorine level over 2 PPM to avoid recreational water illness. If you use bromine, maintain the levels between 6 and 10 PPM.

Keep your pH between 7.4 and 7.6. If the pH is low, add soda ash, if the pH is high add sodium bisulfate commonly called pH down, or use muriatic acid. Low pH is corrosive, high pH is scale forming and also hinders the performance of chlorine.

Maintain your alkalinity from 80-120 PPM. By maintaining your alkalinity you will stabilize your pH. Similar to pH levels, low alkalinity is also very corrosive, and high alkalinity will cause scale formation.

Keep your calcium level between 150 to 250 PPM. Again, like alkalinity and pH levels, low calcium is very corrosive, high calcium will cause scale formation.

You only need iron and stain control chemicals if you have iron in your source water. You will notice brown or red iron stains on the hot tubs surface if this is the case.

Again, it is very important to maintain adequately high levels of bromine or chlorine to ensure bathers safety. Close the tub when the water is cloudy, this indicates an unhealthy situation. Bacteria and biofilm thrive in cloudy water with low sanitizer levels. You can shock the tub with a chlorine compound, or if it is too bad, drain and refill the tub.

Residential hot tubs should be drained every 60 days or less because of total dissolved solids. Commercial hot tubs and spas should drain every 7 days or less.

Now, the most overlooked and least understood aspects of hot tub safety, and the leading cause for hot tub infections, rashes and other bacteria related illnesses is biofilm.

Why is it important to clean the biofilm out of your hot tub's plumbing?

Biofilm, commonly thought of as slime or grime, is where the dangerous pathogens live and are protected from chlorine and bromine. If you remove the biofilm, you are removing the bacteria and pathogens in the hot tub. If you remove the biofilm with a cleaner like Technical Pool Solutions Hot Tub System Cleaner your spa will be much safer, easier to treat with chemicals, less foaming, reduced combined chlorine, reduced odors and reduced chemical consumption. Because biofilm is very corrosive with a very low pH, you will have less wear and tear on the hot tubs system.

Technical Pool Solutions leading the pool and spa industry in research, has conducted research on biofilm in pools and spas. They have concluded that biofilm is where bacteria lives in with documented SEM microscope images and bacteria testing. the SEM images clearly show bacteria living in biofilm. University of Bozeman's Center for Biofilm Engineering studies show that biofilm is protecting bacteria from sanitizers such as chlorine and bromine. The bacteria that is free-floating in the water is rather easily killed by the hot tubs sanitizer. If you see grime on your cartridge, or in the pool sand, this is biofilm. Biofilm is most prevalent on the tile line, inside the skimmers, inside the plumbing lines, but the most biofilm is in the filter. This is why it is very important to regularly use a filter cleaner from a manufacturer that has researched the effectiveness of their products confirming the removal of biofilm, scale and grime.

Having a large party? It is particularly important to clean the hot tub after heavy use with a Hot Tub System Cleaner designed to rid the tub of bather waste, biofilm and harmful bacteria.

Some hot tub biofilm cleaners are designed to remove the biofilm without much brown residue. You will see foaming with most biofilm removing chemicals. The dirtier the hot tubs water, the more foaming or chemical reaction you will see. Choose a cleaner that is proven to remove biofilm and is easy to use.

Keep people away from the tub while the cleaning process is underway because there may be some odors during the cleaning process.

Drain the hot tub when you have completed cleaning the biofilm out of the hot tubs system. Then clean the tubs surface with a good non-foaming cleaner, or a swimming pool tile line cleaner.

Clean your filters on a regular basis. Clean cartridge filters with a cleaner that removes calcium, grime, bacteria and biofilm for a much healthier hot tub.

Clean sand filters with a professional sand filter cleaner that is designed to remove scale, grime, biofilm and bacteria. By cleaning the filter on a regular basis you will have a much safer and easier spa to take care of with reduced combined chlorine, reduced bacteria, clearer cleaner water.

Remember, with proper care you will be able to enjoy a nice hot tub experience with reduced chemical costs, reduced maintenance and most importantly, safe for your family and friends.

A comfortable temperature will be between 90 and 105 F. Experiment and find what is comfortable for you. For public spas many states have laws regarding a maximum temperature, usually 107 F, so check local regulations if this is for public use.

Water temperature in a spa should never exceed at 104 degrees F. For healthy adult, 100 degrees F is safer and special caution for children is recommended. Before entering a spa or hot tub, the water temperature should be measured with the use of accurate thermometer. Persons taking special medications that will cause drowsiness should not use spa or hot tub.