How to Take Care of Your Hot Tub
Looking after your hot tub can sometimes seem a little overwhelming after purchasing. Questions such as how to balance water chemistry can leave some confused, with so many people saying so many different things.
So we’ve broken down each aspect of owning your tub to help explain some of the harder, less widely understood topics, along with all the basics to help you get going on your hot tub adventure!
Still have questions? Get in touch
Water testing
Your tub should be tested at least once per week with a test strip or photometer to test for parameters such as chlorine, pH, alkalinity & hardness. Test strips are the easiest way to test your tubs water parameters at home and should always be on hand. We do recommend testing more frequently for heavier & more frequent users.
We do suggest always testing before use however to ensure you’re bathing safely in the correct water parameters.
Pro tip - Know how many litres of water your hot tub holds, this helps a lot with dosing chemicals.
Ideal levels:
Free Chlorine: 3.0 – 5.0mg/L
This is the amount of chlorine in your water available to be used.
pH: 7.2 – 7.4 ideal (7.0 – 7.6 acceptable)
This is the pH level of your water.
Total Alkalinity: 80 – 200 mg/L CaCO3
The level of alkaline substances in your water.
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Filters
Your hot tub filters should be cleaned as frequently as possible, this helps to remove physical debris, calcium deposit build ups and other physical matter out of your hot tub water.
They should be cleaned weekly with a filter spray and chemically treated once per month and during a water change, always making sure to rinse through thoroughly with clean water before being returned to service.
We also recommend you replace your filters annually, or when chemical treatment no longer cleans them completely.
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Sanitisers/Chlorine
A hot tubs sanitiser is extremely important to the safety of your water. This is what will kill bacteria and prevent waterborne diseases from making themselves at home in your tub.
We recommend using chlorine to sanitise your hot tub. (Other sanitisers such as bromine, and salt systems are also available.) Sanitisers when added to your tub, get used up by the bacteria and possible bodily fluids such as sweat, and are released as a gas. This is why you must top up your chlorine regularly, because its being used up, constantly to keep your water clean.
We recommend getting a chlorine floater along with multifunctional chlorine tablets. These slowly release chlorine, algaecide and clarifier into your tub meaning less chlorine top ups along with the benefits of the clarifier and algaecide. Start off by adding 2 tablets and dip test daily. Take one away if too much chlorine is being added, add one if not enough.
Pro tip: Ensure you check the type and size of tablets you’re purchasing. Ensure to purchase 20g tablets for use on a hot tub or spa.
Please note - As above there are other sanitisers available, such as Bromine & Salt systems. So, it may be worth researching these prior to deciding what you’re going to use indefinitely. They all come with their own drawbacks and features. However, chlorine in our opinion, is a strong disinfectant, most common (therefore easily available), easy to manage, and good value, but does come as a relatively harsh chemical with a strong odour that some may not prefer.
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Adjusting pH
Your pH value is another important factor of your tubs water. If your pH value is too low your water will be too acidic, leading to early part failure and possible irritation. Values that are too high, will lead to your sanitisers not being as effective and water cloudiness.
Use chemicals ‘pH +’ and ‘pH -‘ for adjusting your pH levels. These come with dosage recommendations depending on how far out your pH may be in either direction for that specific product. These all work generally the same by doing what it says on the tin. Ph - will bring down your pH, and pH + will increase it.
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Alkalinity
Your alkalinity and pH levels rely on each other and is the final important parameter of your hot tubs water. This acts as a buffer when balancing pH and you’ll really struggle to balance pH levels if your alkalinity levels are out of the ideal ranges.
If your alkalinity levels are too high, you must use pH minus to bring this back down which will also plummet your pH levels. Then raise your pH level using pH +.
If your alkalinity levels are too low, you can use ‘TA Plus’ which will raise your alkalinity. You can also use pH + however it will raise your alkalinity levels less effectively and more strongly affect your pH level.
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Circulation
Make sure your hot tub runs for at least 30 minutes, twice a day. We generally set our tubs to run for 30 minutes at 12:00 and then 12hrs later.
The longer your tub circulates, the cleaner your tub will be, as when the water is circulating its passing through your tubs filter.
When your tub’s heater is running or you’re in the tub, it’s circulating the water too. It’s also good practice to run a tubs ‘clean-up cycle’ after each use.
Please note - Never leave hot tub water without regular filtration cycles. Water will become stagnant, and sanitisers may not be able to circulate leading to unsafe bathing.
Cleaning
Clean the inside of your tub as much as possible to keep on top of any build up.
We suggest a routine weekly clean of the waterline, any plastics that come away, headrests & cover. But don’t forget to routinely clean your tubs outer shell too when this becomes noticeably ready for a clean.
Pro tip - Remove headrests between hot tub uses. This helps to keep them in better condition for longer as they often deteriorate with general wear or by constant contact with chemicals within the water.
It’s also good practice to UV protect & polish your hot tubs cover to prevent against fading & cracking.
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Water changes
Water change your tub every 3 months maximum. This is because your ‘Total Dissolved Solids’ (TDS) levels are important. Hot tubs are only small bodies of water, contaminants build up which generally makes it harder for your sanitisers and other chemicals to work. The longer your water is in service, the more chemicals will have been added to it over time, meaning higher TDS levels and you may be using more chemicals to combat contaminant build up. Ensure to use a system flush a prior to dropping your water to clean and disinfect pipes, pumps and other internal workings.
Please note - The National Spa & Pool Institute, in its standards for both swimming pools and spas, recommends an ideal TDS of between 1,000 and 2,000 ppm, with a maximum of 3,000 ppm.
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Chlorine shock
A chlorine shock is adding a high dosage of chlorine to your water and letting it naturally drop back down to within safe levels. We recommend this is done once a week in heavily used tubs to kill bacteria, breakdown organic compounds, clear water and help your day-to-day chlorine to work more effectively. This should also be done after any water change.
Open your hot tubs cover all the way.
Ensure the Alkalinity & pH balance is correct.
Turn on the jets to agitate the water. If you have a blower, do not switch this on.
Next, prepare your shock dose in a bucket or jug. Please read your chemical's label for dosage amounts however, we use 20g of stabilised chlorine granules, per 1000 litres.
Carefully pour the treatment into your spa, near the water inlets. This will allow the solution to circulate evenly.
Keep the cover off for around 20 minutes to allow some gas to be expelled while the chlorine breaks down the bacteria.
Replace the cover and wait for chlorine levels to naturally drop back down to safe levels before using your tub. Always test and ensure safe levels with a test strip (or other method) after shocking.
Best practices & Tips
Always shower before using your spa to minimise natural oils etc. entering your water.
Only rinse through swimsuits in clean water and do not use detergent. This helps to prevent foam & bubbles.
Air out your spa covers twice per week to avoid them getting saturated and heavy.
Keep a fresh filter to hand just in case.
Turn temperature down between use to save money on your electricity bills.
Remember to close air control valves when spa isn’t being used to avoid cold air cooling your water down as it mixes.
Get your hot tub shut down if leaving switched off for long periods of time or during any freezing weather to prevent damages.
Hot Tub Routine
Daily/Before use
Test water and ensure safe levels before every use.
Top up sanitiser if req.
Balance pH & alkalinity if req.
Rinse filters through 24 hours after use with clean water.
Weekly
Dip test water and adjust levels accordingly so they are within safe levels as listed above
Clean water line & wipe down cover along with headrests
Clean filter with spray and rinse through with water
We also offer a weekly water balancing service leaving you much to handle day-to-day.
Monthly
Chemically treat filters
Check your tubs valves, jets pumps & blowers for operation
For heavy users, we offer a monthly water changing service keeping your hot tub crystal clear and always running at its best.
Quarterly
Conduct a water change with a system flush
Clean hot tub shell & ancillaries such as steps
Annually
A full service is required annually to fully assess the hot tubs safety, critical components, wiring and other hardware along with a full flush the pipes from grime and bio film to keep sanitisers working effectively.