Maintaining your Spa – A Guide to Cleaning and Chemicals

Hot tubs, spas and swimming pools alike, are likely to harbour germs when not looked after correctly.

With water being a natural substance that has an expiry date, and the addition of bodies stepping in and out, our spas can often become a bit dirty and not very sanitary. This is why we use chemicals to keep a clean balance, protecting both ourselves and our hot tubs and allowing us to not have to fill the spa up like a massive bathtub with fresh water every time we want to use it.

Where to start?

In order to keep the water sanitary, we use chlorine or bromine. Anyone that has ever used a swimming pool will be familiar with this and will probably recognize the smell. These chemicals are dispersed in the water in either tablet or granule form (or both) to keep the water free of germs.

Bromine granules have a very similar reaction in the water to chlorine. Bromine granules are rapid dissolving and should be used in conjunction with bromine tablets to enable the readings to be boosted when required. The ideal bromine reading should be 2 - 4 mg/l (ppm) for residential spas and 4 - 6 mg/l for business use. Your spa manual and our free guide (which we give away with every spa) will tell you how many chemicals to use depending on your model and quantity of water.

Interestingly, you can convert a chlorine spa to bromine at any time by simply adding bromine. To change a bromine spa to chlorine you will need to empty the water and refill then start the spa on chlorine following the chlorine instructions.

Tips for Treatment of your Spa Water:

1. Never add granules to water when people are bathing.
2. Adjust the pH to between 7.0 and 7.6.
3. On startup or Commissioning fresh water, use granules to shock dose the water to a minimum of 20ppm with circulation/blowers on and cover(s)s off.
4. Test the water with a test kit - You should test regularly and before use or at least once per week.
5. To increase the Total Bromine reading by 1 ppm, add 3g of bromine granules per 1000 litres of water.
6. Bromine granules can be added directly to the water with circulation running and the water temperature above 20oC.
7. If using a product to shock dose the water - wait for a minimum of 40 minutes before bathing and retest to ensure the readings are in the ideal range.

The difference between Bromine and Chlorine is that Bromine is more stable at higher temperatures and has less of a potent smell, although commonly the smell of Bromine is harder to wash off the skin after you have bathed in it. Chlorine is still, however, a very reliable way to sanitise your spa water and continues to be popular among spa owners.

Other products that you will need to help keep your spa or hot tub clean include:

• Balancers – granules that help to adjust the pH and mineral balance of the water.
• Clarifier – to keep your water crystal clear
• No foam solution – to prevent foam from forming on the water surface
• Shock cleaners – to boost sanitized levels of the water when needed
• Stain & scale inhibitor – does what it says on the tin
• Cover cleaner & preserver – don’t forget to look after the cover too!
• Cleaning gel or spray – for when the tub is empty and needs to be cleaned, you can also get some cool built-in sponge gloves to do this with
• Testing kits – you will definitely need a pack of test strips for testing the pH balance and chemical levels in the water before you get in so not to irritate your skin.

Always read your manual before getting into your spa or when you are setting it up, as chemicals in too higher dosage can prove harmful and need to be applied correctly. You should also store them somewhere safe, away from animals and children. Although all of this can seem quite daunting, we think it is all part of the ritual of owning a luxury spa and the setup process is just as exciting as using your hot tub.

If you need further advice on cleaning and maintaining your spa – feel free to get in touch with our team and we will be happy to help.