Keeping Your Home Spa Clean

Purchasing a home spa is a great expense which can be easily wasted if you don’t keep your hot tub in good condition. Hot tubs provide an area for you to relax and unwind at the end of the day. They also provide a luxurious place to entertain guests. That being said, like your house, you want your hot tub to be clean when others are relaxing in it.

The following illustrates tips and procedures that will help to ensure that your hot tub remains in good condition:

Recommended Procedures for Hot Tub Maintenance:

On a Day-to-Day Basis

• Check and regulate the sanitizer level as required.
  
• Monitor the PH level to ensure it is at a safe and appropriate level.
  
• Check the water line with water cleaning paste.
  

On a Weekly Basis

• Oxidize the hot tub with non-chlorine shock.
  
• Add no-foaming lotion to reduce the amount of foaming in your tub.
  
• Check the calcium hardness.

On a Monthly Basis

• Using a cartridge cleaner, clean the filter cartridge.
  
• Check the water balance by taking a water sample.
  

Along with the procedures above, there are also a number of things to remember to do whenever you change or top-up the water in your hot tub. The three most importance hot tub maintenance procedures are - balance, sanitization and oxidization of the water in your hot tub.

1. Water Balance – Water balance ensures that your hot tub maintains an ideal comfort-level for everyone in the tub. It also ensures the chemical efficiency is up to par. Calcium hardness, total alkalinity and pH levels are all key factors to maintaining water balance. Here are the appropriate levels for each of the elements:
   
   
   
   • Calcium Harness – Between 100-200mg/l
     
   • Total Alkalinity – Between 125-150mg/l
     
   • pH Levels – Between 7.4 and 7.6
     
   
   
2. Sanitization – Sanitizing your hot tub kills any bacteria that might be living in there. It also aids in the prevention of algae growth and the overall safety of your hot tub. The sanitization level should be monitored on a regular basis using test strips which are available in bromine and chlorine forms. Here are the appropriate levels for bromine and chlorine:
   
   
   
   • Bromine – Between 3-6mg/l
     
   • Chlorine – Between 3-5mg/l
     
   
   
3. Oxidization – In order for your hot tub and spa to remain clean, you must oxidize it on a weekly basis using non-chlorine shock. Oxidizing increases the comfort for bathers. It also gives the water a little extra sparkle.
   

Follow these steps to ensure a clean, well maintained hot tub for you and your friends to enjoy.

Terri Greene works as a contributing editor for the http://www.hottubsandhomespas.com website which offers information about hot tubs - for everything from portable varieties of hot tubs to spa covers.