This useful guide covers a number of important issues to be considered during spa maintenance procedures. It deals with the daily, weekly and on-going maintenance of spas and hot tubs, water testing and re-filling operations.
When entering the wonderful world of soaking away those stresses and blues, remember the higher temperatures and relative higher bathing loads per volume of water have an effect.
Controls and measurements become more critical under these conditions. Good spa maintenance is therefore esential.
Spa Start-up and Re-Start
When setting up your spa, begin by oxidising the water with Accepta Spa Granular Shock or Non-Chlorine Shock.
Daily Routine
Check your sanitiser and pH level, and dirty clean waterlines with Accepta Spa Surface Cleaner.
Weekly Routine
Oxidise your water with Accepta Spa Granular Shock or Non-Chlorine Shock and use Accepta Spa Sparkle for extra clarity and Anti-Foam for controlling foam or suds.
Hard water areas and in areas of high (calcium) hardness, use Accepta Spa Anti-Scalant.
Fortnightly/Monthly Routine
Clean cartridge filters using Accepta’s Cartridge Cleaner. A well managed system should have a spare filter soaking in cartridge cleaner whilst the other is in use.
Note: Rebalance water for alkalinity and hardness (calcium) – see water testing section below.
Spa Water Testing
Always test your spa water with the air blowers off as air bubbles heighten pH and reduce total alkalinity in test results.
Draining and Refilling your Spa Pool
Your small volume of hotter water and relatively heavy bathing loads will promote a more rapid build-up of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) which affect sanitiser effectiveness and can induce scaling.
To prevent TDS rising above 1500ppm, drain the spa periodically.
There are no hard and fast rules, although every month to six weeks is often recommended.
The following formula can also be used as a guide:
(Spa Volume in Litres) divided by (Number of Daily Bathers) divided by 12 = Days Between Draining and Re-Filling
Example - 1200 litres/2 Bathers/12 = 50 Days
IMPORTANT
If you have not used your spa for a while whilst the tub holds water, do not turn your air blowers on without first oxidising the water as per start-up instructions above and/or sanitising as per the daily routine. This will eliminate potential aerosol borne bacteria, which can be inhaled – please refer to our guide on Legionnaires Disease: Controlling Risks Associated with Spa's, Baths & Hot Tubs.
