Hurray, it’s May! Hopefully most of the cold wet days we’ve been experiencing (to such a huge degree!) are behind us now. If you’ve been discouraged to head out to your hot tub for that healthy morning or evening soak, now’s the time to get back in the habit. It will certainly improve your mood and your outlook every single day.
If you’re one of those people getting ready to ramp up your hot tub use, here are five important things to remember to keep your hot tub water healthy for soaking:
Never soak in cloudy water.
A number of things can cause cloudy hot tub water, most importantly not having enough sanitizer in the tub to prevent bacteria growth. Other things cause cloudy water as well—too much calcium hardness, pH that’s too high, excessive detergents entering the tub from swimsuits used for soaking. Make sure after every soak sanitizer is introduced to the tub, and a clean cycle is activated. If your tub doesn’t have a convenient clean cycle button, be sure the regular jets run for a minimum of 10-15 minutes.
Keep your hot tub filters in excellent shape.
If you haven’t replaced your hot tub filters in the last two years, it’s a safe bet you need new ones. We insist our filters do the lion share of the cleaning of our tubs, yet we don’t make sure they’re clean and in great condition. If your tub has a single filter cartridge that’s less than 45 square feet, it should be replaced every year. If your tub has a single filter cartridge over 45 square feet, it should be replaced every two years. If your tub has multiple filter cartridges, they need to be replaced every two to three years.
If you don’t need a new filter, guess what? The ones you have need to be cleaned monthly. Filters can’t clean your tub and keep the water clear if the filters are too clogged with dirt, body oils, and other things we care not to mention, in the interest of weak stomachs. Pick up some good filter cleaner today at one of our showrooms and be sure your filters are in excellent cleaning condition.
Make sure your ozone system is working.
It’s always a surprise to a lot of our customers that an ozone system doesn’t last forever. Even good ozone systems typically last for about three years before they quit producing ozone. Ozone is a terrific assist to keep water healthy. It helps keep pH levels from fluctuating, oxidizes contaminants and used sanitizer out of the water to prevent cloudiness and smelly water, and definitely extends the life of hot tub water. Call our Service Center to talk about testing your ozone system and see if it’s still working properly. If not, consider a new ozone system today.
Test your water!!
Yes, we know it’s not the most exciting thing on the planet, but it’s the smart thing to do. You spend a lot of money on a terrific hot tub, and you owe it to yourself to keep the tub in great shape. Water that’s out of balance causes skin irritation, burning eyes, stinky water, and eats up sanitizer that you want there to kill bacteria. Out of balance water ruins parts that are not cheap to replace! Testing water isn’t hard, thanks to simple test strips that do the task in seconds.
Keep detergents out of the hot tub.
If swimsuits are used while soaking, do yourself a favor and clean them using swimsuit cleaners. There are many out in the market—most sports shops carry at least one type, as do many online retailers. These cleaners keep your suits from fading, and do so without traditional detergents that don’t fully rinse out of suits. Washing suits with regular detergent really isn’t good for them, and it allows residual soap to hop in the tub with you for your soak, leaving cloudiness and foaming behind.
Here’s to an active fun spring and summer ahead—and relaxing in healthy hot tub water!