Regular Water Maintenance: Hot Tubs
HOW TO READ A TEST STRIP
SPA/HOT TUB
BROMINE
The first reading is Harness Keeping the Harness in the “OK/IDEAL” Range is very important.
Proper levels of Hardness Prevents Corrosion to Spa Equipment and also Prevents FOAM
The second Reading is Bromine:
If too Low your water can be harmful to your skin and also you can get ALGAE!
If too High it can be harmful to your skin and can also ruin your pillows, jets, and inside your spa cover.
3rd and 4th reading RULE OF THUMB:
Always fix your ALKALINITY first. This controls your PH.
If your Alkalinity is Low increase with Alkalinity Up (spa balance)
If your Alkalinity is High decrease it with Spa Minus.
Your PH should fix itself WITHOUT adding ph plus. HOWEVER if your alkalinity is perfect and your ph is reading low then use ph plus. If you use chlorine for your spa/hot tub, you will also need to use chlorine test strips to check for chlorine levels.
SPA/HOT TUB TIPS
SHOCKING YOUR HOT TUB :
It is very important to Shock your Hot tub on a weekly basis.
When you add Bromine or Chlorine as your sanitizer it goes and attacks the bacteria. Once the bromine or chlorine has done its job it just lingers in the hot water. Therefore you need to Shock your water once a week with a HOT WATER SHOCK TREATMENT. (NOT an extra dose of brom/chlor!!!)
We have a product called ZAP that you would add to the hot water and then you would leave the cover off for 20mins with the pumps running. This allows the dead bromine or chlorine to evaporate into the air and prevents it from soaking all that dead waste into your spa cover.
CLOUDY WATER:
If your test strip is reading perfect and you still have cloudy water we would recommend putting in a product called Spa Clear. IF your bromine/chlorine is low, you may have to put in Bromine/Chlorine every other day for 3-4 days than add clarifier to collect all the particles. Remember each time you use a Clarifier like Spa Clear you need to rinse your filter the before and after you use it
FOAM IN WATER:
If you are getting an excess amount of foam in your hot tub or spa. It usually means that your test strip is off in some. Always Use your test strip first and make necessary adjustments before resorting to products to control foam.
Products such as, Anti-Foam or Foam Away can ruin your water causing heavy grease marks on acrylic and chunky floating particles that clog up your filter and jets.
If Soap, deodorant, shampoo, lotions get into the water you can have foam as well. Treat with your granular bromine every other day for 2-3 days than use your ZAP shock treatment. IF you end up getting heavy PHOSPHATES from all the soaps etc..your sanitizer Bromine/Chlorine will read low a lot and you foam or cloudy water. You will need to bring your water in to be tested.
Or if you are using well water to fill or touch up your spa water foam can occur.
There are products for those who wish to use Well Water to fill up their spas. They help to remove the metals that are found in well water( iron, copper, or magnesium). Water will change color when sanitizer is add may stain your filter, stain your walls and may cause foaming. Sometimes you will get a really bad smell.
SLIPPERY TUB WALLS
Usually what this means is that your Bromine or Chlorine levels became too low. We would recommend adding a cap full of Bromine/Chlorine every other day for a week. This will help raise the sanitizer level up and kill any algae that is present.
As always we offer FREE water testing. Simply bring in a water sample for us to test so we can help you correct your water in a quickly, safe fashion.