For the comfort and health of users as well as for the durability of the equipment, the correct maintenance of your hot tub or spa is essential.
Spa and Swimming pool, so close and yet so different
The water in a hot tub gradually degrades due to impurities (sweat, cream, bacteria, etc.). Water tends to become more contaminated with high temperatures and high levels of usage.
The purpose of the treatment is to:
- Limit the proliferation of bacteria and algae
- Ensure swimming comfort
- Avoid limescale deposits
The water in a spa must therefore be clear, disinfected and disinfecting, but also healthy and comfortable.
As for the swimming pool:
- the treatment of a spa includes a physical and a chemical component
- 80% of water quality depends on physical action
If the filtration is inadequate or not efficient enough, the user must over-treat his spa. But due to a smaller volume, the buffer capacity of a spa is minimal, the reaction time is much shorter. Water can very quickly become chemically saturated, which alters the disinfection process. The treatment of a spa must therefore be optimized, it involves a totally different chemistry from that of the pool.
What are the consequences of poorly treated water?
- Irritation of the eyes, skin, ENT area or even feet for the user
- Discomfort of use (foam) and alteration of equipment (corrosion, discoloration, headrest cracks, calcareous deposits, rough or slippery seats if algae are present) for the spa
The 7 key steps to opening a spa
- Clean the tank with a suitable product
- Fill with tap water, drilling water should be avoided as it is loaded with heavy metals
- Check the spa volume
- Check the pH, TAC and TH before adjusting the water balance
- Perform a shock treatment adapted to the daily maintenance treatment
- Set up the maintenance treatment: bromine, chlorine, active oxygen, etc.
- Add anti-algae, for example Acti Anti-Alg
Preserve the efficiency of its filtration, the necessary passage to quality water
The maintenance of the cartridge filter is an essential operation to preserve filtration efficiency and water quality. The cartridge is changed every year and cleaned every time the spa is drained, i.e. every 3 months! To do this, it must be immersed in a cleaning solution:
- Dilute 1 litre of product for 10 litres of water
- Immerse the cartridge for 1 hour
- Rinse thoroughly until there is no more foam or residual product: a crucial operation to be carried out with a comb that allows you to rinse each fold of the cartridge perfectly.
Maintain control of this pH, which is tending to rise
The pH (hydrogen potential) of the water determines the effectiveness of the disinfection process: the higher it is, the less active chlorine or bromine will be. However, in the case of a spa, the trend of this variable is clearly upward due to evaporation and carbon dioxide release. Although bromine supports a relatively high pH (7.6) and users are only very unlikely to immerse their heads, a high pH remains a problem for both equipment and users. Hence the importance, as in swimming pools, of ensuring the right water balance and adjusting the pH to an optimal level of 7.4 or 7.6 (for bromine). Both treatment and product consumption will be optimized and comfort will be improved.
The benefits of adjusted pH and balanced water
- No eye or skin irritation
- Water neither aggressive nor corrosive
- No calcareous deposits
- No colouring of the water
- No foam
- No degradation of the spa tank
- No cracking of the headrest cover
- No corrosion of the massage jets
- Better disinfection
How to lower the pH?
Sulfuric acid, used in swimming pools to lower the pH, is too concentrated to be considered in a spa. Its dosage would be too difficult, even unmanageable. It is recommended to choose a powdered product (sodium bisulfate) whose quantity can be adjusted more easily. The very fine crystals dissolve very quickly in hot water, which makes it possible to act quickly on the pH. Count 15 g/m3 (Acti pH Minus) to lower the pH by 0.2 units.
Implement treatment and prevent disruptions
The purpose of regular treatment is to destroy the microorganisms present in the water to disinfect it and make it disinfectant. For the spa, it is common to use bromine (Acti Brom Tab 20). This sea salt derivative has certain characteristics that make it more effective than chlorine in the presence of high pH and temperature, a typical spa configuration. Unlike chloramines, bromamines (unoxidized residual particles) are disinfectant and much less irritating.
Another advantage, interesting when performing an Acti Shock treatment: bromine is compatible with chlorine when diluted. Shock chlorine also helps to reactivate the bromine present in the basin.
Be careful, as it is difficult to properly quantify disinfectant and residual bromic agents, it is therefore preferable to limit their use by ensuring that filtration, flow circulation and water balance are always optimal.
Find all spa maintenance products on our website. Questions? Feel free to contact us!
