Having a hot tub is indeed a good thing especially if you love to have a relaxing and calming time after tiring work the whole day. Of course, when you’re planning to get a hot tub, you will definitely consider a lot of things including maintenance. Taking care of the hot tub will affect its usage age and the quality of the water itself because you don’t want to soak your body in dirty or even acidic water.
Whether you decide to buy a hot tub for your personal use or entertainment, you want to be in clean and fresh water. Keeping your hot tub water clean with balanced chemistry can make the whole hot tub lasts longer and free from bacteria and other dust. If you’re a new hot tub owner and not sure how to maintain your hot tub, keep reading to get quick guides about it!
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How to Maintain A Hot Tub
#1 Checking Water Circulation
If you have an outdoor hot tub, it’s more likely to get exposed to any organic and inorganic contaminants that can cause bacterias to grow faster. One of the ways that you can use to prevent this from happening is to make sure that the water circulates well. It’s because when you circulate your hot tub well, those bacterias won’t stay in the tub for a longer time.
Some hot tubs types come with automatic settings that can schedule the circulation time by themselves. For people who have a standard hot tub with manual settings, you can do it by turning on the hot tub for about 15-20 minutes.
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#2 Testing Water Chemistry
Here is another important step that you have to do to make sure that you’re not soaking in a too acidic hot tub. As you may have known that water with a high acidic level may cause damage to your skin, eye, hair, and the hot tub itself. To make sure that the quality is on the right level, use chemical strips kit with these pointers:
- pH: the safe pH range should be between 7.4 – 7.6. The number below this means that it’s too acidic and values above this mean that the water is too basic and will make the sanitizer works less. As for this step, you should do it at least twice a week.
- Alkalinity: the alkalinity number of your water should be between 100 parts per million (ppm) to 150 ppm. If the number is too high, it might make the water becomes cloudy and cause scaling.
- Calcium Hardness: the value needs to be about 100 ppm to 250 ppm. If it’s too low, it might cause corrosion, and if it’s too high, it might scale and create cloudiness.
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#3 Cleaning Hot Tub Filter
Another important hot tub part that you shouldn’t miss is the filter because it’s where the water comes from. You can do this step at least every two weeks. There are three methods that you can do to clean the filter:
- Rinse the filter with warm water or by using a hose to clean the build-up.
- Soak your hot tub filter with a hot tub cleaner for deep cleansing and to remove any stubborn contaminants.
- Spray the filter with a cleaner and rinse it with clean water.
If you feel that the filter is not on the best performance, damage, or stopped working, it could be a sign that you have to replace it with a new one.
#4 Sanitizing and Shocking
Sanitizing and shocking can be done if you’re not using the hot tub for a while or when you have been using it often. Two chemical products that many people use to sanitize and shock hot tubs are chlorine and bromine. The difference between these products is:
- Chlorine kills contaminants faster than bromine but can leave smells. It can be harsh on the skin, hair, eyes if you put too much product.
- Bromine kills more slowly but barely leaves any odor. Also, it’s more gentle to the skin. Another point that you can consider is that the price of bromine is quite expensive than chlorine.
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#5 Cleaning Hot Tub Cover
Hot tub covers are another thing that you have to take care of because they might cause build-up and show mildew due to dampness and moisture surrounding. You can air out the cover twice a week up to once a month to make sure that bad odor and build-up are away. Some simple ways to keep your hot tub cover clean are:
- Wiping the cover with a damp clean and a soft cloth to keep the surface clean from dirt and mildew.
- Taking off the cover and air it out to keep any bad odor away for one or two days.
- If you spot any rips, grab a tape or patch quickly and cover the ripped area.
- If you’re going to wash the cover, choose a sunny day so the cover dries faster.
#6 Scrubbing Hot Tub
Last but not least is scrubbing the tub itself to clean the surface from any dirt, grease, and build-up, especially if your hot tub is installed outdoor. To clean the tub, we recommend using a soft sponge to wipe down the shell and around the jets. Regular tub scrubbing can be done weekly before or after use.
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Having a hot tub is indeed great but please don’t forget to maintain it well because no matter what purpose you’re looking for a hot tub, you don’t want to get sick from it instead. By doing regular thorough hot tub cleaning, you will get a long-lasting hot tub life and also a comfortable and relaxing hydrotherapy feature.
