Your spa is your sanctuary, and should be treated with care.
After a rough day on the job or an intense workout, you want to be able to depend on those deep-tissue hydromassage jets in your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub to soak away the aches and pains and help you rest.
To ensure your hot tub can be relied upon to welcome you into its clear, warm depths, you need to be taking the proper steps in caring for it.
Not sure where to begin?
No problem! You’ll find everything you need in this six-step guide.
These simple hot tub maintenance steps are essential to keeping your spa in tip-top shape, for years to come.
6 Steps for Expert Hot Tub Maintenance
Your hot tub maintenance routine will determine how well your spa runs, and how clean and safe your water is.
Beyond that, it also plays a significant role in its overall lifespan!
This makes a well-rounded hot tub maintenance routine crucial. Discover the world of spa care below, and take control of your hot tub health!
1. Hot Tub Maintenance Includes Periodic Cleaning
There are many important parts of your hot tub that need to be looked after.
A routine cleaning schedule is the easiest way to maintain healthy habits, while prolonging the life of your spa.
Cleaning Schedules
- Test your hot tub water with test strips once or twice a week.
- Treat your water accordingly based on the readings from the test strips.
- Clean the filter(s) every two weeks with water from the hose.
- Use a Filter Flosser for an extra-thorough rinse between the pleats.
- Drain, clean, and refill the hot tub once every three to four months.
Curious about what draining and refilling your Jacuzzi Hot Tub entails? Watch this short video!
If your household is especially active and uses your hot tub quite regularly, you might want to consider increasing the maintenance you perform on your spa filter(s):
- Rinse your hot tub filters as often as possible with warm water or your garden hose
- Spray your filters every week or so with a hot tub filter cleaner to provide a deeper clean. Don’t forget to rinse them after.
- Soak your filters in cleaner every time you drain and refill your hot tub to extend their life and loosen any stubborn particulates. Rinse them thoroughly afterward.
2. Hot Tub Maintenance Includes Using the Right Products
Balancing your spa water can be a song-and-dance routine, if you don’t understand which products to use to achieve optimal results.
Spa Chemicals
- Balance alkalinity first, as it affects the levels of pH and sanitizer
- Test pH levels next, to find that sweet spot. High or low acidity both have negative effects.
- Chlorine or bromine sanitizer levels can vary depending on how often your household uses your hot tub. You may need to test multiple times per week, and add sanitizer accordingly.
- Calcium, or water hardness, can negatively impact skin sensitivities, and can also affect the equipment in your hot tub, where limescale builds up and bogs down your system.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions on your spa chemical products.
- Be mindful of vapours, and keep your jets circulating with your spa cover open to minimize accumulation of gasses.
Be sure to purchase your spa chemicals from an authorized Jacuzzi® dealer.
The quality of the spa products found in your local department store may actually decrease the life of your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub!
3. Hot Tub Maintenance May Require Spa Shock
Regular usage of chlorine or bromine sanitizers are essential to keeping your hot tub water in a healthy state.
However, sometimes you need to combat long-term side effects of the sanitizer itself.
Spa Shock is the perfect solution.
Unwanted Spa Smells
As chlorine (or bromine) breaks down bacteria in your spa, a natural waste product is left behind called chloramines (bromamines).
In small amounts, these chemicals are harmless. But over time, chloramines and bromamines build up to intolerable levels.
When you start to “smell” the chemical sanitizer in your hot tub water, that is the first indication that you need to Shock the -mines out of your water.
Be sure to let the vapours dissipate completely before closing your spa cover after Shock is used.
4. Hot Tub Maintenance Should Include a Helpful Floatie
Did you know?
Even though you’re clean when you get out of the shower, your body still carries residues from your shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Don’t forget the lotions, body oils, and hair products we apply after.
Add in the dead skin we naturally shed, and you have a recipe for unwanted organic substances in your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub.
Bobbles and Tennis Balls
Cue the helpful floatie! We’ve got two recommendations to divert your organic waste away from your spa filters:
- Specially formulated to remove body oil and makeup residues, the Zorbie Hot Tub Water Bobble will literally attract organic matter and hold on tight.
This sponge-like floatie can be placed in your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub skimmer. Aside from residues, the Zorbie bobble will also remove odours, and help with maintaining ideal pH levels.
The best part?
You can tell easily when it’s time to replace it. When it feels dense, or starts to sink just below the water’s surface, your Zorbie sponge has absorbed as much organic matter as it can hold.
Don’t worry, this innovative floatie is hydrophobic–it doesn’t absorb water!
- Alternatively, you can add one (or more) tennis balls to your spa skimmer. The well-known fuzzy fibres on this easily attainable accessory will surely collect organic matter before it hits your filters.
For best results, change them frequently. They aren’t designed to contain oils and other organic materials, so depending on how frequently your household soaks up the bubbles, you should keep a close eye on colouration and texture.
5. Hot Tub Maintenance Should Include Proper Circulation
Every Jacuzzi® Hot Tub is equipped with timer settings for each pump in your spa, activating a primary and secondary filtration cycle, and optimizing water circulation.
Keeping your water constantly moving is a great way to prevent bacteria and algae buildup.
We’ll give you an overview of your options here, but you should refer to your User’s Manual for programming instruction for your specific model.
Primary Filtration Circulation
During the primary filtration cycle, the circulation pump and CLEARRAY® system are activated.
Most Jacuzzi® Hot Tubs are pre-programmed with a default setting to run for eight hours, at midnight.
Navigate through your hot tub control panel menu to adjust this setting for more (or less, if desired) circulation.
Secondary Filtration Circulation
The jets pump activates during the secondary filtration, to provide additional skimming.
Your spa is automatically pre-programmed with a default setting that skips this extra filtration step, but we’re here to recommend you turn that on for optimum water circulation.
Navigate through your control panel menu to select from three Secondary Filtration modes: Holiday, Light, and Heavy.
- Holiday: Set by default when you receive your spa, this mode disables Secondary Filtration
- Light: This mode will activate two 10-minute cycles every other day.
- Heavy: This mode will activate two 10-minute cycles every day.
Circulating your water at regular intervals will not only keep your filters actively scouring your spa water for harmful bacteria, but will also help you maintain a consistent water temperature, helping reduce energy costs in the long run.
6. Hot Tub Maintenance Might Include Water Enhancers
Maintaining your spa chemical routine is a great way to minimize skin irritations, but members of your household might still be sensitive to your hot tub water.
Conditioners
Fortunately, there are specialized water care products on the market to help combat this frustrating, but common, issue.
Consider adding Ultra-Spa Conditioner to your water after your chemical routine.
Not only does this particular water enhancer increase comfort by reducing itching caused by chlorine and bromine sanitizers, but it also adds a light scent to your spa water, putting sensitive soakers at ease.
You can opt to include a water conditioner in your weekly spa chemical maintenance routine, or add them before use.
Aromatherapy Crystals
Your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub will absolutely give you the best hydromassage, hands down.
However, depending on your physical health, or even your mood, your motivation to soak your troubles away might lead you to consider aromatherapy in conjunction with hydrotherapy.
Since you want to avoid adding to your Zorbie’s responsibilities, be sure to only use aromatherapy crystals that are approved by your spa manufacturer.
PharmaSpa is one of our recommended options, and includes several scents to consider, depending on the condition you’re treating:
- Phytomix: Can improve circulation and contains natural antiseptics.
- Lavandula: Recommended for people with sleep deprivation, and offers a soothing and calming effect.
- Tiger Balm: A great options for anyone who suffers from muscular aches will benefit from the Epsom salts used in this therapeutic mixture.
- Eucalyptus: Ideal for respiratory issues, such as head colds and flu. Also generates a cooling, and stimulating effect.
Better yet, PharmaSpa crystals will not damage filters, jets, or pipes of your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub.
Check in With the Experts at Jacuzzi Calgary For All of Your Hot Tub Maintenance Needs
Maintaining your hot tub should not be a complicated process, so it’s okay to let the professionals at Jacuzzi Hot Tubs of Calgary guide you through the do’s and don’ts.
We have all the water care products you need for proper spa maintenance, and have a convenient online shop, so you can easily re-stock on all your supplies from the convenience of your home.
At Jacuzzi Hot Tubs of Calgary, we aim to help our customers live a lifestyle dedicated to health, relaxation and entertainment.
Our team of backyard leisure experts are committed to the care and well-being of your Jacuzzi® Hot Tub. Contact us today to find out more!