Revision

“Should I fill my hot tub with my water softener?”

No.  If you have a water softener you will want to by-pass it to fill your hot tub.  If your water is extremely hard and you are wanting to reduce the harness fill your tub half way with the hard water and top it off with your softener.

If your water is soft it will leach calcium from the acrylic, the jets and the pump fittings causing damage to your hot tub.  However, if your hot tub water is too hard, adding a small amount of Spa Glo each week will prevent calcium build-up (scaling) inside the pipes and on the shell of the hot tub.

If you have soft water, or have filled your tub with soft water, visit the store with a water sample and we can advise you how much calcium (Spa Cal) to put into your tub.

A question often asked is, “when do we change the hot tub water?”.  The answer is: it depends.

You should be draining your hot tub every 3-6 months; but to be more specific depends on the amount of use and number of regular bathers. You will know it’s time to change the water when you cannot control sudsing, are having trouble with keeping your water balanced, or when balanced you cannot get the clean feel and sparkle the hot tub usually has.  As well, if you bring in a water sample, we will test for how much “stuff” is in the water and let you know if it’s time.

Another frequent question is: “how can we keep our water longer?”.  If you are taking care of your water (keeping it balanced) you’ll be able to increase the length of time between drainings.  Bring a water sample into the store and we’ll help you keep your water balanced.

When draining and refilling your tub you will want to make sure power to your tub is turned off at the breaker before draining (this will ensure that you won’t accidentally turn the spa on without water and damage it).  Locate the drain valve and open it.  (Alternatively you can use a siphon hose available in store).  Remember to attach a garden hose to your drain valve and drain the water away from the tub.

When draining is complete you can give your hot tub a quick cleaning with a product like Vinyl Plus or Clean & Perfect from Natural Chemistry before filling your hot tub.

If you have a water softener you may want to read about hot tubs and water softeners.

“How do I get rid of hot tub foam” is a question we get often.  A simple and short-term solution is to use a product called Bubble Burst.  With a small squirt you will instantly see the foam and bubbles dissolve away.