Spa Chemistry Questions

Foamy water is not a good sign. Foam happens when bather waste (shampoo, body lotions and sweat) mixes with a lack of sanitizer creating foam in the spa. A bather in a spa adds 3 pints of sweat to 100 gallons of water in an hour. Proper treatment of water and water balance is essential in a spa.

Spas operate at a high temperature; experience heavy bather loads and have an increase in evaporation due to aeration and circulation. This means sanitation and water balance in the spa is especially important.  You should test the water at least every other day and bring in a water sample to Swim Rite Pools every 4 weeks.

You should shock at least every use. You should shock with non-Chlorine shock (this also depends on what spa system you are using). It should be used immediately after leaving the spa this way the oxidizer gets rid of the organics left behind. Non-Chlorine shock activates the chlorine and bromine to kill the microorganisms.

If you are not sanitizing the spa, it can become a health risk. When there is no sanitizer in the spa some bacteria can double every 20 minutes in the spa, this leaves the bathers open to infection. Maintaining a proper sanitizer level and water balance will protect you and your family making it a healthy and safe soaking environment.

If water balance is not dealt with properly multiple things can happen to the spa including, scale and staining, colored or cloudy water, corrosion of the spa shell and the spa equipment. These examples are what can happen to the spa. Improper water balance can also affect you, the bather. Improper water balance can lead to eye and skin irritation and improper sanitation can lead to infections.

Oxidizer is a shock that contains no chlorine. Sanitizer is the chlorine or bromine that gets put into the spa. Dependent on what system you are using makes the sanitizer levels vary. If you are on a Nature 2 system (mineral system) you will only use chlorine at start-up and as needed, then use an Oxidizing Shock before and after use of the spa. You will ALWAYS use the Oxidizing Shock more often in a spa.

When spa water goes cloudy (dependent on how cloudy the spa water is. If it is just a smidge cloudy try adding more oxidizer and if that does not work, add sanitizer.) If it is really cloudy, the best thing to do is to use a system flush on the spa then, drain the spa.

When your spa water goes cloudy this is an indicator that the sanitizer has been overwhelmed or that the water balance is off.

It will be difficult to get the water back from cloudy and the amount of chemicals you will use will not be worth the money. It is easier to dump it and start with fresh water.

When spa water goes green the best thing to do is to usually, is use a system flush and then drain the spa. After it is drained give the spa a deep clean, wiping down the inside of the spa shell. That way you get all the algae out. When refilling, add chlorine to the water to disinfect any algae left behind that way it does not start to grow again.

Your spa water goes green when the spa is not sanitized. Sanitation and water balance are particularly important in a hot tub. If you are having any issues with keeping these levels up visit Swim Rite Pools and we can run a water analysis and tell you what needs added to the water.