Cleaning your spa’s water filters is an important maintenance step

Filters will over time clog with dirt and grease until they no longer allow water to flow through. When this happens jets can feel less strong and heaters may cut out. On a regular basis it is important to thoroughly clean your filters, first of all remove the filter or filters from the spa…

There are a few ways to clean your hot tub filter and all are effective, however, you will get different results with each method.

Let’s start by saying what NOT to use. Do not clean your hot tub filters with: laundry detergent, car wash, dish washing soap, or any bubbly household soap for that matter.

How to clean your hot tub water filters?

The most common ways to clean hot tub and swim spa water filters are:

  • The Hose Jet: Remove the filters from your hot tub and give them a good blast with water from your garden hose. Do this outside as it can get a little messy. Be sure to spread apart each pleat and rinse well between them to get any dirt, hair, or other debris out. This will help keep the debris from building up and the chemicals from eating away at your filter material. By doing this, you will allow your hot tub filters to work more efficiently and last longer. This only takes a few minutes and should be done at least once a week if you use your hot tub regularly.
  • The Chemical Rinse: Use a filter cleaner spray. These are a degreasing agent and are quite effective. Generously spray down your hot tub filters and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then, Rinse them down with clean water. Spray the filters down with the cleaner and let them sit for about 15 minutes. This will allow the chemical to sink in and do its job. Then with clean water, rinse the filter thoroughly until all the soapy substance is gone. Make sure you rinse the filters well. Filter cleaner sprays can cause a lot of foaming in your tub when you put the filters back in.
  • The Chemical Soap: Use a hot tub filter soak chemical, DO NOT USE HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS dilute the chemical with water according to the directions on the bottle. Make sure you use enough water to completely submerge one filter. If you have room, you can add more filters to the solution. Let the filter rest in the solution overnight or 24 hours. After soaking, be sure to rinse the filters very thoroughly with clean water. Again, you don’t want foamy hot tub water.

The general filter maintenance plan looks like this:

  1. Rinse your hot tub filters with clean water every week.
  2. Chemical rinse your filters using a standard filter cleaner every month.
  3. Chemical soak your spa filters overnight every month

Some people buy two sets of filters to switch between the two sets. This is a good idea and will extend the life of your filters. If you have two sets of filters, leave one set to dry completely, while the other set of filters are working in the tub.

REMEMBER! A clogged filter can prevent your tub from heating up and might even burn out your circulation pump resulting in a costly repair because this is seen as a non warranty issue!

Winter hot tub maintenance

If your tub is going to be left empty over the winter months or in any very cold climate where there is a possibility of sub-zero conditions it is very important to remove all the water from the pipework and pumps as well as from the tub itself.

Water that freezes in the pipework and pumps can expand and crack the pipes and pump wet ends leading to major leaks which will leave your tub unusable and will need an engineer to repair.

Frost damage is not covered in the warranty on your tub.

General watercare

Check the water level in your tub regularly and top up as necessary.

If you keep a check on your water and chemical levels either every day or each time you use the tub and add the necessary chemicals, you should be able to keep your water in the tub for up to three months.

After three months it is recommended that you drain the tub, clean the shell and jets and then refill with clean water.

How long does it take to fill a hot tub?

Most, if not all portable hot tubs are filled with a hose pipe. The time it takes to fill it with water will depend on how much water needs to be put into the spa, what size of pipe you are using and your water pressure. If you are in the UK, have reasonable water pressure, and are using a standard 3/4 UK hose and filling a 300 gallon spa, I would expect this to take between 1.5 and 2 hours approximately.

How do you drain a hot tub?

Many hot tubs have bottom drains which you connect to a hose pipe and run to a drain. However if you have not got a bottom drain then this is not a big problem as you can purchase a submersible pump and roll flat hose and can drain the spa that way just as easily.

What is an air lock in a hot tub?

Air locks happen when the hot tub is being filled with water. It is possible for both ends of a plumbing system to simultaneously fill up with water at both the suction end and the return end which sometimes leaves an air lock in the plumbing. This can cause both heater and pump problems. To overcome this issue it is suggested to push the hose pipe down into where your filters screw in which will purge all the air out of your important heating and circulation systems.

How do you remove limescale and biofilms from the inside of the pipe work?

Once a year you need to treat your spa to hot tub System Cleaner or a complete hot tub service. This is designed to clean out and remove Limescale and Biofilms from the insides of the pipes that you cannot scrub. Simply add system cleaner to Hot tub water before your 3- 4 monthly refill and allow to circulate for an hour. Then drain and refill with clean water drain and refill a second time and you are good to go. Note remove your filter during this process and soak in cartridge cleaner, then power wash before refitting to clean water.

Why won't my hot tub not stay hot?

This could be down to a faulty part like a failed heater, circulation pump or thermostat, or even simply that there is not enough water in the hot tub. However, if the spa heats up again after use, then your spa is using more heat than your heater can replace. If this is the case, you could fit a larger heater (if your power supply allows), or you could avoid using the blower, which takes a lot of heat out of your spa. Many spas also turn the heater off when the jet pumps run – there is normally a jumper on the control box to switch on full-time, but again it will take more power, and you must get an electrician to check whether you have the correct supply cable and fuse.

I have frozen hot tub pipes, what can I do?

If you have been caught out buy a cold snap and your Hot tub is now full of water and frozen then you are looking at a very expensive lollipop! When water freezes it expands and the plastic pipe work in most Hot tubs will crack. All you can do is wait until it thaws turn the spa on and look for leaks. Better still is drain down your spa in advance of cold weather or keep it hot and ready to use.

Why is my hot tub cover waterlogged?

Hot tub covers are made of dense polystyrene wrapped in polythene and then put in to a vinyl cover. When new this is a light and strong way of keeping the heat in and the garden leaves and children out of the spa. However as the cover gets older the corrosive chlorine and ozone that is used to kill bacteria in the spa water also starts to break down the polythene wrapping around the polystyrene core. Over time usually about 4-5 years the polythene becomes porous and allows the steam from the Hot tub to rise up in to the core until it becomes too heavy to lift. When this happens it is too late and a new cover is required.

How do you stop hot tub leaks?

If your Hot tub leaks there is no other solution than take off the side identify the problem and either replace the seal or union or cut out faulty fitting or joint and clean and re glue new pipe work. This is normally a job for a trained spa technician.

Can you put soap into a hot tub?

The idea of bubbles in your hot tub may at first appeal, but when the bubbles rise up out of the spa and block the light, and then start to blow around the garden, you will probably change your mind. As a general rule no soap or detergents is best. I personally shower before using the hot tub, to clean off any shampoo, body wash or detergents in my swimming costume. If I have guests around, I also ask them to shower, so they do not bring any soaps in to my spa. If there is a small amount of soap in the water, then a few drops of Anti-Foam will make the water nice again. The detergents which get into the spa from shampoo and body wash are not really doing any damage, but are not nice to bathe in either.

What if I do not put chemicals in to my hot tub?

If you do not want to put any chemicals in to your hot tub, no problem. But you must drain down and refill after each use and ensure that the water is never in the spa for more than 12 hours! If this seems like to much hard work and you want to keep the same water in the spa for up to 3-4 months then you have to balance Alkalinity, PH and Sanitizer or your water will become foul and dangerous.

If you over-chlorinate your hot tub, what should you do?

The safe maximum bathing level for Chlorine is 5 ppm. If you have put too much Chlorine into the water, then you must now wait until the reading drops back to this safe level. You can open the spa cover and run the jets and this will help a little, but depending on how over-chlorinated it is, it might take a while until it’s safe to use the hot tub.

How often do you have to change hot tub water?

As a rule you should change your water every 3 to 4 months. Sometimes if the spa has had a lot of use it may be a good idea to change the water more often than this. The problem is TDS Total dissolved solids, just like a cup of tea if you keep putting in sugar there will come a time that it just does not dissolve. Same with a Hot tub if you keep adding chemicals to maintain the spa then there will come a time that it will be very hard to correct imbalances and it is best to just change the water.

How do I get rid of suds in the hot tub?

If you only have a small soap problem, then a few drops of Anti-Foam will make the soap bubbles go away. If the problem persists, or there is a major amount of soap in the spa, the only thing to do is to empty and refill with fresh water.

What do you do if your spa water is cloudy?

Cloudy hot tub water can mean two things; That the filtration is failing to clean out the small dust particles in the water; or, that there is bacteria growing in the Spa. If it is Dust then I would suggest you buy a product like spa sparkle which acts like a coagulant and captures all the dust in the filters. Note that once the hot tub is nice and clean you need to get the filters out and clean them, if you don’t then after 24 hours the spa sparkle will break down and empty the dust back in to your hot tub.

If it’s bacteria then you need to act fast and shock the spa with a double the normal does of both Chlorine and Non Chlorine Shock.

Why is my hot tub green water?

Green is not a good colour for hot tub water. It indicates that your spa has active bacteria growing in the water.

  • Do not use until problem is solved
  • Empty water out then scrub all surfaces with a chlorine solution.
  • Rinse out with clean water
  • Refill with clean water
  • Shock dose the spa with a combination of Chlorine and Non Chlorine Shock the amount of each will vary depending on how many gallons of water your spa holds. As a guide I would add 6 teaspoons of Chlorine and 6 tablespoons of Non Chlorine Shock to a 300 gallon hot tub.