How to Maintain Exceptional Hot Tub Water Quality

There is probably nothing worse than going to enjoy your hot tub or spa with friends or family, then you pull off the cover and find that the water is less than appealing in either smell or texture.

It is probably something every hot tub owner has experienced at one time or another, such as milky, foamy or exceptionally cloudy water. Furthermore, at times, you can’t figure out exactly what is causing the issue.

Depending on what you are experiencing, there is usually a pretty definitive explanation for what is occurring.

If your water is exceptionally cloudy and seems to have a whole lot of very small particles floating in the water, there are a variety of reasons for this occurrence. It may caused by insoluble particles suspended in the water, dead algae particles, organic debris or even detritus from a poorly running filter.

The best way to deal with this issue is to check your filter to be sure that it is running properly as this is the first suspect, especially when the water has particles floating. Be sure to clean the filter or even replace it if you suspect that they are performing less than optimally. You can also check and ensure that the balance of the water is correct with regard to PH levels and be sure to check your sanitizer level as well as this can be the cause of this symptom as well. You can also try and perform a full shock of the water with a non chlorine shock. As a last resort, empty the hot tub and begin again. While this may seem extreme, sometimes it is the best way to go, especially if the usage has been very heavy.

If you find the water to be very milky, while lacking the particles mentioned above, you can try the same techniques described earlier, while omitting the clarifier as it’s not necessary.

The easiest one to pin down is the foamy water issue. The primary cause of the water to become foamy and leave a greasy type film on the edge of the waterline is the interaction between the deodorants, make up and detergents on bathing suits and the chemicals in the hot tub.

The simplest way of dealing with this is to have your guests take a quick shower before jumping in the hot tub. This may seem like a pain, but the hassles it causes down the road can be limited by this simple process. You can also use an enzyme based product to counteract the reaction. Both of these are preferable to using products like No Foam as these types of products are simply a quick fix rather than a long term solution.