Clean spa water provides a safe, relaxing experience. However, it takes more than a regular water change to keep your spa fresh and enjoyable.
A neglected spa can quickly degrade, creating an uninviting environment and posing risks to the skin. Consistent cleaning prevents this deterioration, while also preserving spa surfaces and equipment. Contact Gilbert Spa Cleaning for professional help.
While you are draining your spa, use this opportunity to clean the shell and/or cover. You can easily do this by rinsing the shell with a mixture of one part vinegar to four parts water. It’s important to do this before refilling your hot tub, so you don’t have a mess to deal with later.
The acid in the solution helps to dissolve the scum line that forms around the full waterline of your tub. This scum is made of lotions, oils and grime from the bodies of bathers. You can also use this time to scrub out any cracks or holes in your shell and/or cover. Once the shell and/or cover is clean, it’s important to rinse it thoroughly. Then, you can replace the cover and fill your spa with fresh clean water.
You can keep your acrylic spa shell clean by scrubbing it with a non-abrasive scrubbing pad, cordless spa cleaning brush or soft cloth. This will help remove most stains. For tougher stains, try using a commercial acrylic cleaner that is safe for spa shells.
Keeping your shells clean can help to prevent rust and scale on the exterior. It can also make it easier to clean your spa during your regular maintenance routine. You should wipe down your acrylic shell every couple of weeks to keep it looking like new. This will also save you a lot of work at the three to four month mark when you need to change your water.
Flushing Lines
If your hot tub is smelling foul, your water has cloudy scum, or it’s simply not as clean as it could be, it’s time for a spa purge. This process involves draining your hot tub and running a line flush product through your pipes to break down biofilm, clean out your plumbing and make your spa look like new again. Be sure to follow the directions on your specific line flush cleaner to get the best results.
Using a line flush product can help to remove organic matter and other impurities from your pipes, including grease, grime, body oils, residues from skincare and hair products, and other contaminants that can build up over time in your hot tub’s plumbing system. It’s important to use a line flush, as opposed to vinegar or other home-based cleansers, as these are not as effective against biofilm and can actually damage your plumbing pipes.
After you’ve run the line flush through your plumbing system, turn off your breaker and drain the rest of the water. This can take up to an hour, or even overnight. Be sure to empty the drain plug, and also disconnect your hose from the breaker for extra safety. This will prevent your hose from becoming clogged with the loosened debris, and will also make it easier to drain the rest of the water into a bucket or garbage can.
Once the water is completely drained, use a pipe degreaser to wipe down your pipes and your spa’s surface. This will help reduce foaming once you refill your spa. Then, rinse down the shell surface and the surface of your spa cabinet with clean water to ensure that any remaining cleaner or degreaser is completely removed before you start to refill.
Spa Purge
Even with regular shocking and water balancing, there are still contaminants that cannot be removed from the hot tub surface or plumbing lines. These substances are known as biofilms and can cause cloudy water, foaming, unpleasant odors and other signs of contamination. This is why a purge, drain and refill is important to maintain your spa water.
Using a product like Total Cleanse from Hot Tub SERUM to purge your hot tub can help you get rid of these nasty contaminants and maintain your clean and safe spa. The all-natural cleanser works to remove accumulated materials from the surface and plumbing of your spa without harming the surfaces or the environment. In fact, it is safer to use than other chemical cleaners on your hot tub surfaces and plumbing.
Fill your hot tub with warm if not hot water and add the full bottle of Spa Purge to the water. Turn the jets on and allow it to circulate overnight (some foaming will occur). Once the hot tub has drained completely, wipe away the yellow-green sludge substance from the shell’s surface and rinse the water line, inside the shell and around the jets.
While you’re at it, it’s also a good idea to clean your spa filter while the water is draining and to replace it. Follow the directions on your filter cleaning product – most call for a 24-hour soak. After the filter is cleaned, shut off your hot tub and drain it according to the directions in your owner’s manual or ask your retailer for assistance. Refill your hot tub with fresh water and a pre-treatment that will remove metals, phosphates and more from the water to help prevent further buildups.
Tennis Balls
When it comes to keeping your spa water clean and clear, a little help from an unexpected source can go a long way. Tennis balls, for example, are surprisingly absorbent and can trap residue from lotions, sunscreen, cosmetics and other oils that slide off your skin into the hot tub. Simply drop a few of these fuzzy balls into the skimmer basket or directly into your spa and let them do their job. Just be sure to change them often as they will eventually become saturated with the oily substances that they are designed to trap.
Tennis ball production begins with raw rubber pellets molded into hemispherical shells and then glued together using a strong adhesive in a process called vulcanisation. Then, the bonded halves are filled with pressurised air to create the famous bounce and then inspected for quality control before they’re sealed in a can and printed with the manufacturer’s logo.
Different ball types are available depending on the court surface. Generally, the more abrasive the court surface is, the higher the pressure of the tennis ball needed. Also, extra duty tennis balls are thicker woven around the core and designed to resist shearing, meaning they last longer than regular tennis balls.
The physics of a tennis ball’s bounce is as follows; when it hits the ground or your racket, its molecules stretch before contracting again. This gives the ball its elasticity and when it comes into contact with the ground again it bounces, releasing the energy of the stretched molecules. The speed of the bounce depends on the angle, velocity and position of the ball when it hits the ground or your racket.
Bleach
Bleach is a powerful disinfectant that can be used to clean many surfaces, including your hot tub. It works in the same way heat does to kill germs by breaking down proteins inside bacterial cells. It also works by destroying molecular bonds of the chromophores that give the cells color and can be used to remove tough stains or scum lines from your tub.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind when using bleach to clean your spa. First, you must understand that household bleaches are different than dedicated spa sanitizers. Household bleaches contain chlorine that can irritate skin and eyes, and it is very caustic when it comes into contact with acrylic surfaces. It can also cause the pH levels in your spa water to become too high, which can lead to skin irritation and other health problems for users.
It is best to only use household bleach as a last resort when trying to disinfect your spa. If possible, try to find alternative cleaning solutions that will work well with your hot tub’s surface and filters without the harsh effects of bleach. For instance, there are a number of different filter cleaner solutions that can be used to thoroughly clean your filters and help extend their lifespan.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that if you do decide to use household bleach, you must make sure to completely rinse your spa before and after you clean it. Bleach can leave a lot of residual chemicals behind in your spa water, which can be irritating to your skin and eyes, as well as potentially causing other problems with your hot tub.