What's that stuff floating in my spa?

"Bubbling Over" Newsletter Article - December 2005

We commonly get this question from customers. Their water looks good - it's nice and clear, doesn't smell - and they do their water maintenance religiously ...sort of.

As we explained last month, there are lots of things in your spa water even before you decide to get in: metals, minerals, chemicals etc. When you add to that everything we bring in to the spa with us - skin, dirt, pollen - you can have lots of stuff floating around that you don't notice until you are sitting in your hot tub, up close and personal with your water.

To control the amount of "floating things" start using a scale inhibitor like Stain & Scale on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This chemical ties up unwanted metals and minerals and keeps them from forming on your components, especially your heater. If you haven't used an inhibitor in a while, be prepared to see white or black floating flakes in your water for a few days until they are filtered out. Also, regardless of what you are using for a sanitizer, you need to make sure your pH is balanced on a weekly basis. Even if your water has been treated for minerals and metals, scale will form if your pH is too high! Scale inhibitors will then react with that scale and break it down, peeling it off the components it has attached to. These pieces will travel through your pumps and into your water.

While you will be taking care of the metals, minerals may also cause water clarity to not be as crisp as you would like. Many spa dealers offer clarifiers to act as a "fine comb" collecting small mineral particles that may get past your filters and allowing your filter to catch them.

TIP: ThermoSpas offers Protection Plus - a concentrated, multi-tasking product. It is a stain and scale inhibitor that also clarifies your spa's water.

Other small items you may see are bits of skin and pollen that have gotten into your water. These are easy to take care of by using enzymes - such as Natural & Clear - to break them down and allow them to be filtered out. Again, these enzymes should be used on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

While it might seem like an added hassle to add these chemicals to your water, the benefits far outweigh the extra minutes of maintenance. Remember, these products will be forcing your filters to catch more stuff, so clean your filters regularly and make sure you soak them at least once a month!

Happy Hot Tubbing!

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