Home » Skin Care » Body Skin Care » Skin Secrets

Spa Tub Cleaning: You Might be Surprised

Anyone who owns a spa or hot tub knows the pleasure of pure relaxation that it can bring. For both owners and non-owners, there are a few key important things you need to be aware of, whether the hot tub is yours or you are thinking about jumping into the one at your vacation spot or in your apartment complex.

hot-tub

Hot tubs can be a breeding ground for some rather nasty bacteria, so it’s really important that the tub and spa area are not only kept chemically balanced, but in really clean condition. If the hot tub has an ozone generator, then this is one of the best choices for keeping the tub in top clean condition. If not, the spa and tub needs to be cleaned at least once per week. Most apartment complexes may hire a service but they usually only ensure chemical balance and typically not the cleaning process.

Cleaning a hot tub will involve some specific items, such as: strips to measure alkalinity, pH and chlorine levels, regular granulated chlorine, non-chlorine shock treatment, calcium inhibitor, sodium bicarbonate treatment, spa wan and special purpose cleaning pads. The cleaning process involves: run the jets and add around 2 oz of non-chlorine shock treatment for every 250 gal of water. This process oxidizes any contaminants in the hot tub and they can be tested after around 15 min of exposure. Use the test strip to measure the levels of pH, chlorine and alkalinity of the water. If the pH level is within the 7.2-7.6 average range, don’t adjust the alkalinity. The best alkalinity is between 80-120 ppm (parts per million). If it is slightly outside of the range with the pH levels fine, don’t adjust anything. Use regular granulated chlorine and adjust to the best range of 1-3 ppm. Make sure to re-test and make adjustments where needed. Once you have the levels set, add around 2 oz of the calcium inhibitor. This prevents the environment from the scaling and staining process inside the walls of the tub. The last step is to use your spa cleaning pad and wipe down around the water line. This removes any loose debris.

Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-treatments/spa-tub-cleaning.htm

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.