Often when a Spa gets a high amount of activity the chemical levels can be zeroed out. After that the water degrades fast and the water may become green or yellow and smell. An ugly waterline can result as well. We attempt to recover your Spa water whenever this happens. Often we succeed in recovery of the Spa water. When the water quality diminishes too much the only recourse is to drain and replace the water. What is not possible is for us to add more and more chemicals. There is a maximum amount of Chlorine and Bromine we can add. Otherwise occupants can get rashes and experience excessive chemical smells. Spa pumps and heaters can be damaged. In severe cases even pipe fittings can be compromised from using excessive chemicals.
As part of our weekly service we provide a drain and clean every 3 months. This is sufficient for most of our customers. However for some of our customers with heavy use it is not. Once a body of water gets too much TDS (total dissolved solids) all chemicals decline in their effectiveness. When this happens an additional drain and clean is necessary.
Here are things that the customer can do to minimize or even eliminate severe water degradation:
- Take water only showers prior to entering Spa. This minimizes the amount of free chlorine depleted. It also lowers the amount of inert soap/perfume ingredients added to the TDS count.
- Replace cover on Spa immediately after use. If left off for several hours the amount of free chlorine and bromine will escape from the tub. It will also force the heater and pump to overwork to keep the Spa at the temperature set point.
- In the event of a mass Spa use such as an entire sports team (yes it happens often) shock the Spa after the event. Spa King can set you up with shock and instruction. Nominal charge for the shock only.
Here is a more scientific explanation from a Spa Specialist (Scott Webb) with a fancy white lab coat:
Once any hot tub has been filled, an imaginary clock begins ticking, counting down to the day when the water will have to be replaced.
It’s a costly but necessary process — costly due to the expense of sewering the old water and buying new, heating it to a user-friendly temperature and filling it with sanitizer and (in some cases) appropriate supplements. And then there is the cost of labor.
It’s necessary because spa water contains more than just water. It’s a high-performance solvent for a diverse set of compounds — some of these enter the spa in the sourcewater, others are added intentionally in water care products and still others unintentionally when the human body slides below the surface and begins to release dead skin, sweat and other greasy substances into the surrounding medium.
Over time the soup becomes imperceptibly thicker. This occurs partly due to evaporation as individual H2O molecules become airborne, leaving impurities behind in an ever more concentrated solution. But the primary cause is that over time, more and more bathers leave behind their wastes, and more chemicals are added to maintain pH, ORP, etc., and these simply build up.
At some point, water quality becomes difficult to manage. Its chemistry becomes unresponsive — sort of like driving a vegetable truck. Specific problems crop up, letting you know it’s time to drain.
Efficiency asks whether this chore can be put off; it demands we get the maximum use from each fill. Science and experience replies with a somewhat vague “perhaps.”