Spa Maintenance?

Question

What is the best way to maintain the cleanliness of a portable spa? Bromine, chlorine, baking soda etc.? My spa guy say just bromine and baking soda however; the bromine tablets take forever to break down...oh yeah, the spa contains about 400 gallons.

Answer 1

I've had a portable spa for ~5 years and originally had a ozone generator and used bromine for sanitization.. I had some repair work done and asked the repair guy, since he sees a lot of spas and MUST have some idea about what not to do. He advised chlorine to sanitize and whatever it takes to balance pH (it differs for every area, depending on what your water supply). He said chlorine is the simplest and cheapest solution. It was great advice. I've been doing it that way for 2-3 years and all it takes is a couple of tablespoons of chlorine after using the spa, a chlorine shock once every 2-4 weeks, an once-a-month water balance. It's a fairly easy routine. Try it.

Answer 2

Sure you could use chlorine, but there's a reason why it's not recommended in a spa. When it reacts with an organic, it gasses off.....right into your eyes and nose. If you don't mind being slowly suffocated and looking like you just came off a weekend bender, it's cheaper than chlorine. It's also not meant to work in a hot environment. You'll actually wind up dumping that spa more often, which after the cost of heating that water, turns out to be a big loss.
Bromine, for the past number of years, has been the choice for sanitizing hot tubs, particularly those with a high bather load. Yes, you have to watch your total alaklinity ( that's where your baking soda comes in), but bromine is effective against all the little nasties that like to grow in that hot environment. I personally, refuse to put my hand in any tub that's not bromine sanitized, because I know what pathogens are living in there. I don't like getting sick.
Ozone works ok in a light bather load environment only. It simply isn't strong enough of an oxidizer to handle high organic content. Fine for a small family and a spa not used to entertain guests.

Edit: Fireandice advocates Baqua-spa. It's as effective as ozone. Meaning in a moderate to high bather load, it doesn't work.. It's not cheap either.

Answer 3

The simplese chemical I have EVER used is called Baqua-spa.

It is a Hydrogen Peroxide based sanatizer.

It does NOT SMELL!
It does not break down any palstices like the chlorine does.
It comes in liquid form so it disolves instantly.

and you only add it ONCE A WEEK!

You still have to maintain the pH but that usually is after it is filled.

Try it once. It is a 3 bottle kit. Its not the cheapest but the bottles will last a while.

It is more relaxing in my spa not having to smell chemicals and having skin that does not dry out!

The water actually smells like water!

And with this being a portable - no chemical attacks will be on the vinyl or plastic parts that will show up in a few years with the other two.

Answer 4

Bromine is good. I through the tablets in my filter portion. Maybe your spa is different. The tablets just gradually dissolve and not break down.

Answer 5

Main thing is to keep your Ph low(for clearer water) but within the limits.The rest is just scrub and scrub(dead skin/dirt)l