Changing Water

[hottbpete]

We are close to the kill on a Hot Tub.  However, with each sales person you get different stories on the maintenance of a HT.

The big question I have is draining the tub.  How often?  Arctic said every 3 months and the Hot springs lady tells me 1 a year at most.

I am aware that use makes a difference.....but what do you average a year for water drains.

Thanks

[Vinny]

Every 3 to 4 months depending on use is the average. As a newbie expect to change it after a month - this is Chas' Law.

All newbies mess up their water and our bodies give off a lot of gunk in the first month of ownership

Another time you may need to change the water is after a party .. other peoples gunk might cloud up the tub.

[hottbpete]

Ok thanks....That's a lot more then I thought.  Is it just empty and fill or are you  scrubbing? :-/

[Vinny]

I really never "scrub" the tub but I will scrub down residue from foaming at the water level. I also scrub the inside of the cover down once in a while with bleach and water to clean that up.

I can't speak for others (but I'm sure it's probably the same for them) but my tub never gets slimy or slippery under the water.

I've only owned my tub a little over a year and at about the 1 year mark I cleaned the tub with a product called swirl away. It seems to be some type of detergent that will clean the tub and plumbing.

Most times (except during the swirl away usage) I just dump the water and refill ... I do use chlorine and if you're planning on using a Baqua type product then that might be different.

[Tatooed_Lady]

or, you can use the water's behavior as a guide...if it's getting harder to balance, foams up even after you've cleaned the filters, or is otherwise acting 'goofy'....drain and start over. It's touted (on this forum) as the cheapest and easiest way to fix your water woes. Mmmmmmm.....fresh water.......  

[cooltoy2000]

I  have been advised to change the water after the first month or two, as the body of a person who has never used a hot tub on a regular bases tends to give up a lot more oil, than it does after a few weeks of use. Then the 3-4 month rule applies.

[DPS]

Even with a good sanitizing system, there is "stuff" that gets in the water that may not make it unsanitary but may make it less pleasant to use.  Detergent from your bathing suits (if you are wearing them), hair gel, deoderant, make-up, etc.  can make your spa water foam or look a little murky.  Drain it as often as necessary to keep the sparkle in the water.  For most spa owners every 3 or 4 months works.

[Webini]

We are close to the kill on a Hot Tub.  However, with each sales person you get different stories on the maintenance of a HT.

As a new owner this has been the most frustrating part of the experience.  Ask three different dealers for a maintenance routine on the same tub and you get three very different answers.  I've gotten different answers from others on this board as well.  I sincerely appreciate the help but I can't understand why this is so difficult.  Look at the MPS thread this morning.  Some poeple say don't use it daily, use dichlor.  Others say use it after a soak, not before.  Dosages per 100 gallons differ as well.  And people wonder why they screw up their water?!?

Perhaps part of the problem is that apparently the maintenance varies but tub mfg and model?  I have a HS Jetsetter and use MPS prior to every soak, run the cleaning cycle after I get out, shock with dichlor once a week, and use Stain & Scale once a week.  Adjust PH as needed (once so far).  So far, so good.  My Jetsetter is an 06 model with N2 and an ozonator.

My local dealer is supposed to be one of the best in the country, but I have even gotten conflicting advice from them.  I have friends that are interested in a tub but won't buy one since they get wildly conflicting information on maintenance.  This is a real problem IMO for the industry.

Rant mode off.  Going for a soak!  

[Vinny]

We are close to the kill on a Hot Tub.  However, with each sales person you get different stories on the maintenance of a HT.

As a new owner this has been the most frustrating part of the experience.  Ask three different dealers for a maintenance routine on the same tub and you get three very different answers.  I've gotten different answers from others on this board as well.  I sincerely appreciate the help but I can't understand why this is so difficult.  Look at the MPS thread this morning.  Some poeple say don't use it daily, use dichlor.  Others say use it after a soak, not before.  Dosages per 100 gallons differ as well.  And people wonder why they screw up their water?!?

Perhaps part of the problem is that apparently the maintenance varies but tub mfg and model?  I have a HS Jetsetter and use MPS prior to every soak, run the cleaning cycle after I get out, shock with dichlor once a week, and use Stain & Scale once a week.  Adjust PH as needed (once so far).  So far, so good.  My Jetsetter is an 06 model with N2 and an ozonator.

My local dealer is supposed to be one of the best in the country, but I have even gotten conflicting advice from them.  I have friends that are interested in a tub but won't buy one since they get wildly conflicting information on maintenance.  This is a real problem IMO for the industry.

Rant mode off.  Going for a soak!  

First off, different people have different experiences with their water. You also have a little tub and some of us have much larger. Having 1 person in a tub is much different than having a party with 20 people using it. If you have a party, you'll see how great your tub's water is. There are people who change their water every month or two ... it's not a big thing.

You are 1 person with a new tub - you will get into situations that you will NOT understand. I have 5 years water care experience taking care of a pool - my tub reacts very differently than my pool.

My advice is STOP your ranting, think about what is being said here and use what's best for you! MANY people are helped with the advice here - one day you may too!

Not using dichlor and soaking in a heated vessel that will double bacteria in 20 minutes is not my idea of a clean tub PERIOD!!! I don't care what you were told - MPS does NOT kill bacteria. N2 MAY kill bacteria and  ozone it MAY kill the bacteria too but they haven't been proven to do anything. Chlorine, Bromine and Baqua (and whatever else associated with it) are the only true bacteria killers in a tub.

Next time towards the end of the week think about this ... on Monday morning if you had 1,000 bacteria, 24 hours later you had 256,000, 24 hours later you had 65,536,000 (That's 65 million and we're only 2 days later), double that figure every 20 minutes for the next 4 days (I'll assume you shock early on the 7th day).

It's not difficult but everyone has different needs and their water responds differently AND we all have our preverences.

Now I'm done MY ranting!

[Reese]

My local dealer is supposed to be one of the best in the country

Don't you love it when somebody selling something makes a claim like that.   According to who?  The salesperson, the owner? HotSpring?  And then you have to wonder, best at what?  

[Webini]

My local dealer is supposed to be one of the best in the country

Don't you love it when somebody selling something makes a claim like that.   According to who?  The salesperson, the owner? HotSpring?  And then you have to wonder, best at what?  

Based on local reputation and what I have been told by other HS dealers in this forum from other parts of the country.

[Webini]

We are close to the kill on a Hot Tub.  However, with each sales person you get different stories on the maintenance of a HT.

As a new owner this has been the most frustrating part of the experience.  Ask three different dealers for a maintenance routine on the same tub and you get three very different answers.  I've gotten different answers from others on this board as well.  I sincerely appreciate the help but I can't understand why this is so difficult.  Look at the MPS thread this morning.  Some poeple say don't use it daily, use dichlor.  Others say use it after a soak, not before.  Dosages per 100 gallons differ as well.  And people wonder why they screw up their water?!?

Perhaps part of the problem is that apparently the maintenance varies but tub mfg and model?  I have a HS Jetsetter and use MPS prior to every soak, run the cleaning cycle after I get out, shock with dichlor once a week, and use Stain & Scale once a week.  Adjust PH as needed (once so far).  So far, so good.  My Jetsetter is an 06 model with N2 and an ozonator.

My local dealer is supposed to be one of the best in the country, but I have even gotten conflicting advice from them.  I have friends that are interested in a tub but won't buy one since they get wildly conflicting information on maintenance.  This is a real problem IMO for the industry.

Rant mode off.  Going for a soak!  

First off, different people have different experiences with their water. You also have a little tub and some of us have much larger. Having 1 person in a tub is much different than having a party with 20 people using it. If you have a party, you'll see how great your tub's water is. There are people who change their water every month or two ... it's not a big thing.

You are 1 person with a new tub - you will get into situations that you will NOT understand. I have 5 years water care experience taking care of a pool - my tub reacts very differently than my pool.

My advice is STOP your ranting, think about what is being said here and use what's best for you! MANY people are helped with the advice here - one day you may too!

Not using dichlor and soaking in a heated vessel that will double bacteria in 20 minutes is not my idea of a clean tub PERIOD!!! I don't care what you were told - MPS does NOT kill bacteria. N2 MAY kill bacteria and  ozone it MAY kill the bacteria too but they haven't been proven to do anything. Chlorine, Bromine and Baqua (and whatever else associated with it) are the only true bacteria killers in a tub.

Next time towards the end of the week think about this ... on Monday morning if you had 1,000 bacteria, 24 hours later you had 256,000, 24 hours later you had 65,536,000 (That's 65 million and we're only 2 days later), double that figure every 20 minutes for the next 4 days (I'll assume you shock early on the 7th day).

It's not difficult but everyone has different needs and their water responds differently AND we all have our preverences.

Now I'm done MY ranting!

Wow, calm down.  I was not insulting anyone, just expressing an opinion.  Apparently you missed the "I sincerely appreciate the help" part of my post.  Jeeze...

Any thank you for proving my point BTW.  My maintenance routine for my tub is per HS and has been confirmed by Terminator and hottub.pool_boy.  Yet you say it is absolutely incorrect.  My point exactly!

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1156530487/0

See Section D - http://www.scarritt.com/spasanitizing.htm

[Vinny]

Just because HS and their salespeople say it's good doesn't mean a thing. Heck the local pool dealer gave me 100% wrong advice about my pool but people still use him.

Use what you will, if it works, great. MPS is not without it's own problems and BTW I do use it too for shocking at times. I will stick with chlorine and will always advise people to stick with using sanitizer over oxidizer.

[Webini]

Just because HS and their salespeople say it's good doesn't mean a thing. Heck the local pool dealer gave me 100% wrong advice about my pool but people still use him.

Use what you will, if it works, great. MPS is not without it's own problems and BTW I do use it too for shocking at times. I will stick with chlorine and will always advise people to stick with using sanitizer over oxidizer.

Well I would think that HS knows their own tubs.  We'll just have to agree to disagree.  Nothing wrong with that.  

The MPS vs dichlor debate is not the issue, but it does illustrate the point.  Ask 10 different "experts" for maintenance on the tub and you more than likely will get 10 difference responses (MPS vs dichlor, prior or post soak, how often to shock, amounts to add per 100 gallons, etc).  And this is for the same tub with the same water - no other variables!

And this is what scares off prospective buyers.  And it's too bad.

[Reese]

My local dealer is supposed to be one of the best in the country

Don't you love it when somebody selling something makes a claim like that.   According to who?  The salesperson, the owner? HotSpring?  And then you have to wonder, best at what?  

Based on local reputation and what I have been told by other HS dealers in this forum from other parts of the country.

 All Most of my drinking buddies say good things about me, too. 8-)

By the way, Vinny is obviously one of the good guys, a consumer helping others.  He just doesn't have any reason to defend a proprietary system based on (IMO) marginal science.  I'm guessing he is just frustrated because everybody wants a hassle free maintenance system that uses little or no chlorine, but then complains when it doesn't work, or dealers add their own wrinkles to address problems their customers encounter and it becomes confusing.  IMO, Vinny is right, systems that rely more on oxidizers than sanitizers are risky.  If you want a consistent system, based on science, not marketing fluff, the "Vermonter" system everone talks about is the way to go.  Ask just about any consumer that has tried more than one approach, not somebody selling/defending the system they sell.  If confusion about maintenance is the only thing keeping your friends from buying a hot tub, steer them to rhtubs.com for the info.