How often do you change your water?

[dalop]

Every 3 months need it or not  

[anne]

Is it safe to assume that if youre NOT having water balancing or clarity problems, and your out over three months, that it is ok just to say "if it aint broke, dont fix it (yet)"? I mean, I wont fight with bad water just to delay changing it, but if I can get away with longer, that would be nice. So far for me, 3-3.5 months has become the point of diminishing returns. I've never measured TDS, though.

[TrikkeAddict]

Every 4 months

[Tman122]

"What I haven't seen yet is a recommendation based on TDS (total dissolved solids) which is the REAL gauge for determining when a spa should be drained. A "time frame" offers little help due to the many aspects that alter and increase TDS at differing rates such as volume of water, bather use & frequency, overall water care, filtration, cleanliness of bathers and so on. I've seen some go 8 weeks and others go 8 months while remaining under the 1500 TDS limit for a spa. Remember that TDS of more than 1500 can inhibit the effectiveness of your sanitizer and that in itself is important to know.

Steve

Steve, isn't it 1500 above your starting point? In other words if your water from the tap starts at 500 TDS then 2000 on the scale is the magic point?

[tony]

Steve, isn't it 1500 above your starting point? In other words if your water from the tap starts at 500 TDS then 2000 on the scale is the magic point?

That is how I always understood it.

[Rayman]

Steve, isn't it 1500 above your starting point? In other words if your water from the tap starts at 500 TDS then 2000 on the scale is the magic point?

I agree,that's what I do.  My tds at startup is 200.  1700 I either drain fully or half depending on the time of year.

Ray

[Steve]

Is it safe to assume that if youre NOT having water balancing or clarity problems, and your out over three months, that it is ok just to say "if it aint broke, dont fix it (yet)"? I mean, I wont fight with bad water just to delay changing it, but if I can get away with longer, that would be nice. So far for me, 3-3.5 months has become the point of diminishing returns. I've never measured TDS, though.

Water can be clear and balanced Anne and still render the sanitizer less effective by having a TDS of over 1500ppm. Meaning, it may look good but it's not as safe an environment as you may believe even if your sanitizer reads in the proper range.  TDS is far more important than many understand and it's the reason why I recommend taking a sample in for analysis on a regular basis.

To answer the other questions about starting points of TDS... water is water and IT doesn't care what your starting point is. The water will become saturated at 1500TDS in a spa and 2000+ in a pool. If you were on well water with a starting TDS of 1000, do you think the water will still remain usable and safe at 2500 TDS? The answer is no based on the fact that it's soley base on water chemistry and not a number we make up to keep it simple.  

It's like saying that water freezes at 32 degrees unless you are in Colorado...

I hope this answers your questions you guys...

Steve

[Tatooed_Lady]

One other "hint" my water gives when it's about that time....first off, more difficult time getting rid of foam....foam bad, it not friend.  :-/
Secondly, I use test strips (yeah, I know, I know...)...and I've found that when dipped in a tub of FRESH water, the plastic stick part immediately sheds the water, and just the pads are wet enough to change colors...with water that's past it's prime, however, the stick does NOT shed immediately, and a drop or two will sort of hang around and futz up the test. Weird and disgusting.  
I'm SO happy the weather allowed me one last quick pre-frozen tundra water change!