How often do you change your water?

[jgirvine]

How often do you change your water...even if it appears perfect?

[LtDan]

Usually around 3 months, the water gets "fizzy" bubbles and is slow to clear after having the air and jets on. If it is really cold out I will do a partial water change (idea stolen from Bill) to buy time.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Jacuzzi J-385    7  to 8 months  normal use 3 to 4 times a week average of 2 people.

[Tatooed_Lady]

"even if it appears perfect?" Hmmmm.....what about "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?"
If it still balances easily, is crystal clear, etc...then why change the water at all, unless you're preparing for a cold winter where there will be few opportunities to drain/fill?
As I type, I've got the 2 garden hoses hooked up to the tub, draining it (sloowwwww)....I'm taking advantage of one of the few days left before everything freezes up....now it's rainy, melty, foggy....and should stay above freezing for a couple days. Perfect.

[hot tub Frank]

I change it around 3 month

[bosco0633]

3 to 4 months here.  My longest was 5 1/2 months no water change.

[hot tub Frank]

never made it that long bosco

[Zep]

[size=16]Every 6-8 weeks![/size]



      

[anne]

So far about 10 months of ownership and I have had to change it every three months. Just like LtDan said, it gets fizzy, tends towards cloudiness more easily, and feels different.

[GoBlue]

Every 6 weeks.  Feels and smells fresher.

[hottubdan]

Its amazing.  Old water can seem perfect.  Then I change it and it feels so much better.

[Steve]

"even if it appears perfect?" Hmmmm.....what about "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?"
If it still balances easily, is crystal clear, etc...then why change the water at all, unless you're preparing for a cold winter where there will be few opportunities to drain/fill?
As I type, I've got the 2 garden hoses hooked up to the tub, draining it (sloowwwww)....I'm taking advantage of one of the few days left before everything freezes up....now it's rainy, melty, foggy....and should stay above freezing for a couple days. Perfect.

I never believe this advice nor do I recommend it. It's untrue that when water is clear then it should be fine. My answer is, and always will be...

[size=18]BATTERY ACID IS CLEAR[/size]

Water can be crystal clear and still be very acidic. 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.

It's also less work and often less money to drain and refill than to fight it with chemicals usually...

I know, I know... snappy but I haven't had a good day...

Steve

[Gomboman]

Great post Steve. The 1500 value is nice to know.

[Steve]

Great post Steve. The 1500 value is nice to know.

Thanks Gomboman. The problem is that very few spa owners have a TDS meter and it's why I recommend taking a monthly water sample to your local dealer. It's free to do in most instances and a complete analysis takes less than 5 minutes.

If someone is reading this and wanting to do this for the first time, just make sure you provide the dealer with an accurate number for your volume of water as the results are largely based on it.

Steve

[Zep]

re:"It's also less work and often less money to drain and refill than to fight it with chemicals usually..."

Amen Steve!