If you’re lucky enough to have a spa and be able to use it during the holiday season, you’ll need to keep it sparkling clean. Cleanliness is especially important if your guests are going to enjoy your spa as well. Chemicals clean the water and balance its pH and alkalinity, so your time in the spa can be safe and comfortable. If you’re nervous about adding chemicals to your spa water yourself, ask a pool and spa technician do it.
Sanitizing the Water
The two main chemicals that sanitize the water in your spa are bromine and chlorine. These halogens are “unhappy” elements that tear electrons from molecules and destroy or damage them. Thus, they kill pathogens that can make you and your guests sick and make the water unattractively cloudy. You can add these chemicals to your water as granules or tablets. You may notice that bromine isn’t usually added to your unheated swimming pool. Bromine is sort of a backup for chlorine, which isn’t as powerful in heated water as it is in unheated water. You or your professional can use test strips to check the levels of chlorine in your spa.
Balancing the pH
The pH, or potential of hydrogen, tells you whether a substance is acidic, neutral or alkaline. The wrong pH level in your spa can irritate skin and eyes and damage equipment such as the jets. The pH of spa water should be between 7.2 and 7.8. Make sure you test the pH before your guests arrive and regularly thereafter. Chemicals used to balance the pH include calcium chloride, soda ash and plain old baking soda.
Balancing Alkalinity Levels
Alkalinity helps to stop sudden swings in the water’s pH levels. As with the pH, there’s a sweet spot for alkalinity when it comes to your spa water, and it’s between 80 and 120 parts per million. Chemicals used to balance the alkalinity of your spa water include baking soda, potassium bicarbonate and sodium phosphate.
Shocking the Spa
You might want to shock your spa water after the many guests who’ve enjoyed it have gone home. Shocking breaks down the organic debris and chloramines that are inevitably left behind after sessions in warm water. Chlorine is the chemical of choice for shocking the water, but there are also non-chlorine alternatives.
Contact Us to Learn More About Caring for Your Spa
Lazing about in the warm, bubbling water of a spa while it’s wintry outside is a delicious holiday treat. If you want to learn more about how to keep your spa clean and healthy, get in touch with our professionals at Galati Pools and Spas of Newburgh, NY.
