ATTENTION NEW SPA OWNERS!
Before making any adjustments, it is best to get your spa water properly tested. We advise that you provide a water sample of 300-500ml to Bud's Spas and Pools prior to applying any chemicals or using your spa for the initial time.
Hot tub maintenance tips
- Test strips are a great tool to help you maintain your spa water. However since they are only a guide, we recommend visiting Bud's Spas & Pools for a water test at least once a month for proper water balance. Monthly tests are required to ensure that the warranty on your spa remains valid. At home testing should be done weekly and before entering your spa to ensure bather safety. Please be aware that if your test strips indicate a "0" bromine/chlorine reading (white colour), the result may be correct. However, the strip could also be bleached out because of extremely high bromine/chlorine levels. If you are ever unsure, it is best not to use the tub and come into Bud's for a water test.
- Before adding chemicals to your spa, wake sure the pump is running and the temperature is at least 80 degrees. This will ensure that the chemicals will dissolve properly.When adding chemicals, proper dosage is VERY important. All Dazzle chemicals can be measured using the caps on the bottles. Follow the instructions on the bottle for proper application. To avoid cloudy water, please be sure to wait the recommended time required between each chemical addition. ALWAYS refer to your water analysis printout to verify dosages and frequency of chemical additions.
- The sanitizer (bromine or chlorine) is the most important chemical you will add to your spa. The lack of proper sanitization can lead to bacterial problems. It is necessary to use tablets along with shocking/oxidizing to achieve the ideal level of sanitizer required. We recommend placing 2-3 bromine or chlorine tablets into your chemical feeder/floater and adjust as needed. Please check the feeder/floater weekly and replace the tablets as they dissolve. Shocking or oxidizing eliminates bather wastes such as perspiration, body oils, and cosmetics that tend to cloud the water. Dazzle's Amaze Plus will help to eliminate these wastes and should be added once a week. Heavy usage is considered to be 2 or more people in the tub for longer than 20 minutes per use. To ensure that your spa water stays sanitized, add the required amount of Amaze Plus after heavy use. Please remember to leave your cover off for 1 hour after your shocking!!
- A dirty filter can cause many problems in your spa such as foaming, cloudiness, and low circulation. We recommend using Filter Cleanse every 4-6 weeks to prevent these problems from occurring and to control scale/rust and remove oils/greases from the filter. The filter should also be rinsed off weekly, cleaning between each fibre strip. Do not use a pressure washer, as it could damage the fibres. To obtain optimal performance, make sure the filter is fully dry before placing back in the spa after using Filter Cleanse.
- Over time, o-rings tend to break down and the result can cause an improper seal with your chemical feeder. Apply a Silicone Lubricant to o-rings every other month to prevent this from happening.
- Knowing when to drain your spa depends on the saturation of your water. At Bud's, we test for TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) which indicates a reading in PPM (Parts per Million). When that number rises above 1500-2500ppm (depending on if you are using the Botanical or Mineraluxe system), it is time to drain and start fresh. Once the water is highly saturated, chemicals can no longer keep your water balanced and safe for bathers. For draining procedures, please refer to the instructions on "Draining Your Spa" We recommend that the water level in your spa be kept at ¾ of the way up the skimmer.
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