Bought a hottub last Christmas. I'm thinking about taking it out of the box.

[pabeader]

I'm not sure if I'm ready for this one. I'm very comfortable with pool care, and the TFP method for pools. I've read the different "How to's" in regard to Bromine or Chlorine.

Here's my dilemma: Until we moved into this house, with a pool, we had a hottub. I bought it off craigs as a fixer upper. The shell was in good condition and had no cracks or stains or anything. The wooden frame and enclosure were very rotten. Long story short, I was any to rehab it and enjoyed many years of almost daily use. In all that time I never changed the water, not once. I used neither chlorine or bromine. All I used was a copper based product, the built in ozone generator and MPS. That plus some pH down used once in while. Cleaned filter once a month. 4+ years that way.

So, if I decide to open the hottub box and set it up, I'm worried about the need to change the water on a regular basis. What is the thinking here? Is there a reason or is this another hold over from a time before we knew better? Like I said, I never changed my water. I checked it, using dip sticks, every week and would MPS it at that time. We never had rashes or smelly skin. Not one single issue in all that time.

I'm wondering if I was just lucky or what? What would be my best choice going forward?

 

[pooldv]

I use the chlorine, cya and borax method in my tub. About 20 months now. I have changed the water twice but it didn't really seem like I needed to. It has been at least 6 months since the last time. All I do is adjust the ph down when needed and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bleach every day or two. It is great. I have often considered getting a small swg for the tub but never have.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Aside from the cost (which, I think, is more of an issue where I live than in GA), what's the reticence about having to change water? Hot tubs are a fairly low volume, no? 300-400 gallons at most, right?

I'm sure with consistent and proper care, you can probably do as pooldv does and change water very infrequently. I believe the suggestion to change every 3 months or so is probably based more on the reality that people forget to manually disinfect their hot tubs which means having the sanitizer drop to 0. Once that happens, you can get biofilm growth in the pipes which is a major issue for overall water quality. As long as the water in the hot tub is circulated regularly and the sanitizer is kept up, there's no reason why the water won't last.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

pabeader,

You might find this article on the Taylor website interesting - A SPA IS NOT A SMALL POOL

 

[pabeader]

After reading that I figure I probably know why I never ran into trouble before. Showering before was a requirement. Plus, the temp was never above 92 degrees in the spa. I stopped calling it a hot tub and used to call it a whirlpool tub. (wife doesn't like it hot)

 

[pooldv]

We are fairly non polluting people, no lotion, oil, sun tan lotion etc. So, we aren't taking much into the tub with us. We do keep it 97-100 most of the time. JN has a good point that draining a few hundred gallons occasionally is no big deal. When I did it only took a few hours. I am also very diligent about adding bleach after each use and at least every other day if not used. Gallon of bleach, 1/4 cup measuring cup and K-1000 sits on a table next to the tub.

My main reason for not draining is high tap water TA, lowering it before adding borax and cya is a bit of a pain. And the water is great so no reason to.

 

[chem geek]

Don't forget to use Dichlor for about one day a month in order to keep the CYA level up. Chlorine will oxidize the CYA in spas at roughly the rate of 5 ppm per month. You don't want the CYA to get too low or else the active chlorine level will get too high.