Safety Tips

Spas and hot tubs are fun — but along with the fun comes serious responsibility. Be sure that good times are safe times. Establish rules and enforce them.

Drowning Safety Tips
Drowning is one of the largest causes of accidental death for infants and children five and under. Drowning can be prevented through enforced rules and supervision.

A fence, wall or natural barrier must completely enclose your spa or hot tub.
Make certain that all doors leading from the house to the spa or hot tub area are kept shut and latched. Make sure any latches or doorknobs are above the reach of toddlers to protect against unauthorized entry and use.
Always completely remove the cover before using your spa or hot tub.
Do not allow anyone of any age to soak without a "spotter" nearby.
Never leave a child alone out of eye contact supervision in or near the spa or hot tub — not even for a second. And, do not permit playful screaming for help (false alarms), which might mask a real emergency.

Guidelines for Using Spas and Hot Tubs
As a spa or hot tub owner, you may be legally liable for the safety of all persons who use your facility. You have the ultimate responsibility. Be sure your insurance policy is updated to include ownership of your spa or hot tub. But, facing ownership responsibilities does not mean taking the fun out of using your spa or hot tub. If you know about safety practices and use good judgment, you will find that the benefits of a spa or hot tub can far outweigh the risks. Here are some guidelines for using you spa or hot tub:

Soaking Safety:

Persons with heart disease, diabetes high or low blood pressure or any serious illness, and pregnant women — indeed persons with any doubt — should not enter a spa or hot tub without prior consultation with their doctor.
People with skin, ear, genital or other body infections, open sores or wounds should not use a spa or hot tub because of the possibility of spreading the infection.
Don't soak for longer than 15 minutes in 104ºF water. In lower temperatures most people can safely soak for longer periods.
Never use a spa or hot tub while or after using alcohol. Alcohol in your bloodstream and soaking at the same time creates a combined effect that can be damaging. The ultimate danger of combined alcohol consumption and hot water soaking is drowning due to loss of consciousness, heart attack or injury due to passing out and falling.
As with alcohol, the combined use of a certain prescribed medicines and hot water soaking can be dangerous. Never use a spa or hot tub while or after using narcotics or other drugs that may cause sleepiness, drowsiness or raise or lower blood pressure.
It is best not to soak immediately after eating a heavy meal.
Do not try to adjust or touch equipment such as pumps, heaters or electrical appliances while you are in the spa or hot tub.

Entertaining:

Entertaining can be both fun and safe with a little planning and good judgment. Use only unbreakable dishes, beverage containers and utensils.
Point out how to enter the tub safely and where the seats are located.
Persons who have been drinking alcohol should not be allowed in the spa or hot tub, and should be carefully supervised in the surrounding area.
If your spa or hot tub is outdoors, stay out of it during lightning or rainstorms because of the possibility of electrocution from the lightning hitting the water.
Keep electrical appliances a significant distance for the spa or hot tub. Don't use extension cords. Use a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) on any appliance that must be near the spa or hot tub.

spa Care FOR DUMMIES

Owning a hot tub should be a wonderful experience with little maintenance required. This reference sheet will provide you with some quick tips on maintaining your water balance and keeping your hot tub parts in good working conditions at all times! We often host hot tub seminars which are extremely useful in understanding hot tub maintenance and care. Call us to find out when the next seminar is being offered.

Source Water
Before filling you tub with water you should have an understanding of what type of water you are using to fill your tub. Well water tends to be very hard, therefore, if you have a water softener you may want to fill the tub half with softened water and half with regular well water. If you do not have a water softener you should use a product called SPA Safe, which softens the water as you fill you hot tub.

All hot tub owners should use STAIN PREVENT on a weekly basis to help prevent scaling on all hot tub parts and the heater element.

Soft water is also very hard on hot tub parts and may cause the exterior shell of the hot tub to flake or peel. Soft water may also eat away at the heater element in your tub. To increase the hardness of your hot tub water you should use SPA CONTROL.

Chemical Measurement Tip: 1 teaspoon = 10 grams

Sanitizing Your Tub
There are two chemicals you may use to sanitize you hot tub - bromine and chlorine. We recommend using bromine because it is easier on both skin and your hot tub parts, however some people are allergic to it.

With bromine we recommend using the small tabs in a floating bromine dispenser and shocking your tub with either Easy Brome or Spa Swat once or twice per week, depending on the amount of usage. With everyday usage, the tub should be shocked twice per week. Easy Brome is also a great product to put in your hot tub on the initial fill-up to immediately establish a bromine bank. One hundred grams is usually sufficient to establish this bank.

Click here for more information on the spa chemicals we carry.

*When changing from Bromine to Chlorine the tub must be emptied and refilled.

Water Testing
As part of your initial start-up chemical kit you should have received a package of test strips. These strips have easy to follow instructions and should be used at least once per week to test your water balance.

On initial fill-up, every six weeks or when you are having problems with your water, you should bring a sample of your water into Water World in a proper water sample bottle, which you should have received as part of your start up kit. Our trained staff can perform more accurate testing than the strips and can also detail an accurate measure of chemicals required to balance the water. Our staff have been trained to help diagnose and treat problems with your water.

Remember to keep all copies water tests completed professionally. You may require them for warranty purposes should something go wrong with your tub. We do keep customer history in our computer system, but we all know how computers can fail at the least opportune time!

Filter Cleaning
Your filter should be cleaned at least every six to eight weeks using the appropriate filter cleaner. We recommend having a spare filter so that the filter being cleaned can completely dry before placed in use again.

Your filter needs replacing when it appears fuzzy; water does not drain through when poured over; or it is falling apart. Click here for more filter information.

Emptying the Tub
The tub should be emptied every 4 to 6 months depending on usage. If you are not sure whether or not you should empty your tub, you can bring your water in for a test at Water World where we will test for the "Total Dissolved Solids" in your water. If we get a high reading, the water should be emptied. We also recommend that before emptying your tub you use WHIRL O CLEAN. This product cleans slime and guck out of your pipes and is discarded when the tub is emptied. A great tool for emptying your tub is QuickDrain™.

Cleaning Your Tub
Do not use household cleansers to clean your tub. They will cause the hot tub to foam and may throw your water balance off. ACRILYK is the hot tub safe cleaner to use for cleaning and disinfecting your hot tub. You may also use warm water.

Rashes
There could be a number of contributing factors should you develop a rash after using your tub. The most common factor is that you haven't been shocking your water on a regular basis. Even if you have a high bromine reading you have to shock regularly.

Another factor which could contribute to rashes is the use of fragrances in the water, especially those which not been designed for hot tub use. Be sure to read all labels before using such fragrances and if it does not specify hot tub use DO NOT USE IT!

As mentioned earlier, some people are allergic to bromine. If this is the case then the tub will have to be converted over to chlorine as a sanitizer. The same methods apply as with bromine in that chlorine tabs are added to the water and the water is shocked on a regular basis. You will require different test strips to read chlorine. Be sure to specify when having your water tested that you use chlorine to sanitize your tub. Before changing over to chorine you tub must be emptied.

Energy Efficiency Tips:

Turn down the thermostat when you're on vacation- If you are leaving for an extended period of time or won't use the hot tub for a week or more turn the heat down or off, If you have an older, non-energy efficient hot tub, consider draining it if you will be gone during winter months. Such tubs can freeze which causes a great deal of damage to the equipment. Energy efficient hot tubs can maintain non-freezing temperatures for weeks with appropriate covers.
Reduce pumping cycles- Normally filtration cycles for single and two speed pumps are set for four hours, twice a day. You may be able to reduce the filtration cycles to three hours, twice a day - during off-peak hours. This adjustment should be based on your usage pattern, so you can maintain clear, clean and safe water. If your hot tub has a low-wattage, continuous circulation pump — leave it alone, it's designed to run all the time.
Create windbreaks around the hot tub; cutting wind exposure can reduce heat loss. Privacy panels, landscaping, or fencing can all be effective windbreaks.
Buy only energy efficient spas and hot tubs. Today significant improvements in the construction, controls, and equipment (such as using preheated air for jets and low wattage pumps and lights) make hot tubs more energy-efficient than 5 or 10 years ago. When possible replace your hot tub with a newer, energy efficient model. An average sized energy efficient hot tub consumes 5-7 kWh per day, while a poorly insulated, inefficient hot tub may use 12-18 kWh per day.