Cleaning your hot tub’s filter regularly is the easiest and most effective single thing you can do to keep your hot tub water clear. The hot tub’s filter, the chemicals added, and an ozonator are all designed to keep your spa clean and keep you safe. A dirty spa can develop bacteria and fungi that can cause infection or disease. The fungi and bacteria can even damage your spa to the point where it’s no longer functionable. If your spa has an ozonator, we recommend replacing it every 2 years or so. Unfortunately, the chemicals used in a hot tub need to be constantly restocked when you run out. A hot tub filter can be used multiple times though. That’s right, you don’t need to throw out and replace your filter constantly.
How a Hot Tub Filter Works
A hot tub filter is generally a cartridge that can be removed when needed. It takes a porous material, and the hot tub water flows through it. Porous means liquids and gases can pass through, but solids cannot. So the hot tub water flows through this porous material, but all the unwanted particles and debris gets stuck and cannot move through the filter. A hot tub filter is pleated, meaning it has folds on the sides for things to get caught in. The porous material used is typically paper or polyester, but other materials have been used before. The trapped particles remain in the hot tub filter until it is cleaned out. We recommend cleaning your filter out once a month, but you can do daily, weekly, or even bi-weekly. Cleaning out your filter more often never hurts.
What If I Don’t Clean My Filter?
A clogged or dirty filter will cause the heater and pump to work harder than they need to, possibly causing them to fail. The spa’s heating system will only function with the proper amount of water flow through the system. Without a filter, the particles can grow and develop into a bigger issue. Bacteria and fungi can be created, both of which can harm you or your spa. The filter is the part of your spa that removes the debris from the water and needs to be cleaned on a regular basis to maximize your spa’s filtering performance and heating efficiency. To help keep your spa clean, you should spray off the filter weekly. In addition to spraying off the filter weekly to remove surface debris, your filter should be deep cleaned periodically to dissolve particles that get lodged deep within the filter fibers and impede the filtration process. Even if the filter looks clean, particles can clog the fibers and prevent water from flowing through the filter resulting in the most common spa problem – no heat, caused by a dirty filter.
How To Clean Your Filter
- We recommend you clean your filter once a month and replace it once every 6 months or as necessary (if you notice it’s frayed or damaged).
- Remove the filter with the spa turned off.
- Place the dirty filter into a bucket of water deep enough to cover the filter. Add 8 oz of liquid filter cleaner to the bucket of water.
- Soak the filter for a minimum of 24 hours.
- Spray pleats of the filter with a water hose.
- Reinstall the filter.
Tip: Keep a spare filter to use in the spa while the dirty filter is being deep cleaned.
