Spa Care

Spa Manual click to download (suits most spas)

Care of your Acrylic spa
Do not use pool chlorine with your spa, this will damage the acrylic, only use spa chlorine. Spa chlorine is available from your local West Coast Spas store.
Acrylic is extremely hard and non-porous by nature. So, dirt, soapy film, and germs can't penetrate. To clean acrylic bath and hot tub surfaces, use a mild bathroom cleaner and wipe with a damp sponge/cloth. Some Spa professionals recommend that you use no chemicals when cleaning as it can alter the PH level in your spa. A non abrasive cloth can be used on its own. For some more tips go to the link below
http://www.aristechacrylics.com/bath_surfaces/

Always leave your cover on, if the sun beats down on an acrylic spa all day long, day after day it will destroy your acrylic surface. Spas are insulated now days, and there is no where for the heat from the sun to escape, this can cause blistering and cracking. It is fine to take the cover off and have a spa for an hour or two in the sun, but make sure you put the cover on when you are finished.

Never use solar blankets to heat your spa, the sun will damage the acrylic.

Care of your Cedar Cabinet
Cedar spa cabinets come pre oiled.
Western Red Cedar requires a thin coat of Woodshield, approx once a year, apply your first coat within 6 months, most spas manufactured today, use water based oil. Because the cedar wood has a nice colour, only use natural colour oil, they have very little colouring in them and this will help keep the cedar colour.

If your spa has not been oiled for years and the wood is starting to go grey in places, DO NOT oil it, as it will look terrible, you will have to sand it back to its natural wood colour and then oil it.

Spray with a good surface spray once or twice per year just around the base of the cabinet, inside and out.

Care of your spa cover
Clean your cover twice per year, clean with a mild detergent and the dry and give it a coat of vinyl protectant.
Covers last 5 to 10 years before they need replacing. If you need a new cover, go to our spa covers page.
Never lift your spa cover by the locking straps, this will damage your straps and your cover.
Never stand or lie on cover, this will cause damage and can break your spa cover.

Care of your water
The quality of your water is vital for your health and well being. Poor water quality is dangerous and unpleasant. Regularly (at least once per week) check the water balance and sanitiser levels by using test strips or a test kit.

Check and clean filter regularly. A filter that is blocked and dirty will consume more chemicals and will not keep your spa water clean

Some people dump about 10% of water weekly, (30% per month) and replace this with fresh water. If spa is used frequently and has a high bather load it may be necessary to dump more of the water. Every 6 to 16 weeks dump all of the water. When replacing water re balance the water and add more your sanitiser.

If water becomes dull and lifeless, clean filter, add a capful of Shockright, Spa Shock or Ultra Shock and run filter for 2 - 4 hours. If spa water is still dull, dump some water and then balance pH and Alkalinity, add Spa Chlorine or Bromine and alkalinity increaser as per instructions on back of container

Chemical FAQs

Q. Do west Coast Spas sell spa chemicals
A. Yes we are one of the biggest suppliers of spa chemicals in West Australia

Q. Can I use pool chlorine in my spa?
A. No, do not use pool chlorine or liquid chlorine in a spa. These can damage your spa components and spa acrylic.

Q My chlorine levels are going very low and even disappearing within a day, what do I do?
Chlorine is not stable in hot water, this means that it disappears quite quickly, this is why Bromine was invented, as it continually releases Bromine from a dispenser, some people find this type of spa sanitizing a bit harsh and sometimes unpleasant. Nauture2 is a safe and pleasant alternative to Bromine. Nature2 used to be used without chlorine and in some parts of the world people still do not use chlorine with the spa, other than adding some to the start up of the spa (this is used to break the seal on the Nature2 stick).
Legislation came into place in 2004 (Australia) that states that all spa pools must also use chlorine if using the Nature2 stick. So it is now recommended that the chlorine levels be at a certain level before entering the spa. This can be accomplished by using a test strip and checking that the chlorine level is in the OK region.

Some people say that if you are also using a non chlorine type of sanitiser such as Nature2 and Spa Shock, then it is OK to let the Chlorine level drop a little bit below the OK region, however in keeping with legislation we do not suggest this. It is also common for people who use Ozone generators to allow their chlorine levels to drop a little low, as they believe the chlorine levels do not need to be as high if they are killing the bacteria with an Ozone generator and Spa shock. We do not suggest this; however it is true that ozone and spa shock do kill certain types of bacteria.
If you are using a Nature2 stick, Ozone generator and Spa Shock, then these will all contribute to keeping your water safe and hygienic, this is all that is being used in many parts of the world, however in keeping with the legislation we recommend that you also add chlorine and maintain the recommended levels.

Different types of spa chlorine are, Lithium Hypochlorite, Salt Boost and Spa Chlorine. Note that Salt Boost does not contain salt, it is called salt boost as it is used to increase the chlorine levels of a salt swimming pool. Using Chlorine, Spa Shock, Nature2 and an Ozone Generator as a combination is the preferred way to look after your spa. Bacteria can thrive in warm water and can be hazardous to your health, some bacteria can actually survive in chlorine; this is another reason why having a combination of sanitisers is the better option.

Q. My spa water has gone all cloudy and smelly, what do I do
A. The quality of your water is vital for your health and well being. Poor water quality is dangerous and unpleasant. Regularly (at least once per week) check the water balance and sanitiser levels by using test strips or a test kit.

A new spa will normally get dirty and cloudy quite quick, this is because it is getting a lot of use, the new users normally cant keep out of it and normally want all their friends and family to try it as well. In the excitement of the moment the new users may forget to put chemicals in or clean their filter. A spa filter will only need to be cleaned once or twice a month, but in the first weeks you may want to clean in once or twice a week. Check and clean filter regularly. A filter that is blocked and dirty will consume more chemicals and will not keep your spa water clean.

Dump about 10% of your water weekly, replace this with fresh water. If spa is used frequently and has a high bather load it may be necessary to dump more of the water. Every 3 to 4 months dump all of the water. When replacing water add Spa Chlorine to Nature2 spas (as per instructions on back on container)
Check and adjust pH balance, as a pH that is too high or too low can cause a spa to go cloudy, pH increase or decrease can be used for this.

Check Total Alkalinity and adjust accordingly. Chemicals for increasing or decreasing alkalinity can be purchased from your local West Coast Spas store.
If water becomes dull and lifeless add a capful of Shockright, Ultra Shock or Spa Shock and run filter for 2 to 4 hours If spa water is still dull, dump some water and then balance your water pH and Alkalynity and add some sanitiser such as Bromine or Spa Chlorine.

Most cloudy spas can be fixed by adding 3 tablespoons of Shock, a table spoon of Spa chlorine and fixing the pH and alkalinity levels then cleaning the filter and running the filter for about 2-4 hours, if this has not fixed the problem, clean the filter again and run the filter for another 2-4 hours. If this has not cleaned your spa it may be that some or all of your water may need to be replaced. As an alternative to replacing your water, there are certain chemicals that can be used that cling to these tiny particles in you spa, this makes the particles bigger allowing them to be trapped by your filter.

A spa that has just had a high bather load such as a spa party should be emptied and cleaned. 4 people in your spa is equal to 300 people in your swimming pool. Remember that the hot water in a spa opens up your pores and removes oils, soaps, deodorants, sunscreen and dirt.

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