6 Keys to Good & Easy Spa & Hot tub Care
(it's not just chemicals)

Key 2 - Filtration
Now that the water is circulating properly, good filtration removes dirt, debris & even certain large bacteria, greases & oils. 

Filter your water for 8 to 12 hours every day. Most modern spas & hot tubs are "pre-wired" to operate for a particular number of hours daily. 

That makes life easier. By the way, for the best filtration, be sure to chemically clean your filter every 6 to 8 weeks or at minimum when the spa is drained.

Cartridge Filters.  All cartridge filters have 3 things in common:

1. They all use some type of pleated fiber cartridge.
2. Dirty water enters in to the filter tank & flows through the cartridge which filters out the dirt & debris (down to a size of about 10 - 20 microns - much smaller, but still visible dirt & debris & some algae).
3. Cleaner, filtered water is collected on the other side of the cartridge & pushed out of the filter & returned to the spa. 

Cartridge filters are used almost exclusively on spas & hot tubs. Cartridge filters can be used with any hot water sanitizing system.  Because of their relatively large filter surface area (the pleated fiber material can be as large as several hundred square feet as compared to under 4 square feet in the largest residential sand filter), cartridge filters generally take a long time to get dirty between cleanings.

Care of Cartridge Filters: Clean only when needed.  Usually about once every 6 to 8 weeks. Cleaning is accomplished by taking the filter apart & hosing off the accumulated dirt & debris from the cartridge. Chemically clean every time (after initial cleaning & at mid season) to break up & remove accumulated greases, oils & dirt that has become embedded in the cartridge material. Replace the cartridge about every 18 to 24 months of spa usage.

Why you need to Chemically Clean your filter:  As noted just above, chemical cleaning of your filter aids removing greases, oils & other swimmer and environmental waste that will soil your filter and shorten its life.  Normal, regular backwashing & rinsing will not remove these wastes. 

Here's a couple of analogies that will help you understand the significance of chemical cleaning: do you use shampoo on when you wash your hair or do you just rinse it?  Without shampoo, your hair would be pretty matted & dirty after a couple of weeks.  How about dirty clothes?  Do you only rinse them out in the washing machine or do you add detergent to release & help remove the dirt & greasy stains?  The same thing goes with your pool filter.

Use enzymes such as SpaGuard Natural Enzyme or Natural Chemistry Spa Perfect on a weekly basis to control bio-film & organic waste build-up even on the filters.

How do you chemically clean a filter?  That's easy. Use filter cleaning products such as SpaGuard® Filter Cleaner® that is used when you can soak your filter (soak the elements or AquaFinesse Filter Cleaning Tabs - this product is especially effective if your cartridges are coated with Microban antibacterial coating - for removal of biofilm on the cartridge) for a several hours.  Avoiding using power washers as they can damage the cartridge material. Tip: allow the filter to thoroughly dry before re-installing.

For more information on the workings of your pool, click on the 6 Keys to Pool Care

Some information contained in this article is courtesy of the BioGuard Chem PLUS 2003, 2004, Chem College 2007 & H2-Know 2011 Reference Guide. 

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Links to all of the 6 Keys: Circulation Filtration Cleaning & Maintenance Testing Water Chemistry Drain & Refill

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