You may have been misled about spa filter and hot tub filter maintenance and indeed the level of effort required to maintain your spa and hot tub water quality in general! Don’t feel bad about this because we estimate that 80% of all spa and hot tub patrons are in the same boat. The ‘nice’ salesperson who sold you your spa or hot tub wants potential clients to believe that ownership is a totally painless process; they don’t want ‘obstacles’ to appear that can discourage people. And, of course, it’s much more romantic to paint a picture of drinking champagne on balmy nights than to dwell on the details of spa and hot tub maintenance. So let’s say they “downplay” the importance of spa filter maintenance, how often it needs to be removed and rinsed, deep cleaning with a cartridge cleaner, and how long your filters will actually last.

To be fair, the standard life of a ‘Reemay Pleated Cartridge’ spa or hot tub filter is generally quoted at approximately 12 months in the pool, hot tub and spa industry. This is actually more accurate for a ‘pleated cartridge’ POOL filter, but the statement has simply been ‘carried over’ to include spas and hot tubs as well. The filters are made from the same material (Reemay) but there are some significant differences between a pool and spa or hot tub environment:-

1. The volume of water ‘per person’ in a small domestic pool is significantly higher than in a hot tub: a small family pool with, say, 20,000 liters of water ‘shared between’ a family of 6 gives more than 3,300 liters per person, an average six-seat Jacuzzi or spa with 1,300 liters of water gives just over 200 liters per person; in other words, you would need 100 people in the small family pool to be equivalent to having 6 in the jacuzzi! Big difference!

2. The temperature at which a hot tub/spa operates is significantly higher than that of a swimming pool. This creates a myriad of other problems, one of which is the hot tub’s ability to breed bacteria at a much faster rate, ‘wash away’ body lotions, creams and spray tans, and remove all that dormant detergent that is still there. ‘hidden’ in your freshly laundered bathing suit. Addition of coagulant products such as foam down, glitter, etc. it only serves to increase the frequency of cleaning and further reduce the life of the filter. A better solution is to use a scum absorbent like the new Zorboid product.

The net result of these factors is that the life of a spa filter is much harsher than that of a pool filter, so it is not surprising that its life is considerably shorter. A recent investigation by GE Water (part of General Electric), the global company, said:

“The effective pore size of the filter is gradually reduced as some of the pores become clogged due to the accumulation of smaller particles. These deformable particles are generally semi-solid in nature and are present in the form of silt or sand-like material. gel If the concentration of these particles is high enough then the element can become “plugged” which prevents flow-through When these filters are washed they only retain about 10% of their total filtration value average life is two months.

Perhaps GE’s research is looking at the worst case scenario, but nonetheless it clearly supports the fact that 12 month shelf life is unrealistic. Of course, many factors will play a role in how long your spa and hot tub filters will ‘last’, or more importantly, how long they will be effective.

paul harrison