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Spa Sanitizing

This is a very important subject when it comes to spas. The number one reason why people choose to get their own spa is because they know that they are taking care of the water and it gives them peace of mind that it is clean. Another reason this is an important is because many people hesitate to get a spa because of this work and they feel that it will become a huge chore. Well this couldn’t be further from the truth. Taking care of a spa is very easy and there are many items out there that will help make it even easier. Let’s go over some of them and get more comfortable with the little amount of work a spa actually is.

Ozone generators… what’s the difference?
An ozone generator, also known as an ozonator, is an excellent way to cut down on the use of chemicals in your spa. Chlorine is used in a spa to kill bacteria and sanitize your water to keep it clean and clear. So since an ozonator does the same thing, it allows you to use a very low amount of chlorine. Too much chlorine can cause faded bathing suits, dry skin and eye irritation. Using less chlorine will save money in the long run. There are 3 different types of ozonators out on the market. Lets go over the plus and minuses of each.
The UV light bulb ozonator was the first style of ozonator made. This style used a UV light bulb to generate the ozone. It generates about 200 ppm of ozone to sanitize the water. That is the minimum amount of ozone that the National Spa and Pool Institute, NSPI, recommends an ozonator must generate to properly sanitize the water. The problem with the UV light bulb ozonator is the light bulb gets less efficient over time and eventually has to be replaced. On average, over one year’s time, the UV light bulb ozonator only produces about 100 ppm of ozone (which is less than what the NSPI says is needed to properly do its job) and then another year later it burns out. Believe it or not, the cost of the bulb replacement is almost as much as replacing the entire ozone generator itself. Because of these issues with the UV ozonator, the corona discharge ozonator was created.

    The corona discharge (CD) ozonator works differently. It does not use a bulb to generate the ozone, it uses a chip. The advantage to this is it never gets less efficient. It produces the ozone almost twice as fast, which allows for more sanitation. The CD ozonator produces just over 350 ppm of ozone. Most of your high end spa brands have switched to the CD ozonator because of these advantages. Now the CD ozonator eventually needing to be replaced is one problem of this style, but it is an upgrade to the UV light bulb ozonator because it lasts 5-7 years before needing any replacement.
     That brings us to the Fresh Water 3 ozonator by Hot Spring Spas. Hot Spring has managed to take all of the great qualities from the original corona discharge ozonator and make them even better. The first change made was to make a non-replaceable ozone generator. Unlike the UV ozonator and the corona discharge ozonator there is no replacing it. The only thing you need to do is every five years wipe out a little glass tube inside the ozonator itself and your done. No expensive replacements. Another advantage to the Fresh Water 3 is that it produces anywhere from 750 to 900 ppm of ozone. That is almost triple a regular CD ozonator! This is a huge benefit because the spa water is getting triple the sanitation. Now some will say that much ozone is bad for the spa because it will eat away at your covers and pillows, well Hot Spring thought of that already.
     When ozone (O3) mixes with water (H2O) it turns into oxygen (O2). Those are the little bubbles that you will see coming out of the ozone jet in your spa. Well there is always some off gassing of O3 that makes it through the water, which aids the breakdown of the pillows and cover. Hot Spring has integrated a liquid gas mixer that reduces the off gassing of O3 by 65%.

Nature2 Silver Ion Purifier
     Nature2 Spa uses silver minerals to destroy bacteria. This product notably improves the look, feel and smell of your spa water, by reducing chlorine and bromine requirements. If used with MPS, most commonly known as spa shock, Nature2 Spa becomes a complete spa sanitizing system. The best part about it is there is not really anything that you need to do. You simply drop the Nature2 cartridge into the center of your filter and let it do its job. The only thing that you need to do is change it every 4 months. So you save money because you are using less chlorine or bromine and the water is softer, cleaner, and clearer.

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