The truth about spa filters and maintenance

You may well have been misled about spa filter maintenance & indeed the level of effort required in maintaining your water quality generally! Don't feel bad about this because we estimate that 80% of all spa purchasers are in the same boat. The 'nice' salesman who sold you your spa wants prospective customers to believe that spa ownership is a totally painless process - they don't want 'obstacles' to appear that may put people off. And of course it's far more romantic to paint a picture of sipping champagne on balmy nights than dwell on the detail of spa maintenance! So let us just say that they 'play down' the importance of filter maintenance, how often they need removing & rinsing, deep cleaning & how long your filter/s will really last.

In fairness, the standard lifespan of a 'Pleated Cartridge' spa filter is generally quoted as being 12 months or so in the industry. In reality this is more accurate for a 'Pleated Cartridge' POOL filter, but the statement has just 'carried-over' to include spas & hot tubs as well. The filters are made of the same material but there are some significant differences between a Pool & Spa environment:-

• The volume of water 'per person' in a small domestic pool is significantly larger than in a hot tub - a small family pool with say 20,000 litres of water 'shared amongst' a family of 6 gives more than 3,300 litres per person, an average six seat hot tub with 1,300 litres of water gives just over 200 litres per person - in other words you would need 100 people in the small family pool to be equivalent to having 6 in the hot tub! Massive difference!
• The temperature that a hot tub/spa operates at is significantly higher than that of a swimming pool. This creates a myriad of other problems, not least of which is the hot tub's ability to breed bacteria at a much accelerated rate, 'strip-off' body lotions, creams & spray-tan's & remove all that latent detergent still 'hiding' in your newly laundered swim-wear.

The net result is that the life of a spa filter is a much harder one than that of a pool filter, it is hardly surprising then that their life expectancy is considerably shorter. Recent research from G.E. 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 blocked by build up of smaller particles. These deformable particles are generally of a semi-solid nature and are present in the form of a slime or gel like material. If the concentration of these particles is high enough then the element can be "blinded off" which prevents flow. When these filters are washed they only retain approximately 10% of their total filtration value. This is why a lot of chemicals are needed. The average life is two months."

Perhaps the GE research is looking at the worse case scenario, but it nevertheless clearly supports the fact that 12 months lifespan is unrealistic. Of course, many factors will play a part in just how long filters will 'last' - or more importantly how long they will be effective for.

We have devised a simple 'test' to estimate how long your filter/filters will last for. Try our Estimated Filter Life Test here.