Much like owning a hot tub, investing in your own swim spa, while fantastic for taking control of your own personal health and well-being, does come with certain responsibilities – including carrying out regular swim spa maintenance so that your at-home spa system continues to operate at tip-top condition.

Of course, if you’ve never owned a swim spa or hot tub before, then chances are you might not be entirely sure where to begin when it comes to maintaining spa functionality in the long term, and what sort of cleaning tasks you should be carrying out on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis.

Fortunately, swim spa maintenance is a lot simpler than it might sound, and with the right knowledge at your side, you’ll have no trouble looking after your spa in the future. From regular water testing to spa filter cleaning, here is everything you need to know about swim spa maintenance.

Our 6-point swim spa maintenance checklist

As we’ve already hinted at, looking after your swim spa is not just a once-a-year task that needs to be done in the middle of summer. Instead, there are several different areas of swim spa maintenance that you need to be aware of, as well as how often these tasks will need to be done.

To help you get started, below is our 6-point checklist of what goes into swim spa maintenance:

  • Regularly testing your swim spa water
  • Regularly circulating your swim spa water
  • Draining your swim spa water
  • Cleaning your swim spa
  • Cleaning your swim spa’s filter
  • Maintaining your swim spa’s cover

1. Testing your swim spa’s water

In the same way that your hot tub needs to be continually sanitised to ensure bacteria-free water, the same is true for your swim spa’s water. Therefore, at least twice a week, you should be checking the sanitiser levels of your swim spa and topping them up as required.

This can be done by using sanitiser testing strips and then adding in the required volume of sanitiser to bring chemical levels up to balance. However, you should also look to maintain the rest of your swim spa-hot tub’s chemical levels as well, including keeping pH and water hardness levels in check for the perfect spa experience.

Shocking your swim spa

While continual use of sanitisers is required to maintain the cleanliness of your swim spa’s water, over time, chlorine and bromine can create smelly compounds called chloramines and bromamines.

These can stink out your swim spa if left untreated, however, shocking your swim spa, (essentially adding a larger amount of chlorine or bromine), can remove these chemicals from your water as well as other impurities that can lead to issues with your spa.

We recommend doing this on a monthly basis to keep your swim spa smelling fresh.

2. Circulating your swim spa’s water

Assuming you use your swim spa regularly, this is likely a step you’re already carrying out, but to explain why regularly circulating your swim spa’s water is important, the reasoning behind this is to further eliminate dirt and contaminants from your spa’s water system.

This is because, when your swim spa’s water is being circulated, it gets pumped through your spa’s filter system, which in turn will pick up any particulates from your water in order to keep it clean.

Naturally, when you’re swim spa is in use, this circulation will happen automatically, but if you want fresher water before you step in for your swim, you can always set your spa’s water to circulate for 15-20 minutes earlier in the day.

3. Draining your swim spa’s water

Needless to say, even with regular water sanitisation and circulation, your swim spa’s water will only stay so clean for so long, and eventually you’ll need to think about fully draining your swim spa and refilling it with new water.

However, alongside simply draining and refilling your swim spa’s water, we also recommend doing the following every time you drain your spa for maximum cleanliness:

  • Applying a swim spa flushing solution to remove dirt, debris, and calcium deposits from inside your swim spa’s piping network, which will be drained out alongside your spa water when draining.
  • Cleaning your swim spa in its entirety with a swim spa-friendly cleaning spray, including all filters and nozzles.
  • Checking your swim spa’s shell for any damage and sealing cracks if required.

How often should you refill swim spa water?

For proper water cleanliness, we recommend changing your swim spa’s water at least 3-4 times a year, ideally every quarter. Given the size of your swim spa, it can be quite a lengthy task to clean it every time you empty it of water, so draining and cleaning on a quarterly basis is a nice compromise between effort and maintenance.

4. Cleaning your swim spa

As we’ve just noted, part of your swim spa-hot tub maintenance routine should include a thorough clean, typically once your spa has been drained of water. However, you can still clean parts of your swim spa regularly even when filled with water to remove dirt and grime – all you need is a microfibre cloth and a couple of minutes.

With microfibre cloth in hand, wipe down all your swim spa’s exposed surfaces, including the underside of its cover, to remove any sum that’s built up. And for more persistent marks, a quick scrub with soapy water should be more than enough to remove it.

5. Cleaning your swim spa’s filter

Easily incorporated as part of cleaning your swim spa, cleaning your swim spa’s filter on a regular basis will maximise its longevity and its ability to purge your spa’s water of dirt and other contaminants.

So, either when wiping down your spa or giving it a full clean, make sure you remove your spa filters and clean them using a swim spa filter spray. These sprays can finish their work in as little as 15 minutes, and after that, all you need to do is rinse your filter with water.

However, for a more thorough soak and deeper clean, it never hurts to submerge your filter in a bucket of water mixed with filter cleaner, leave it overnight, and then rinse it with water in the morning before letting it air dry.

How often should I clean my swim spa filter?

How often you need to clean your swim spa filters will depend on how often you use your swim spa – the more you use it, the more often you’ll need to clean your filters. But, with that being said, it’s perfectly fine to give your spa filters a clean every two weeks, as well as when you empty your spa of water.

6. Maintaining your swim spa’s cover

Last, but not least, keeping up with good swim spa cover maintenance is a must for extending the life of your swim spa and minimising how often you need to top up your swim spa’s sanitiser levels.

To start with, you should get in the habit of wiping down the outside and inside of your spa cover every week with a cover-friendly cleaning spray, as doing so will prevent bacteria from growing and stop mould from taking root.

Establishing a regular spa maintenance routine

Having covered all of our main swim sap maintenance steps, let’s touch on the best way to set up a swim spa maintenance routine so that you can stay on top of all your spa’s care needs.

Take a look below on what you should be doing every week, month, quarter, and yearly:

1. Weekly maintenance

Below are the key spa maintenance steps you should be carrying out on a weekly basis:

  • Checking and updating your swim spa’s chemical levels
  • Rinsing your spa’s filters (bi-weekly)
  • Wiping down the sides of your swim spa to remove dirt
  • Checking your skimmer basket for leaves and clearing it if necessary

2. Monthly maintenance

Below are the key spa maintenance steps you should be carrying out on a monthly basis:

  • Cleaning your filters properly (bi-monthly)
  • Checking all your jets for blockages

3. Quarterly maintenance

Below are the key spa maintenance steps you should be carrying out on a quarterly basis:

  • Cleaning your spa’s pipes with a swim spa flush
  • Draining and cleaning your spa
  • Cleaning and replacing your spa filter if necessary
  • Changing your spa’s water and rebalancing its chemical mix

4. Annual maintenance

Below are the key spa maintenance steps you should be carrying out on an annual basis:

  • Inspecting all your spa’s components for damage
  • Cleaning your swim spa pump with a specialist pump cleaning product
  • Organising a professional inspection from a swim spa technician

Take a look at our swim spa range

With all of those points covered, we hope that you now have a much better idea of how to look after your swim spa going forward, keeping it operating in peak condition for many years to come.

Of course, if you’re still doing your research around swim spas and want more insight into what they include and how much a swim spa costs compared to a hot tub, then why not take a look at the Platinum Spa’s swim spa range today?

All of our models are produced using the latest in swim spa technology and are manufactured by top brands. To see our swim spas in person, be sure to book an appointment at your nearest hot tub showroom. And don’t forget to visit our blog for insightful swim spa and hot tub pieces like this one.

Swim spa maintenance FAQs

Still got a few swim spa maintenance-related questions you need answering? Take a look at our FAQs below:

Are swim spas high maintenance?

Despite all the steps laid out above, swim spas are no more high maintenance than a standard larger hot tub. While you will need to do some regular maintenance, it will not take up too much of your time if you have a solid routine in place.

Jamie Smith
Latest posts by Jamie Smith (see all)

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