With the rise in popularity of having a hot tub in your own home, the importance of maintaining it properly is paramount so that you may enjoy it to the fullest. After all, without a fully functioning appliance, feeling the satisfaction that you get when you host a particularly enjoyable party for friends and family will be severely lessened if your hot tub is out of commission.

The simplest way to stop any major problems occurring is by checking your hot tub daily. Maintaining the required level of sanitizer will ensure that hygiene will be of a safe standard. Daily checking will also allow you to keep the area around the water line clean, as well as maintaining the hot tub's pH levels. Weekly and monthly checks, although not mandatory, will help prevent problems such as foaming and water hardness to affect your appliance, and stop your filter from becoming clogged.

Every now and then, you should also completely empty the hot tub and then refill it, so you can dispose of total dissolved fluids, or TDS, which block filters and other flowing areas. As a general guide, you should calculate the amount of litres your hot tub holds and divide this figure by the average number of users. Once you have this number, divide it again by 12, and this will give you a good example of how often your tub should be drained.

Depending on where you live, the different types of water that's supplied to your area can also affect how you maintain your hot tub. Since hot tubs have a recommended level for calcium hardness between 100-200mg per litre, making sure you have the right level is extremely important. Too much can leave unwanted deposits on the pipes and heater elements, while too little can lead to corrosion damage. Make sure you check the levels each time you top up your tub.

Along with water hardness, ensuring that you have both the safe total alkaline and pH levels are another important factor in the overall maintenance of your hot tub. If the alkaline levels are wrong, corrosion can occur and also cause discomfort to users of the tub. The pH levels are key to how sanitised your tub is, once again a major factor in how much you enjoy your bathing experience. For best results, the recommended levels are 125-150mg per litre for alkaline, and 7.4 to 7.6 on the pH level scale (from a range of 0-14).

There are a variety of ways you can maintain the cleanliness of your hot tub. Be sure to change or clean your spa filter regularly. Using bromine is an excellent option, as not only is it easy to use, but it will last for several days. And just like it's used in swimming pools to keep sanitation levels high, chlorine is also an extremely effective option, as it won't affect your pH count into the bargain. By following these simple tips and using in conjunction with specialised products such as No Foam and Spa Sparkle, you will enjoy many a night relaxing in the atmosphere only a hot tub can bring.