When we think of relaxing in the hot tub, we envisage crystal clear water and swirling bubbles – nobody fantasises about immersing themselves in murky, cloudy water. If your spa water has lost its clarity there could be a number of reasons so you may have to consider which is most likely, depending on usage and your maintenance routine, and treat accordingly.
1. Contaminants
What we mean by contaminants is any external substances that have been introduced to the water. This can include dirt and debris from outdoors that has been carried in on the breeze, but it’s most likely to be things that bathers have taken in. This could be anything from cosmetics such as makeup, fake tan, body lotion, and deodorant to sweat, skin cells, and even urine and faecal matter. It could also be washing powder residue from your swimwear. While the filters are designed to remove dirt from the water, some particles are just too small to be trapped by the filters and slip straight through. They’re too small to see individually but will float in the water and make it appear cloudy.
Could this be the reason for your cloudy water? To work out whether this is the cause, consider how long it is since you last cleaned the water, how often it’s been used, and by how many people. Also, when did you last clean or replace the filters? If it’s been a while, or the hot tub has had a lot of use, particularly by multiple bathers, this could be the reason.
5L Pro-Kleen Hot Tub & Spa Clarifier
Hot tub water can easily become cloudy and murky - which isn't the best environment for relaxation! Our Spa Clarifier will make your water crystal clear in no time by removing the dirt and grime.
Price: £24.98
Buy Now
How to treat it: Try treating it with a spa clarifier. This works by forcing the tiny particles to clump together so that they can be filtered out. Clean or replace the filters after treatment because they will stop working if they are full of debris. (Which could be contributing the original problem). If the water is particularly dirty, it may be best to just empty the existing water and start again with fresh. This should be done every 3-4 months anyway, regardless of how clean it looks.
How to prevent it: To prevent this from happening, keep on top of cleaning routines, close the cover when not in use, and try to take as few contaminants in with you as possible by showering first (without soap) or at least removing makeup or tanning products. Swimwear can be rinsed out with warm water rather than washed with detergents every time.
2. pH levels off balance
Any hot tub owner knows how important it is to maintain the right pH level. You’re ideally looking to achieve a pH of between 7.2 – 7.8 which is very slightly alkaline. However, if it becomes too alkaline this can cause scaling, which would make water appear cloudy.
Could this be the reason for your cloudy water? The easiest way to determine this is to test the pH of the water. If it is outside the desired level, then this could be the cause of your murky water.
Pro-Kleen 2.5KG Sodium Bisulphate PH Reducer for Hot Tubs, Pools and Spas
If your hot tub's pH level is above 7.6, then it needs reducing. Pro-Kleen's pH reducer is super easy to use and will get your water's pH level to between 7.4 and 7.6 in no time!
Price: £17.39
Buy Now
How to treat it: You obviously need to get the pH level back into range, but you need to deal with the scaling issue first. Use a hot tub descaling product or ‘shock’ the water (using a water shocking treatment to give it a deep clean). Then rebalance the pH.
How to prevent it: Keep testing the pH levels and pay particular attention to getting the Total Alkalinity (TA) right as this acts as a buffer for the pH and will help stabilise it.
3. Inappropriate chemical levels
We all know that keeping hot tub water clean and safe is a fine balancing act. We use chemicals to achieve this but using either too much or too little can make the water cloudy. Insufficient amounts of sanitiser (chlorine or bromine) will mean that the water is not being properly sanitised, and this can make it cloudy. On the other hand, adding too many chemicals leads to saturation, which means the water is physically unable to dissolve any more chemicals. This means those granules of chlorine, spa clarifier, pH increaser, or whatever else will just float around in the water, making it cloudy. It’s quite common for people to add more chemicals to try to fix issues and end up creating more problems.
Could this be the reason for your cloudy water? If you have either been a bit slack on your maintenance routines or adding more treatments to try to resolve an issue, then this could be the problem.
How to treat it: If the issue is that you’ve got an insufficient amount of chlorine, the obvious answer is to add more. If you have already added too much, you may have to admit defeat, drain, and refill with fresh water.
How to prevent it: Regular, standard hot tub maintenance where you’re checking pH and sanitiser levels regularly and keeping filters clean should help prevent this issue and avoid getting to the stage where you need to add more chemicals to resolve problems.
4. Limescale build-up
We’ve already talked about scale forming due to excessive alkalinity but limescale can also build up because of the minerals in your household water, especially if you live in a hard water area.
Could this be the reason for your cloudy water? It’s a little bit less straightforward to determine whether this is the cause but if you do know that your water is hard, or it’s been a while since you flushed the pipes, then this could be the reason.
5L Ultima-Plus XP Hot Tub and Spa Descaler
Price: £16.99
Buy Now
How to treat it: A system flush will clean out the whole system, including the pipes and lines where limescale and other muck and gunk can accumulate. Periodic flushing using a system flush chemical is good practice and should certainly be done every time you empty the water (apply before draining the hot tub).
How to prevent it: Keeping levels balanced will help but if you have hard water, there’s not really much you can do to prevent limescale building up, other than performing a regular system flush as part of your maintenance routine.
