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The Complete Guide to Using Lay-Z-Spa Chemicals
Lay-Z-Spas offer a splash of luxury to your life. They bring people together indoors and outdoors, setting the mood for a relaxing evening or a refreshing spritz in the day.
Most people purchase a Lay-Z-Spa for their garden to help make the most of their outdoor space. Whatever your preference, something like the Lay-Z-Spa Mauritius Airjet can offer you an opportunity to wash all the stress away.
So that you can get the most out of your Lay-Z-Spa, it's vital to recognise the role hot tub chemicals play in maintenance.
At 1st Direct Pools, we supply Lay-Z-Spa care kits and maintenance equipment, such as hot tub vacuums, chlorine tablets and floor protectors. If you require more information, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team.
Lay-Z-Spa highly recommends that chemicals are used to maintain your hot tub for health and safety purposes. There are some chemicals you can use to substitute chlorine, such as:
We recommend checking with your doctor if you are concerned about using chemicals due to sensitive skin. Chlorine allergies can often be mistaken for a reaction from a pH imbalance or lack of chlorine.
For more information, contact our team to discuss options and chlorine free hot tub chemicals.
There are many optional chemicals available to keep your spa experience luxurious.
However, some are essential and ensure that your spa is kept healthy and clean. These will also help to maintain a much more efficient running cost and extend the lifespan of your Lay-Z-Spa; these include:
Popular optional chemicals that can help to improve the spas experience include:
A water sanitiser is essential for the health and cleanliness of your spa. Both bromine and chlorine are chemical compounds that can decontaminate the water by killing off any bacteria or algae. Whether you chose hot tub chlorine or bromine is down to your unique situation and personal preferences.
Both sets of water sanitisers are available in many forms such as tablets and granules, but DO NOT mix them together in the water, in their dry state, store next to each other or use in the same feeder as a dangerous chemical reaction can be caused.
No matter how well you sanitise your Lay-Z-Spa, a deep clean and drain will be essential from time to time, therefore if you don’t like the sanitiser you chose, you can always switch once the water has been changed and a deep clean has been performed.
Just remember to regularly test to ensure the sanitiser levels are keeping your water clean and safe!
How to use Chlorine or Bromine Tablets:
The required dosage will depend on the size of the hot tub, flow rate and how often it's used. General recommendations usually range from 1-3 tablets as they are slow release, helping to maintain your chlorine levels over several days.
How to use Chlorine or Bromine Granules:
It’s essential to shock the Lay-Z-Spa frequently using either chlorine shock or non-chlorine shock.
Chlorine produces a waste product called Chloramines. These are responsible for the stinging, drying, and strong chlorine smell that can reduce the sanitisers effectiveness. Bromine also produces a waste product called bromamines. While they’re not as noxious as chloramines, they still reduce the effectiveness of the bromine in your hot tub.
Shocking your hot tub on a regular basis will keep chloramines and bromamines at bay, whilst keeping waters clean and crystal clear.
You will often find chlorine shock for hot tubs in the form of granules. It's worth noting that you should purchase specialist shock treatment instead of an increased dose of regular chlorine or bromine. As with all chemicals, shock chlorine can be dangerous and should be carefully stored.
Alongside chlorine, pH balance is essential; it helps to create the perfect environment for the water sanitiser to work efficiently.
The pH scale of the water measures the acidity and alkalinity of the water. A pH scale that is too high or low can cause an array of hot tub issues, including:
Most Lay-Z-Spa hot tubs require a pH level between 7.2 and 7.6, although you can find your specific setup in the manual or online. To determine your Lay-Z-Spa hot tub pH, you should test the water daily with a test strip.
Adjusting the pH level of the water is simple; you will need a pH plus and a pH minus, which can be added by following the product's instructions to your hot tub to restore the pH level to its optimum level.
You will also need to measure the total alkalinity (TA) when balancing water. The TA supports the pH level of the water, stabilising the pH and preventing it from erratically fluctuating from one side of the spectrum to the other.
Alkalinity works similarly to pH levels. If alkalinity is too high, you can use your pH reducer to lower it down. Alternatively, if alkalinity is too low, you will require a total alkalinity increaser.
Foaming is a common issue among hot tub owners. As a result, many turn to a foam remover to quickly resolve the problem.
Foam removers are also referred to as antifoam. They work by stopping the chemical reaction that results in foam for a limited period, often around 24 hours.
However, the foam remover doesn't deal with the foam itself. To fully remove foam, you may need to empty and refill your Lay-Z-Spa, which is why proper chemical maintenance is essential.
Water clarifiers work similarly to antifoam products. They are a quick fix to ensure that your hot tub looks its best. Clarifiers are often available in a liquid form that will feel like a gel. They collect fine particles that can cause a cloudy appearance and clean them.
Clarifiers can make the water appear shiny. However, it won't fix any chemical imbalances and can cause the filter to clog quicker, so a full chemical clean should be carried out when possible.
Treating swimming pool water and Lay-Z-Spa water is essentially the same. However, you should bear in mind that there is a difference in the products used.
When purchasing chemicals, you should always look to buy products specific to the manufacturer or product type, such as Lay-Z-Spa or hot tub chemicals.
While the chemicals might all look the same, Lay-Z-Spa chemicals are often engineered slightly differently to maximise their quality in their particular water conditions.
The most significant difference between a swimming pool and a Lay-Z-Spa is the size.
Due to pool chlorine products needing to clean a much larger body of water, they are often concentrated, which can cause issues when attempting to balance the water chemistry of a Lay-Z-Spa.
Another essential difference between pools and Lay-Z-Spas is the temperature.
Hot water can help speed up the chemical reactions of water balancing, while the increased temperature will also lead to evaporation, reducing its effectiveness.
Hot tub chemicals are designed with an increased temperature in mind and will perform more reliably than swimming pool chemicals.
Swimming pools and Lay-Z-Spas both use pumps to move the water around the body of water. However, the rate between the two is very different. Lay-Z-Spa jets work like a mixer, rapidly increasing the chemical's reaction rate.
If you're setting up your Lay-Z-Spa for the first time, some steps are required to ensure that your new hot tub is ready to be enjoyed.
Lay-Z-Spa will often be filled using tap water. While this is safe at the beginning of its use, bacteria can quickly develop, mainly because a hot tub is maintained at around 23 degrees Celsius. This is why it is generally recommended that the hot tub is initially shock dosed.
To do this, follow your Lay-Z-Spa model and shock product instructions, as these will indicate recommended dosages. Once the hot tub has been shock dosed, it is recommended that the spa is left for 24 hours.
Once the hot tub has been tested, you can gauge how much of the other chemicals will need to be added to balance the water.
There is no recommended order for adding hot tub chemicals, so long as they balance out in the end. However, we would suggest the following order based on how chemicals typically react with one another:
Once the water has been balanced, you can finally sit back and enjoy your new hot tub! To keep the Lay-Z-Spa looking its best over its lifespan, ensure these chemicals remain balanced.
The easiest way to do this is to create your very own Lay-Z-Spa routine that fits around your usual routine. Test your water daily, shock the water after heavy use and replace the water entirely every 3-4 months.
If you're unsure where to start, you can check out guide to hot tub maintenance, where we take you step-by-step through the process.
The above covers what you need to know when your spa is in use, but what if you're planning to close it down for the winter? There are several key steps and additional maintenance tasks you'll need to consider as you start winding things down for the season.
For a comprehensive look at this, see our guide on how to close a hot tub for winter.
