Frequently Asked Questions

Purging (also called flushing) a spa essentially means to thoroughly clean your spa. Importantly, this includes cleaning everything you cannot see. It’s one thing to get your spa shell looking bright and clean or to clean your filters, but lots of nasty things can be lurking in your plumping, pumps, and heater. All of this stuff is usually called biofilm, which we discuss more in this what is biofilm.

The primary benefit of HydroSurge is simply that it makes maintaining your spa so much easier thereby improving your spa experience. And isn’t that the real reason you bought your spa – for the experience?

HydroSurge does this in 5 ways! Yes, that’s right. HydroSurge is a multi-talented addition to your spa regimen!

1. Quick Purge ensures your spa it truly clean – Not just looks clean, but clean right down inside your spa’s plumbing.
2. Weekly Spa Care
   1. Ensures your spa & its plumbing remain clean
   2. Ensures your spa water stays crystal clear and safe in conjunction with your primary sanitizer.
      1. – No more opening your hot tub on a Sat. evening for a relaxing soak and finding your water is cloudy & foul smelling.
   3. Stabilizes your spa water pH to:
      1. – Prevent calcium scaling
      2. – Improve the efficacy of your primary sanitizer
   4. Prevents black & white mold stains from forming on your spa cover and head rests.

HydroSurge is not an enzyme.  Spa enzymes break down dead organic materials in your spa water but do not kill any of the pathogens that might be present in your spa water, plumbing, or filter.  For more on this, please click here.

By the way, ozone and nonchlorine-based shock (potassium monopersulfate) also oxidize, or break down, dead organic materials in your spa water.

The EPA requires a product to have a pathogen killing efficacy of 99.7% to be advertised as a sanitizer. Weekly Spa Care is not a sanitizer however it is designed to increase the killing efficacy of your primary sanitizer.

HydroSurge meets all U.S. and international standards for safety and reliability when used as directed.

Depending on your spa sanitation regimen you will drain and refill your spa anywhere from 1 to 4 times a year. You might wonder if HydroSurge is safe for your lawn. It is.

Weekly Spa Care is formulated to assist your spa sanitizer is killing bacteria and other pathogens but not plants and animals; hence it is safe to drain your spa water onto your lawn.

You’ve probably heard the expression, “You can have fast, good, or cheap. Pick two.” With Weekly Spa Care you can pick all three because it is the most effective complementary spa chemical yet among the least expensive. Most spa specialty chemicals are in the $140 – $180 range, yet our largest 64 oz, bottle of Weekly Spa Care is $100 and generally will last for 4 months with a 400-gallon spa. Weekly Spa Care works quickly, is the most effective product, and the least expensive. You win all three ways!

Absolutely! If HydroSurge doesn’t work to keep your spa water clean, clear and smelling good – If your skin doesn’t feel soft and smooth without itching or flaking after using your hot tub, you can return it for a FULL REFUND.

Yes! Have you ever had that black, unsightly black spots appear on the underside of your spa cover or around your spa’s head rests? Well, HydroSurge Weekly Spa Care prevents this.

The air under your spa cover is very humid due to the warm water in the spa. This is a perfect breeding ground for mold and mold spores are always in your air. If you are using HydroSurge Weekly Spa Care on a regular basis, that humid air also contains the active ingredient in Weekly Spa Care, ammonium chloride, which will prevent these black stains from developing.

Almost certainly you do not have sufficient sanitizer in your hot tub. 99% of the time this is the reason. The solution is to add Weekly Spa Care at the rate of 1 oz. per 100 gallons in your spa and correct the cause of insufficient sanitizer in your spa. Here are just a few possible causes depending upon the sanitation regimen you use.

1. Your bromine floater is empty
2. You have forgotten to add dichlor or bromine granules on time or in insufficient amounts for the bather load you are placing on your spa
3. If you are using a metallic ion system (@ease® Smartclor®, The FROG®, Nature ²®, etc.) the cartridge(s) is empty and needs to be replaced
4. If you have a Salt-System:
   1. – The setting is too low for your use (bather load)
   2. – Your Salt-System electrode needs to be replaced or has calcium scaling
5. You might have also had an unusually high bather load – say invited the family over to use your spa.

Fix your sanitation issue, add Weekly Spa Care, and within 1 – 3 days your water will again be clear and safe for use.

Biofilm is a slimy buildup that naturally forms on surfaces that remain underwater for extended periods, including the inside of spa plumbing. It is made up of microorganisms and other organic materials held together by a sticky protective layer. Over time, this buildup can accumulate in pipes, jets, and other areas that are difficult to reach.

Routine water sanitizers help maintain clean spa water, but they are not intended to remove accumulated buildup from inside plumbing. That’s why periodic use of a spa purge (also called a spa flush) is recommended before draining and refilling your spa.

A spa purge is formulated to help loosen and lift accumulated organic buildup from inside the plumbing so it can be flushed away with the old water. Regular plumbing maintenance helps keep your spa cleaner and prepares the system for fresh water and routine sanitizer use.

Clean plumbing starts with a clean flush. Purging your spa before every water change helps remove hidden buildup that ordinary draining can leave behind.

Spa biofilms can contain some dangerous bacteria including Legionella (the bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease and Pontiac fever), E. Coli (causing stomach cramps & diarrhea) , and Pseudomonas (causing Folliculitis, or skin rash), and other pathogens.

Biofilm can also make it difficult for you to maintain the proper sanitation levels in your spa, because the sanitizer is, in effect, being overworked.

We recommend purging you spa every time you drain & refill. Depending on your method of sanitation, this is likely 1 to 3 times per year.

To start with, chlorine in your hot tub is not actually chlorine. It is really hypochlorous acid or HOCL. It is a weak acid that forms when chlorine is dissolved in water. But everyone calls it chlorine for short.

Chlorine is the most common sanitizer used in both pools and spas. However, it is not perfect. The pathogen killing effectiveness (or efficacy) of chlorine is highly affected by both the pH of the water and something called cyanuric acid or CYA.

As the pH in your spa water rises, the efficacy of chlorine declines rapidly. In fact, at a pH of 7.8, which is only slightly above the recommended range of 7.2 – 7.6, the efficacy of chlorine drops by 2/3rds. At a pH of 8.0, its lost 75% of its pathogen killing efficacy. As you can see, keeping your spa water pH in line is quite important – and one primary reason for using our Weekly Spa Care.

The most common form of chlorine used in spas is called dichlor (or Dichloro-S-Triazinetrione). However, only slightly more than ½ of dichlor is chlorine. The other ½ is cyanuric acid or CYA. CYA is there for a reason but it’s primarily related to pools. The problem is that CYA also reduces the killing efficacy of chlorine and the CYA level in your spa increases pretty fast if you are using dichlor because you add it to your spa 2 or 3 times a week. As the CYA level increases your spa’s chlorine loses more and more of its ability to kills bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. But the good news is Weekly Spa Care works regardless of CYA levels. It is completely unaffected by CYA.

People talk about scaling in spas without properly identifying it sometimes. First, when calcium (Ca) scaling appears it will cover all the surfaces under water, not just at the water line. It is white and in mild forms looks a bit like dust on your spa shell. More serious Ca scaling will feel like sandpaper. It will be very rough and difficult to remove – unless you know the trick.

But first how do you prevent it? Actually, it’s quite simple – keep your spa water pH in the proper range of 7.2 – 7.6. Ca scaling will not occur until your pH rises to 8.0 and higher. This is true even in areas with very hard water, where Ca levels may be 150 ppm or higher. By the way, Ca level can also be measured in “grains” where 150 ppm would be measured as 9 grains.

Guess what? Our Weekly Spa Care will help you keep your pH in the proper range of 7.2 – 7.6 because it’s also what is called a pH buffer. It is important to adjust your pH to the proper range BEFORE adding our Weekly Spa Care!

And the trick? Vinegar will dissolve calcium. Vinegar is acetic acid, a mild acid but still an acid. Pour in a couple gallons of plain old grocery store vinegar into your spa and 24 hours (or less) later your Ca scaling will be gone. You will have to either drain & refill your spa or adjust your pH but that’s much easier than trying to scrub out the Ca scaling – which would also be in your spa’s plumbing.

Yes, HydroSurge Weekly Spa Care and other HydroSurge products are compatible with all sanitizing regimens including chlorine, bromine, biguanide. They are also compatible with the various metal ion-based systems including The Frog®, @ease Smartchlor®, and Nature 2®. Further, HydroSurge products are unaffected by many of the issues that can cause these systems to lose effectiveness. Specifically, HydroSurge products are not affected by pH outside the proper range of 7.2 – 7.6, cyanuric acid (CYA), or various oxidizers commonly used in spas and hot tubs.