Your spa filter is probably the most important part in your spa and is often overlooked and sometimes forgoten about!

Q.Why is spa filter so important and what can happen
if it is not maintained regularly?

A. Your spas filter can be considered the heart of your spa
circulation system. And just like a human heart, when it gets clogged bad things happen like;

1. Lack Of Water Flow And Pressure
a.When a filter is clogged the amount of pressure
through your jets decrease and can possibly
decrease air venturi bubbles as well.
b.The lack of pressure can also cause your pressure
switch or water sensor to open and turn off
your heater and display a fault message on
your touch pad.

2.Reduction of water going through filter
a.Can cause an increase of microbactrial organisms
and therefore making you use more chemicals to
to try and kill them.But because the filter can no
longer trap them your chemicals will eventualy
do nothing and your spa will be unsafe.
b.The lack of suction through the filter causing
more suction through the safety suction located
usualy in the footwell,which will suck in sand and
grit.Possibly seazing up your jets and damaging
your pump.

Q.Is there an easy way to know when to clean a cartridge filter?

A. Yes! Cartridge filters work on the "clarification process." They utilize the debris they collect as an aid to improve filtration. As a result, cleaning too often does not allow the filter to work at optimum filtration efficiency, while not cleaning often enough will shorten the life of a cartridge element. so here's a tip. When you replace the element with a new one, note the start-up pressure on the filter tank gauge. This reading is the system's total pressure in "pounds per square inch" or psi (gauge). Mark this point with a drop of fingernail polish or a permanent marker pen. Then add 8 pounds to the reading and place another dot. You now have the normal operating pressure for your cartridge in psi (differential). Allow the filter to operate between these two points and clean whenever the gauge reaches the higher pressure mark.

However, if you have a portable spa that the filters are located withen the the skim filter or within a top load lid, you will not have a pressure guage.If your lucky your spa controller may have a clean filter reminder, and can tell you when to clean them with a message that flashes on up on the touch pad display.If not and you are using your spa more than 3 times a week you should hose it down weekly and soak it in a Muriatic filter cleaner once a month which is able to eat of body fats, oils, hair products and other stuben oil products that will stick to your cartridge.

The best filter cartridge cleaner that The Spa Doctor has available and recomends is called Filter Brite by SpaGuard. This cleaner has the active ingredients of Muriatic acid which unlike other bleaching type filter cleaners will actually clean off the flow reducing fats oils!

Q.How Do I Clean My Cartridge?

A. Well the truth is there is actualy no realy easy way of cleaning a cartridge filter. So cleaning it as best as you can regularly is the key, so it never gets too dirty. Hosing it down with a high pressure nozzle on your garden hose holding it on a 45deg angle pointing down and opening up each fold and running the hose up and down until each individual fold is clean from dirt and debris.This is about the best way you can clean the cartridge.Do not use high pressure washers as you will only damage the element.

In summary hosing the element weekly or fortnightly and then soaking it in a filter cleaner monthly will make your spa cleaner, keep the original pressure through your spa jets and filtration system, increase the life of your cartridge and will help you use less chemicals and ultimately save you money!