Saltwater Spas: An Introduction

Everyone loves soaking in the soothing, warm, bubbly water of a hot tub. 20 minutes in a backyard spa can melt the stress of the day away.  It’s a great place to spend time with family, or just have a little alone time.  Here at Whiteswan Spas, we want to give you the “Best Hot Tub Experience,” with as little maintenance as possible.  That’s why we make sure every customer knows the truth about maintaining a personal hot tub.

Saltwater spas are the easiest way to achieve hot, clean, clear water 24/7, with minimal required maintenance and at a reasonable cost. But what exactly is a saltwater spa, and how does it work?

The most common type of saltwater spa is just a regular hot tub with an additional device. You can either get a chlorine generator, which uses regular table salt (NaCl), or a bromine generator, which uses a different kind of salt known as sodium bromide (NaBr). These devices separate the Sodium from the sanitizer and automatically adds small trace amounts of sanitizer every day to the spa. The sanitizer generated is more pure than what you would normally add to your spa, which provides your spa with a more natural environment than the "chemical soup" you get from traditional methods.

Saltwater systems have several key advantages.

• Soft Water: The salt you add to the water has an additional advantage; it softens the water, making it feel silky soft and luxurious.
• Soft Skin: Saltwater has a long history as a skin treatment; to this day, people still travel for miles to visit saltwater lakes – the Dead Sea is a popular example. Saltwater is recommended for a number of skin conditions, and it works great as a moisturizer.
• Crystal Clear Water: Salt water generators automatically add small amounts of sanitizer to the water daily, keeping your spa clean and sanitary. 
• Saves Time: Most salt water tubs take less than 5 minutes a week to maintain. The generator takes care of the biggest part of water maintenance. You only need to add the salt once; you generally don't need to add any more until you drain and refill it.
• Saves Water: With old-fashioned chemical systems, a hot tub needs to be drained four times per year. Most saltwater spas only need to be drained once per year.
• Saves Money: The average chemical program on a hot tub cost over four hundred dollars per year.  With a salt spa that total is closer to $100 per year.
• Longer lasting equipment: The number one enemy of your hot tub is water that is out of balance.  This comes from adding too much of one chemical or not enough of another.  By going with salt water you will be adding considerably less chemicals.  The less you add the easier it is to keep the water in balance.

If you are still using traditional chemicals in your hot tub, call us to discuss your options.  We have a salt system for most spas.

Saltwater Generator Q&A

Read more about our Bromine Generators

As a spa service technician, there is a moment of dread is always when I open up the lid of my customer's hot tub. Just like Forrest's box of chocolates, or Schrodinger's box, you never know what you are going to get. Some times I'll be in and out of there in just a few minutes, but others I might be opening up a bowl of bacterial soup.

When I approach a spa that has a salt water system, I'm usually not concerned. The reason for this is that that with a salt system, I know that even if the floater is empty, the salt system will keep on killing germs and bacteria. It doesn't matter if they partied like it was 1999 in that spa, it'll probably still be clear and fresh.