Strong Smell In Your Spa?

Hello all,

I've been in the Pool and Spa business for over 20 years now. I started in this biz, yes, as a ditch digger, but I did gain a lot of experience doing all the menial work. So now I would like to share some of what I have learned.

I started repairing spas in the mid 1990's and I have seen my share of problems. The one common thing in all pools and spas is they are, for the most part, the same. Once you understand the basic principals you can fix any problem. This time of year there are not too many pools being used other than the Polar Bear Club, so for now I will focus on spas.

One of the key questions I always hear is, "Why does my spa have a bad odor every time I open the lid?" One of the main reasons for this is that whether you use Bromine or Chlorine the bacteria start to build up when the level of inactive sanitizer becomes larger than the amount of active sanitizer then you get what are known as Chlorimines or Bromomines these can cause the odor and or cloudiness in the water.

The main line of defense for this problem is to use 2 tablespoons of Oxygen Shock (Potassium Peroxy Monopersulfate) per 500 gallons of water weekly should eliminate the odor problem and allow the filter to do its job better.

Remember also that all spas need to be drained and refilled periodically. Most manufacturers recommend draining and refilling the spas every 3-4 months. BE careful in the wintertime when you drain a spa in the cold climates, do not leave them empty or you will have a nice frozen cooler in your back yard.

Hope this helps some of you and check back next time and I will discuss the differences in sanitizers.

Until next time...