How to Remove & Prevent Spa Stains

Are you seeing stains on your spa shell or on your spa's fixtures? Not to worry, this is a very common issue. However, if left untreated, stains can prove to be more than just ugly, they can damage your spa. Luckily, most spa stains can be removed quite easily, and further steps can be taken to help prevent future stains from appearing. 

Like most pool and spa related issues, the best place to start with removing spa stains is to determine the type of stain and the cause. 

Common Spa Stains

While various types of stains exist, the method for removing them all is similar and often uses the same products. The most common spa stains include:

1. Rust

2. Corrosion

3. Typical grime and dirt.

4. Calcium build-up.

Removing Spa Stains

Unlike other pool and spa issues such as algae blooms and cloudy water, no chemical product exists that will remove your stains automatically after circulating through your spa water. Usually, the most effective way to remove stains is to drain your spa and do it manually. 

To remove spa stains, follow these easy steps.

1. Ensure your spa is completely turned off.

2. Drain the water from your spa.

3. Dry your spa's shell to remove any leftover water.

4. Apply necessary stain removing/spa cleaning chemicals, carefully following the instructions on the packaging.

5. Thoroughly scrub your spa. 

6. Rinse your spa clean and allow it to dry.

7. Refill your spa.

8. Balance your spa water.

Now that you've successfully removed all the stains from your spa, let's see if we can keep them from reappearing.

Preventing Spa Stains

The most effective way to prevent many common spa issues, including stains, is with ideal water chemistry. And this does not mean once, this means at all times. However, even if you do maintain perfect spa water chemistry, that doesn't mean you will never again have to drain your spa and wipe down the shell - we recommend doing this a few times a year. 

To maintain proper water chemistry in your spa, you need to balance three (3) key factors: alkalinity, pH and calcium hardness.

Alkalinity: Another way to say water is basic is to call it alkaline. When your hot tub water has alkalinity higher than 150ppm, it begins to form scale. It also cannot keep pH stable, compounding all the issues that may cause foamy water. The ideal level is 80-120ppm.

pH: Your spa water is too basic if the pH is higher than 7.6. When this happens, you'll wind up with two problems that cause cloudiness: scale formation and ineffective sanitising. You may need to use a pH decreaser to get things back to normal. The ideal level is between 7.4 and 7.6. 

Calcium hardness: Ideally, your spa's calcium hardness will be between 150-400ppm. If your levels are too high, you'll see scale build-up and foaminess.

If you're having difficulty with removing spa stains and would like professional assistance, you can connect with hundreds of local pool and spa experts using our Dealer Locator.