The poor hot tub filter is probably the most abused and unappreciated part of most spas. The little guy is being sucked through each and every second the hot tub is being run and he's asked to clean your water of algae, bacteria, hair, body oils, dead skin, bugs, dissolved solids, etc. Sounds downright disgusting, doesn't? It is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Being that the life of a filter is a tough one, it's best that you prepare your filter for its' daily combat by following a few simple maintenance rules.

1- Make sure that the spa runs on low speed mode for at least three hours each day to ensure good water circulation and turnover of the spa water (even if no one is going to use the spa that day). This provides sufficient filtering time for most spas. Also make sure you add Spa Shock and Water Clarifier to the spa once a week, as this assists in proper filtering.

2- Make sure that you get a new (yes, we mean NEW) filter if any of the following occur - the filter has been used more than 12 months; the filter is gray, brown or green; the filter looks beige or off-white, even after cleaning; the hot tub has been transferred to a new owner; the actual filter element (the paper-ish part) becomes flat and loses its fibrous sheen (this means the fibers have collapsed and can no longer filter effectively); the filter top or bottom has a crack or split; the actual element starts to unravel or come apart.