Should You Purge Your Brand-New Spa?

As a spa owner, it might be a bit late to ask this question. However, you might also have your spa on order and are waiting for delivery by your local dealer.

Despite COVID, the hot tub business is on fire. Frankly anything “Backyard” is experiencing unprecedented demand. If you bought a spa in the past 3 – 5 months, you are likely still waiting for delivery. The demand is so high, a few manufacturers are already taking orders for 2022 delivery and we just started the 4^th Quarter of 2020!

If you are waiting for your spa, this might be a pertinent question. Here’s why.

Every manufacturer will “Wet Test” their spas prior to packaging them for shipping. They want to ensure your new spa has no leaks, the pumps operate properly, etc. Once they have completed these steps, they will then drain the spa, however, there is always some residual water remaining in the spa. It’s pretty close to impossible to get it all out because of the 100’s of feet of plumbing in your hot tub. With all the bends and turns, there are just a lot of places for some water to hide out.

After your spas is packaged, what happens next? It will certainly be days and likely several weeks, perhaps many weeks, before your spa arrives in your backyard, you fill it, and begin to enjoy the experience of a great spa.

1. Your hot tub might be in storage at the manufacture for a few days to a week or two as they assemble a truckload for anywhere from one to 6 dealers. Depending on where you and your manufacturer are located, it can cost anywhere from $100 – $750 to ship your spa to your dealer. If your spa is a swim spa, it can cost upwards of $2,000. It’s a simple reality that a manufacturer must try to ship full truckloads on the shortest path possible.
2. It’s also very common for you to have to delay delivery, and have your local dealer hold your spa, when your contractor is running behind.

Your spa manufacturer and dealer are doing everything they can to ensure you have a great spa experience from start to end; from ordering all the way through to many years of relaxing after a hard day’s work.

However, it’s close to a law of nature – Where there is standing water, biofilm will begin to develop. The longer the period from wet testing to installation at your home, the more likely biofilm has developed in your spa’s plumbing.

This is a bit of a tough call.  Generally, the answer is probably No because its only been 1 or 2 weeks between packaging your spa and delivery to your backyard.  However, if any of these are true, you should consider purging your new spa.

1. You had to delay delivery of your new spa
2. You did not start to use your new spa soon after it was delivered
3. Your spa came from the inventory of your dealer or manufacturer
4. You have trouble maintaining a proper level of sanitizer in your spa.

Both your spa manufacturer and your local dealer want you to have the very best spa experience. However, bacteria, mold, viruses, etc. have their own agenda. Despite the best efforts of your dealer and their manufacturers, sometimes purging your new spa is the best course of action. If so, purge with our Total Cleanse and then start your routine of including our Total Maintenance in your weekly spa maintenance.

Thanks for reading,
Turbo Tony