A backyard hot tub can be an incredible investment in your health and wellness, your relationships and your property. But in order for your hot tub to deliver this enviable array of benefits, it needs to be properly maintained, particularly the water that fills it.
The quality of your soaking experience is largely determined by the quality of your water, so you want yours to be as clean, clear, soft and fresh as possible. Hot tub monitoring systems help you with exactly that.
What is a hot tub monitoring system?
Hot tub monitoring systems are designed to check the vital signs of your hot tub water to ensure it is kept as alluring as possible.
Historically, spa water monitoring systems have been third-party products that you place in your hot tub. They check the water and then offer insights into a variety of vital signs, which can be communicated via analogue methods like test strips, digital read-outs on the system itself, or in the case of wireless hot tubs chemical monitoring systems, through a phone app. Monitoring with third-party tools can prove a little inefficient and not as accurate as it could be. Between upfront costs and consumables, they can also be quite expensive.
But there is another option: for the very first time, Hot Spring has created a fully integrated hot tub monitoring system. Machines fitted with the FreshWater® IQ system automatically test themselves every single hour, then tell you exactly what you need to do to maintain perfect hot tub water.
What does a hot tub monitoring system check?
Products can vary in terms of both quality and capability, but a hot tub monitoring system might check:
- Chemical levels: Perhaps the most important capability for a hot tub water monitoring system is testing water chemistry and the levels of chlorine, bromine and salt. Hot Spring’s FreshWater® IQ system, for example, works in tandem with the FreshWater™ Salt System, using a sensor to check salt and chlorine levels then telling you exactly how to balance them with the press of a button.
- pH: Not too acidic, not too alkaline – achieving the perfect pH is another feature of comfortable, luxurious water. Once again, the FreshWater® IQ system will take a reading every hour, and if any changes need to be made to total alkalinity, it will tell you exactly what you need to do.
- Temperature: Some basic hot tub monitoring systems can only check temperature. But most modern hot tubs, including all Hot Spring models, will display a digital read-out of water temperature on a built-in display panel, so this measurement may not be required.
Types of hot tub monitoring system
Hot tub monitoring systems come in a few different forms, and understanding their differences is key to choosing the right one.
Pool and hot tub
Some monitoring products are marketed as ‘pool and hot tub’ or ‘pool and spa’ systems. Pools and hot tubs have different water requirements, so these products are at best limited in their capabilities, and at worst can negatively impact the quality of your hot tub experience.
Commercial
These systems are used by professional hot tub maintenance companies who need to keep an eye on the quality of their clients’ hot tub water. As they are built for business use, they tend to be expensive and beyond the needs of a private hot tub owner.
Third-party
There are a range of third-party hot tub monitoring systems that are usually designed to float in your hot tub water and monitor basic water quality indicators. The issue is that the monitoring system and hot tub aren’t built for one another and don’t talk to each other, so you need to manually monitor and act on readings – which may not be what the hot tub actually needs.
Automated and integrated (FreshWater® IQ)
There is another, better way. At Hot Spring we’ve developed the FreshWater® IQ System, a fully integrated hot tub water monitoring system that connects with the FreshWater™ Salt System to automate hot tub water care. Never touch a test strip again – reliable readings of your water are taken every single hour, and if any improvements can be made, the system will tell you exactly how to make them.
FreshWater IQ: the ultimate hot tub monitoring system
The FreshWater® IQ system is the world’s most advanced spa monitoring system, designed to ensure that your hot tub takes care of you, not the other way around. It tests your water every hour, then provides easy to follow recommendations that help you to keep your water pristine with minimal effort.
No more test strips. No need for a time-consuming and costly third-party monitoring system. This integrated system will enhance both your water and your environmental footprint, by helping you use less chemicals and water.
Head to the FreshWater® IQ page to discover how this first-in-world technology can give you back your time, which you can spend soaking in the world’s most luxurious spa water.
