For many of us, the arrival of cooler weather means putting the cover on the swimming pool and preparing the spa for regular winter use.

If your spa has been out of use over summer, a few easy steps will have it ready for the cooler months ahead.

If your spa has a cover, remove it and clean it.

Even though it is treated, spa water needs to be emptied and replaced every three or four
months. The start of the winter season is a good time to do this. Add BioGuard SPA Defence while filling. This will help protect spa equipment and prevent stains caused by metals in the water.

Once you’ve filled the spa, start it up following your manufacturer’s directions. Then add BioGuard SPA Crystal Clear and allow the water to circulate for about five minutes. Follow this with either BioGuard SPA Perfect Balance or the correct mineral balancing chemicals.

After the water has circulated for about 30 minutes, add BioGuard SPA Purity to oxidise the water, then add the initial dose of your preferred spa sanitiser as detailed in the product’s start-up instructions.

You will need to test the water to check the balance; you should have a chlorine residual of 2-3 ppm or bromine residual of 4-6 ppm.

An optional extra step is to add BioGuard SPA Velvet, which improves the feel of the water, reduces the chance of red eyes and irritated skin and helps reduce chemical use.

Once you’ve started up your spa for the season, ongoing maintenance is straightforward. Just circulate the water each day, keep the filter clean and get rid of contaminants such as dirt, scale and oil from the waterline by using BioGuard SPA Squeaky Clean.

It’s also a good idea to take a sample of your spa water to your BioGuard Approved Retailer once a month for testing and advice. Furthermore, it’s important to clean your filter every 4 to 6 weeks to remove debris. BioGuard Filter Renew is the perfect product for this.