Well Water
If your home has a well water system, you may wonder if it’s safe to fill your hot tub with that well water. Well, you can, but you have to take the proper precautions. Yes, well water is naturally pure and filtered underground, and has no chemical additives or byproducts that come with, say, municipal treatment.
However, well water can have some pretty high levels of metals and minerals, dirt and dust that just aren’t good for your spa. They can stain the surfaces of your hot tub and make it more difficult to balance your chemicals.
Let’s go over some common questions well water homeowners may have.
Can I Burn-Out the Well Pump When Filling My Hot Tub With Well Water?
Probably not, as you only have to run your hose for a few hours at most. You’ve likely run your hose for longer than that in other circumstances, such as when watering your lawn in summer. Most hot tubs take about 300 to 400 gallons to fill up, so this shouldn’t be a big deal. Some people use 20,000 gallons of well water to fill their pools!
Will Well Water Stain My Hot Tub?
It’s likely. That’s because metals and minerals from well water can discolor soft surfaces, plus calcium and magnesium can mingle with dirt and other particles to result in scale buildups and deposits or calcium nodules. Metals such as copper and iron may also discolor the water and stain surfaces.
To prevent this, filter what you can prior to filling, and make sure metals and minerals stay dissolved by using a sequestering agent.
Is it Difficult to Balance Well Water?
It certainly can be. You’ll need to balance the pH levels (7.3-7.6), alkalinity (80-120 ppm) and calcium hardness (180-220 ppm), and these need extra adjustment when using well water.
It will depend on what kind of soil and rocks you have on your property, but your well water could test low or high for the above factors.
Should I Pre-Filter Well Water When Filling My Hot Tub?
This is a good idea. If you’re like many homeowners with a well water system, you have a water softener system which serves to filter the water. But outside water spigots are usually not connected to the water softener system, so you could use an adapter to connect a simple garden hose to your kitchen sink to ensure filtered well water.
Secondly, you could use a pre-filter, which will attach to your garden hose and will filter out particles that are smaller than 1 micron, such as metals, minerals, and silty dirt.
We hope these questions and answers put your mind at ease when filling a hot tub with well water.
To get more advice on filling your hot tub with well water, contact Central Jersey Pools today.