Summer is upon us and thousands of families have started planning for their vacation time. They’re looking for great hotels to offer them stellar accommodation, community pools and water parks to keep their kids busy, and planning to take advantage of their apartment water amenities. Most likely, you get a heavy increase in your traffic during summer months. While this is great news for your business, it also means a lot of extra upkeep on many of your public amenities.

It’s no surprise that many of your visitors this summer may choose your location because of the water amenities you provide, especially visitors with children. During this peak season, it’s imperative that you keep up with the cleanliness and maintenance of your spa, hot tub and sauna. Not only will it keep your visitors happy during their stay, but it will also give them a reason to choose your location again and suggest it to their friends for future trips.

Regular maintenance and scheduled upkeep can be time consuming and may seem like something that doesn’t need any tweaking throughout the year, but an increase in traffic can mean more cleanliness issues. How likely are your customers to return if they found your location to have dirty or disappointing public amenities?

Public water amenities can be scary.

The truth about spas, hot tubs, and saunas is that they are breeding grounds for a seemingly endless list of diseases and bacteria. Just a few minutes of research into this topic will return a long list of scary articles that might make you think twice about entering another public hot tub or sauna. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that outbreaks are common in recreational and public swimming areas.

Not only can dirty and poorly-maintained hot tubs and spas cost you return customers in the future, but they can also be a health risk. In a worst-case scenario, it could even mean a lawsuit against your business.

Starting to stress? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Below are 5 tips to help you clean your hot tub, spa, or sauna this summer.

1. Start by making an organized, fool-proof checklist for your daily and weekly maintenance checks.

Most businesses keep a fairly good checklist for cleaning all major zones, such as bathrooms and common areas. This is also true for hotels, water parks, and apartment communities that may offer hot tubs, spas, or saunas to their visitors.

For peak seasons like summer, make a new, updated checklist for your staff to use that covers every checkpoint necessary to keep your amenities in tip-top shape. Keep it simple but be specific.

2. Utilize resources like the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC), written and published by the CDC.

The MAHC is a thorough and detailed list of best practices and guidelines to keep your spa, hot tub, and sauna in excellent hosting condition. While the MAHC isn’t a law, it’s a great resource that will make your maintenance schedule and practices better than those of your competitors.

3. Sanitize semi-weekly during peak seasons by using chlorine tablets.

Most likely, you are already doing this at least weekly as part of your regularly-scheduled maintenance. During peak seasons like summer, increased traffic means more bodies, more sweat, and more chances for dirty water and bacteria growth. Keep these issues to a minimum by using chlorine tablets like our 1-inch or 3-inch tablets in your spa and hot tub twice a week.

4. Clean your hot tub or spa filters every 2-3 weeks.

This is another regularly-scheduled maintenance duty that may need tweaking during busier seasons. If your facility is experiencing a lot of extra seasonal traffic, update your maintenance checklist to check the filters. Filters are another great place for bacteria to breed and possibly affect the health of your guests.

Be sure to soak your filters in order to fully rid them of dirt and other debris. Follow your manufacturer’s guide for best results. As your filter should be replaced annually, you might even consider replacing it at the beginning of the summer season to start off fresh.

5. Drain your hot tub at least once a month during high-traffic intervals.

Most likely, you drain your hot tub every 2-4 months. This might be a good maintenance plan for a homeowner to use, but as a public facility with new visitors coming and going at a rapid rate, not changing the water frequently is unsafe for your guests.

Follow your manufacturer’s guide on draining and refilling your hot tub. After the water is drained, take the time to clean the interior of the hot tub with a mild cleaner, such as Worldwide Janitor’s Organic All Purpose Cleaner Concentrate. Use a cellulose sponge or chamois to protect the shell. Be careful not to use any chemicals that could interfere with the new water’s quality or harm your guests.

Clean amenities mean happy guests.

By keeping up with additional scheduled maintenance, you will impress your guests and ultimately bring more money to your business. Following these steps for water amenity basics will give visitors a reason to choose your location again and leave positive feedback on booking websites. There’s no such things as a spa or hot tub that’s too clean.