Cleaning a hot tub is essential to maintain its hygiene and functionality. Here are 15 tips to help you keep your hot tub clean and enjoyable:  Here are 15 great tips for keeping your hot tub clean every day.  

Balboa M7 Control Systems are the most advanced spa controls ever developed. Balboa created the first reliable electronic spa control nearly twenty years ago and M7 technology is the biggest breakthrough since. By coupling our unique, patented software and design with state-of-the-art materials, M7 technology provides you a more reliable system that is less expensive to install and maintain. M7 controls are intended to accommodate the most demanding new spa designs and advanced water temperature management into the new millennium.

If you have a hot tub/spa, there will come a time when you will need to replace your spa heater. It is an inevitability with owning a hot tub. Generally speaking, this comes about every three to five years. This article assumes that you have already determined that the spa heater or spa element needs replacing. Generally this is the case when you have a "dry fire", where the heater is running and no water is flowing through it. That will generally kill the heating element (even if the thermostat and flow switches are working properly), and thus the need to read this article.

One of the more difficult tasks in any bath or spa project is repairing or replacing parts. Bath & spa pumps are definitely a more difficult task if you are unfamiliar with how the process works or the products necessary to complete your project. Over the years, Balboa Water Group has made a large number of the pumps in the industry. In face, they have made several hundred. Throughout that process, they have also discontinued and replaced a large number of those pumps as well. We have listed the various Balboa pumps that are currently made below.

Finding the right heater for your system is imperative in properly repairing your spa control system.  Generally speaking, you can find the proper part number from the label located on your heater housing.  If it is a Balboa Water Group heater, which will be covered here on this page, the heater number will be on the label which should look something like the following:

Hot Tub water chemistry is often an illusive cross between magic and a proper balance of chemicals in your water. We have developed a small list of commonly asked questions about your water chemistry. In addition, you can also view our Hot Tub Water Chemistry Guide for additional information. If your question is directly related to a product that you need assistance with, please feel free to give one of our customer service specialists a call at: 800-918-9143, or click our chat button during normal business hours.

For swimming pools, clean the cartridge when the filter canister pressure reaches 8 PSI above the initial system or new cartridge starting pressure. For spas, establish a routine cartridge cleaning schedule based on the amount of spa usage. If Baquacil is used as a sanitizer, the filter element must be cleaned with Baqua Clean before any cartridge cleaner is used (Step 4).

Over the course of time, Balboa has had a tendency to like to discontinue products at an exceedingly accelerated rate. There are a significant number of Balboa heaters that have been discontinued and Balboa has not provided a replacement part number for any of them. If you are trying to replace one of the spa heaters on this list, and are having trouble locating it, you now know why. You may have come to this page through our Heater Locator, which lists all of the spa control systems made by Balboa Water Group over the last 25 years.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was introduced into legislation by U.S. Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida after Virginia Graeme Baker, a 7 year old drown in a hot tub after being trapped underwater by a powerful suction of a hot tub drain. Graeme, as she was known, was a member of her community swim team and a proficient swimmer from the age of three. She was the granddaughter of Secretary of State James Baker III. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 as Title XIV and enacted by Congress and signed by President Bush on December 19, 2007. 

Water safety is such an important consideration when considering a pool or spa.  There have been many questions in recent news about whether pool drains are safe.  There have been product safety recalls, which have left more questions than answers.  Below is a FAQ on product drain safety recalls that was put together in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Staff along with the Association of Pool and Spa Safety staff.  If you have questions about your pool or spa, please feel free to give us a call.  We suggest the following when it comes to your pool or spa:

We have developed several steps to help keep your water clear and healthy. ALWAYS make sure your filtration pump is working and wait 30 minutes before adding different chemicals to your hot tub. If you have any questions in regards to keeping your hot tub safe and healthy, please feel free to contact one of our Customer Service Specialists for more information. You can reach us here daily via chat or e-mail or you can call us toll-free at 800-918-9143.

This is a  simple guide to understanding how to properly identify your spa control system circuit board, at least enough to properly identify either the circuit board part number or in the event that the sticker has become unattached to the circuit board, you can still identify it by the primary chipset part number.  If your circuit board has the sticker still attached to the board, you should be able to easily identify the Balboa part number on it.  It will be the first set of numbers,

Awareness and understanding of water safety practices can reduce the risk of serious injury. Following safe water tips are essential for you and your family to have years of enjoying your pool.  Playing it smart makes sense...    IMPORTANT: A number of very important items that are essential for the safe use of your pool