Keeping bacterial growth in check
It is important to clean your whirlpool regularly. Regular cleaning of the pipes and air jets, and therefore of the whole system, is not only sensible for hygiene reasons, it also keeps the system working properly. In the worst case, poor or missing cleaning can cause lasting damage to the system and lead to a breakdown of your whirlpool. Unpleasant odours can also build up very quickly and spoil your enjoyment of the bath. It makes no difference whether or not you use the whirlpool function of your whirlpool bath: the complex system of pipes, pumps and filters is flushed with water, and therefore put under strain, every time you take a bath.
The warm water and the oxygen it is enriched with create an ideal habitat for bacteria and microorganisms. Bacteria tend to grow mainly in the pipes of the system. In the worst case, a large number of harmful bacteria can develop and turn your dream bathroom into a nightmare. That is exactly why regular disinfection and cleaning are always important.
Cleaning the surface thoroughly
Depending on the system and the surface material of your bathtub, you can use various cleaning products to clean your bathtub and whirlpool bath. In an earlier blog post we described in detail how to clean mould and limescale stains from the surface of a bathtub and remove them. These tips and recommendations apply in full to a whirlpool bath as well. However, always follow the manufacturer's instructions, as they specify exactly which cleaning products may be used. Cleaning the surface keeps your bathtub or whirlpool looking clean and attractive, but it does not deal with the real hygiene problems. These are found in the pipes and the air jets, which have to be cleaned and disinfected separately. For this you should always use a special whirlpool cleaner, as its composition is designed for this job and it does not attack pipes and jets.
Cleaning the air jets and pipes
Many whirlpools have an internal cleaning system, which makes them very easy to clean. These systems are simply filled with a suitable whirlpool cleaner and can then tackle the microorganisms present. But even an internal cleaning system like this needs maintenance from you. Above all, the built-in filters have to be cleaned or replaced regularly. The operating instructions tell you how often to run the internal cleaning and when to replace the filters. If you follow these instructions, the cleaning system will disinfect and clean the air jets and pipes without any problems. We have explained the active pipe cleaning function from AcquaVapore here. Things are different, however, if your whirlpool does not have an internal cleaning system. In that case you have to clean it manually.
Cleaning a whirlpool without a cleaning system
If your whirlpool does not have an internal cleaning system, you should, and in fact must, clean it manually. To do so, follow these steps:
- First fill the whirlpool with warm water. Make sure that all air jets are covered by at least five centimetres of water.
- Now use the dosing aid of the whirlpool cleaner and pour the cleaner into the bathtub. Switch on the whirlpool system and let it run for at least 15 minutes. This allows the whirlpool cleaner to circulate through all pipes and air jets, where it tackles the microorganisms and prevents bacterial growth.
- Then drain the water and refill the whirlpool with fresh water. Let the system run for another 5 minutes to rinse any remaining cleaner out of the pipes and air jets.
How often you should clean your whirlpool
If you use your whirlpool regularly, you need to adjust the cleaning intervals accordingly. After all, regular use creates ideal conditions for bacteria to grow in the various parts of the whirlpool. To keep microorganisms under control, you should therefore clean it every two to three weeks to keep it thoroughly clean. If the whirlpool has not been used for a long time, for example after a long, hot summer, you should give it a more intensive clean. Proceed as described above, but increase the amount of whirlpool cleaner considerably. While a normal clean uses 50 to 75 millilitres of whirlpool cleaner, in this case you can increase the dose to as much as 250 millilitres. This ensures thorough disinfection and cleaning of the air jets and pipes. With such a high dose, however, you must not forget to rinse afterwards.
Important tips and warnings
A whirlpool bath is not intended for daily personal hygiene; it is meant to be a place of rest and relaxation. This applies whether it is a normal bathtub with a whirlpool function, a corner bath or a senior bath tub. Ideally, always use the whirlpool without bath additives, shampoo or soap. So that you do not have to clean the whirlpool as often, we also recommend taking a shower before using it. This removes body oils beforehand, so you can lie back in the whirlpool clean and relaxed. This not only makes disinfection easier later on, it also limits bacterial growth, as the bacteria find hardly any breeding ground. These measures do not mean you can skip cleaning the whirlpool, but you will need to clean it less often and can replace the filters at longer intervals.
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