Hot Tub or Swim Spa, What’s the Difference?

by Posted in Pool Maintenance

Are you looking to upgrade your backyard for entertaining and relaxing this winter? A hot tub or swim spa might be the perfect addition to your home!

Many homeowners assume hot tubs and swim spas are similar, but there are different benefits to each system. The pHin experts share factors to consider before deciding between a hot tub or a swim spa for your backyard oasis.

Purpose for Purchase

Are you looking for a new place to relax or a space to entertain and exercise? Hot tubs are designed with seating and jet placement for optimal relaxation and recovery. Whether you’re feeling stressed or you’re looking for muscle relief after a tough workout, hot tubs are a great place for practicing hydrotherapy. Soaking in warm hot tub water helps loosen tense muscles and stimulates blood supply to various organs in the body.

Swim spas, on the other hand, are more spacious and are a better fit for people who are looking for a place to exercise with more space to move around, you can even swim in a swim spa.  Exercising in swim spa water has many benefits. The resistance from the water will result in more calories burned and aquatic exercises are low impact taking pressure off joints which is ideal for users recovering from an injury or are concerned about potential injury risk. Swim spas are larger than hot tubs making them a good spot for hosting a larger group of friends or family.

Location, Location, Location

Before you make a purchase, start planning the new home for your hot tub or swim spa. The space available inside or in your backyard can determine which system is the best for your home. Are you looking to put the system in the yard or on your deck? Hot tubs are more compact, they can fit on a deck or in a small yard, whereas swim spas are longer and require a larger area. For reference, most swim spas are around 180 inches long and 90 inches wide whereas the average size of a hot tub is about 84 inches long and 84 inches wide. You may also want to consider placement in terms of trees, to allocate enough space with the least amount of possible debris getting into the water.

Maintenance

Because they’re larger, swim spa maintenance is generally more complex than hot tub maintenance. Measuring, chemicals, and dosing can be a challenge but pHin is here to help! The pHin Smart Water Monitor floats in your hot tub or swim spa, measuring the water over 1,000 times per week If the water gets out of balance, pHin will notify you in the app and give you instructions to correct it. You could also ask pHin (or Alexa) for the temperature of your hot tub or swim spa water before heading out for a dip. Whether you’re maintaining hot tub or swim spa water, it can be frustrating when you go out for a post-workout soak or you’re prepping for a night with friends and the water isn’t at the right temperature. This pHin user shares how pHin helped him get his hot tub relaxation ready.

Budget

Once you have a set budget, consider the size of the vessel. Swim spas tend to be more expensive than hot tubs because they are generally larger in size with more features including swim current and high-powered jetting systems. Or, a basic hot tub might suit your needs, and can be more economical.

Before you purchase a new hot tub or swim spa, consider which system is the best solution for your family. Swim spas may suit a family who is looking for a place to get active, go for a swim, and entertain groups of family and friends and hot tubs are a good solution for those who want a place to relax and loosen muscle tension. Make the most of your swim spa or hot tub with the help of pHin.

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PPM vs ORP: How to Choose A Water Measurement Method

by Posted in Pool Services

Did you know: The CDC recommends testing your pool or hot tub water’s chlorine and pH at least twice per day.

Maintaining healthy water balance is important for safe swimming, relaxing, workouts, and more, but it can be a challenge, especially for new pool and hot tub owners. Just as there are different chemicals to maintain the water, there are different ways to measure and treat the water. Parts per million (ppm) and Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) are the two common methods. Here is some background on how to choose the right measurement method:

Measuring by ppm rcan be done with reagent tests, water spin tests, or water test strips which must be manually dipped in the water at least twice per week, the CDC’s recommendation. Then, the data is used to calculate the amount (volume) of chemicals needed depending on the gallon capacity of the pool, hot tub, or swim spa.

Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) is the standard measurement for pool and hot tub water safety, it is mandated for commercial pools like those in local gyms, hotels, spas, etc. It provides a more detailed analysis of how the chemicals – chlorine, bromine, or salt – are doing their job to sanitize the water.  The ORP Sensor measures, in millivolts, the tendency of a chemical substance to oxidize or reduce another chemical substance. In this case, sanitizer. A high ORP shows that the sanitizer isn’t working effectively, and low ORP means that the chemicals can’t effectively clean the water.

Even pool technicians use tools to measure the water, and most homeowners need help, too. Now, they can get it from the pHin Smart Water Monitor which removes the calculations and guesswork from pool and hot tub water care. It measures the water’s temperature, sanitizer and pH over 1,000 times per week. pHin measures the ORP of the water, and uses an algorithm to analyze the water conditions and provide exact recommendations for dosing the water with the chemicals of the pool or hot tub owners’ choice.

Learn more about how pHin measures water here.

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Did you know? 12 Fast Facts About pHin

by Posted in Pool Care

Whether you’re a long-time pHin user or testing the water for our smart pool care, learn these 12 fun facts and technical details you might not know about pHin:

Born in 2015: A pool owner was tired of testing his water and calculating chemical dosing, so he created pHin to remove the guesswork to getting safe water. After building a team and developing the product, pHin launched in 2015.Works with over 200 chemicals: Pool owners can choose which chemicals they’d like to use with pHin from a large database – and they can request additions if their brand isn’t included already.pHin measures the water more than anyone: Most homeowners check their pool or hot tub water weekly. pHin blows their tests out of the water, by measuring the water up to 1,000 times per week.1 billion samples: Over the years, pHin has collected and analyzed over 1 billion water samples in thousands of pools, hot tubs, and swim spas across the country.Algorithms makes measuring smarter: pHin does more than check the parts per million (ppm) of chemicals in the water, it analyzes the effectiveness of the sanitizer, whether chlorine, bromine, or salt, to provide intelligent dosing instructions. Learn more about “Kill Power” here.pHin is friendly with any pool: pHin isn’t only for pools, it can monitor and help you balance a hot tub or swim spa, too!Amazon Alexa talks to pHin: Now you can check on your water balance without even opening the app. Ask Alexa if your pool water is safe or for the temperature of your hot tub before jumping in. Learn more here.pHin doesn’t like the cold, but has a “Winter” mode: pHin can’t stay outside in the cold weather, but it has a special winter setting so pHin can hibernate for the winter and come out for the next pool opening.You can travel with pHin: Worried about the water quality of pools and hot tubs at rental homes and Airbnbs? Take your pHin on the road to check that the balance is safe before taking a dip.pHin can help your pool tech: Your pool technician can be connected to your pHin so they can check in on your water balance remotely and schedule service as needed.Data from pHin could save your pool: Monitoring your water does more than keep it in balance, the start of an imbalance could indicate that a piece of equipment is on the fritz or about to break. John Sciacca wrote about his experience in Residential Systems.Unlimited help from pHin: The smart monitor has a battery that can last up to two years, but if it runs out you can get a free replacement any time if you have the monitoring subscription.

Learn anything new? If you’re ready to add smart technology to your water care routine, click here.

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Prep Your Pool for Winter Hibernation

by Posted in Pool Maintenance

Homeowners in Northern, cooler states are expecting temperatures to drop over the next few weeks. When the first autumn leaves fall, it’s time to start closing your pool for the season – A general rule of thumb is to wait until outdoor temperatures start to steadily fall below 65 degrees. To avoid damage or other issues next pool season, follow these steps and precautions:

Clean the Pool

Before it can be closed, you’ll want to get your pool as clean as possible. Using a vacuum or skimmer, make sure there are no leaves or other debris floating in the water. The pool walls and stairs should be scrubbed with a brush to break up any algae build up. You’ll want to get your pool as clean as possible before it’s closed for the season.

Lower the Water Level

As you’re getting your pool ready for the off season, drain water to avoid problems with ground water and temperature levels if/when they drop below freezing. How much water should you drain? That depends on the climate of the area you live in. If temperatures are generally cold in the winter, you’ll want to drain the water 4 to 6 inches below the tile line to avoid any potential issues with freezing water.

Check and Clean Filters

Even through the winter, check on your filters regularly to make sure they are running properly and keeping the water clean and safe. Pool filters help remove debris from the water but can’t do their job properly if they aren’t cleaned regularly. You’ll be thankful later – this step will help to preserve the lifespan of the filter system and keep your pool clean during the off season for an easier opening in the spring.

Adjust Chemical Levels

Before you close your pool for the winter, test the water’s chemistry levels and get it balanced. Closing your pool with unbalanced levels will make it difficult to open it up the next season. For help checking and correcting the balance, you can turn to pHin. The pHin Smart Water monitor will help you understand if your pool is balanced with color coded discs. pHin’s simplified chemical dosing instructions will help you understand how much of each chemical needs to be added to get the water balanced.

Set to Winterize

pHin has a special setting for winter: Pool owners can get their monitor and pool ready for hibernation by tapping on the “subscription” icon on the app homepage and click “winterize pool.” Then they can remove pHin from the pool and store it in a safe spot until next season.

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pHin App Compact Mode Enables Remote Client Management

by Posted in Pool Maintenance

With pHin data at their fingertips, service technicians can efficiently initiate proactive water care schedules.

pHin has added Compact Mode to the pHin app, enabling service technicians to remotely view customer water data with an easy filter view and alerts.

A pHin Smart Water Monitor deployed in a client’s pool, hot tub, or swim spa measures the water pH, oxidation reduction potential, and temperature, with charts showing seven day, 60-day, and 90-day views. The measurements are taken over 1,000 times per week, and the proprietary algorithm analyzes the results to provide a color-coded status indicating whether the water is balanced, needs an action, or is unsafe.

Client management is streamlined with Compact Mode. Technicians can monitor a vast number of pHins through the app, streamlined with a filter view to search clients by location, vessel name, water status, and cellphone number. Technicians can also assign a custom name to the connected pHins, such as client name, address, location, or even a client’s separate units in a hot tub and pool. When the water is unbalanced and needs attention, they’re alerted in real-time in the app or via email so they can proactively schedule maintenance be

fore the customer even notices an issue. The data provided in Compact Mode can also be used to manage service schedules and delegating teams.

Compact Mode can be activated in the pHin app with a simple on/off in account settings with the most-recent version of the app. Technicians can add client pHin Smart Monitors to their account by scanning the QR code on the box or entering the serial number during setup to add the pHin to their account.

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The Buddy System! Why Every Hot Tub Needs a pHin

by Posted in Pool Services

Hot tubs make a great addition to a home or backyard, whether for warming up on a cool winter night or taking a soak after a tough workout. Among the benefits of owning your own at-home spa, a hot tub can be challenging to maintain. Hot tub rash is real, and chemicals need to be added in exact doses for balanced water. Not to mention, worrying about whether or not the water is safe and balanced can take the relaxation out of your daily soak.

Maximize your hot tub relaxation time with the smart water monitor that can remove your worry about hot tub water! Every hot tub needs a pHin Smart Water Monitor to get the most benefits, here’s why:

Real-Time Temperature Status

There’s nothing worse than having your hot tub soak delayed because the water’s too cold. With pHin, you can simply check the app or ask Alexa about the temperature of your water, so you can see if the heater needs a boost before you go in.

Avoid Hot Tub Rash

Hot tub rash can be caused by poorly maintained water, according to the CDC. Keeping the water in balance is important to avoiding it and it can be hard to know which contaminants are causing the issue. pHin measures the water over 1,000 times per week and will notify you immediately if the water isn’t balanced, with a color-coded guide. A blue disc indicates your water is safe, balanced and ready to use.  An orange disc means your water is still safe to enter but needs some attention while a red disc appears when you should avoid the unsafe water.

Chemistry Support

Chemistry can be confusing, and hot tub owners need to pay close attention to their water to keep it safe. Understanding chemical dosing is a challenge. pHin uses built-in analytics to calculate dosing instructions, so users can simply follow the instructions in the app to balance their water.

With balanced water, hot tubs are great for relaxing, soothing sore muscles, and warming you up in cool weather.

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3 Ways pHin Removes the Guesswork Out of Water Care

by Posted in Pool Maintenance

Keeping pool water balanced all season can be stressful. But for many pool owners, measuring and adding chemicals is a lot of guesswork. Converting the ppm of chlorine in the water to how much chlorine to add can be a challenge, even for veteran pool owners.

Instead of making the wrong measurement that can leave your pool water over chlorinated or cloudy, technology can remove the guesswork.

pHin is a powerful new product that has built-in analytics that make water care easy for any pool or hot tub owner. The device floats in the pool and measures the water over 1,000 times per week, using the information to make pool water care easy for anyone. Here’s how:

Easy-to-Read Status

How do you know if your water is safe before you jump in? With the pHin app, pool and hot tub owners can easily see whether their water is safe, needs action, or is unsafe. A color-coded disc on the home screen provides at-a-glance status:

If the water is out of balance, a red disc will alert users indicating that the water is unsafe and requires action. When water is balanced and safe, a blue disc will indicate that the water is ready to go.

Alerts and Instructions

pHin is also proactive, it sends alerts in the app or via email when the water is out of balance or needs action, like adding shock or chemicals.

Instead of guessing how to fix the water, users get step-by-step instructions about which chemicals to add and how much of each chemical is needed to bring the water back to a safe level. pHin’s app also features detailed graphs of the pool’s chemistry levels in the past giving pool owners easy access to their pool’s chemical history.

Chemical Database

pHin works with leading chemical brands to provide customized chemical dosing instructions based on the brand of your choice. Users can simply scan any supported chemical’s barcode and pHin will calculate exactly how much of the chemical you need to add to the water. pHin recently doubled the number of scannable chemicals, you can see the full list of scannable chemicals here.

pHin takes the guesswork out of adding chemicals to your pool with easy-to-read alerts, action notifications and instructions, and customized chemical dosing instructions. pHin handles the pool chemistry guesswork so you can simply add the necessary chemicals and enjoy!

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