FRESHWATER® WATER CARE
Hot Tub Water Care
Water care is the part of hot tub ownership most shoppers know the least about, and it is where Hot Spring® and Caldera® genuinely stand apart. Every spa we sell runs one of three systems, and this page explains how each of them works.
Easier Water Care, Built Into Every Hot Tub We Sell
Keeping the water clean is the part of ownership most shoppers worry about, and it's where Hot Spring® and Caldera® pull ahead. Their spas can make their own chlorine from salt, so the water feels soft and can go up to a year between changes. On 2024-and-newer premium models, the spa also tests its own water every hour and tells you what it needs.
FreshWater® Salt System
A small amount of dissolved salt becomes chlorine automatically, so the water feels softer, you add far fewer chemicals, and you can go up to a year between water changes.
Explore the Salt System →
FreshWater® IQ
It builds on the salt system: the spa tests its own water every hour, shows you what it needs, and corrects pH at a tap. Available on 2024-and-newer premium models.
Explore FreshWater IQ →
FROG® @ease®
Pre-filled cartridges hold the sanitizer steady with no daily measuring, on the plug-and-play Freeflow® and Fantasy® spas.
Explore FROG @ease →
Which Water Care Is Right for You?
It mostly comes down to which spa you own or are shopping for. If you are not sure, we will walk it through with you at any of our three showrooms.
Full-size Hot Spring or Caldera
Go with the FreshWater® Salt System for the softest water and the least upkeep. Add FreshWater® IQ on a 2024-and-newer model to let the spa dose itself.
Go with the Salt System →
Plug-and-play Freeflow or Fantasy
The FROG® cartridge system keeps it simple: drop in a cartridge and let it hold your chlorine steady.
Go with FROG @ease →
Still deciding on a spa
Water care is a real part of the choice. Tell us how hands-on you want to be and we will point you to the models that match.
Visit a Showroom →
The FreshWater® Salt System
Of everything that separates a Hot Spring® or Caldera® spa from other hot tubs, the salt system changes daily life the most, and it is the feature we explain to every customer. On most hot tubs, you manage the water chemistry yourself, testing and adding chemicals throughout the week. A salt-system spa manages it for you.
How the system works
You dissolve a small amount of salt in the water once, at fill-up. A titanium cartridge built into the spa’s plumbing then converts that salt into chlorine continuously as the water circulates, a little at a time, all day. It makes the same chlorine you would otherwise measure and pour by hand, and it makes it at the level the water needs. The cartridge also carries silver, a natural antimicrobial that suppresses bacteria on its own, so the water needs less chlorine in the first place.
Softer water, far less dosing
Salt water feels softer on your skin and is gentler on swimsuits and hair. Because the system makes chlorine on its own, you add far fewer chemicals and spend less time testing and adjusting. Guests notice the difference the moment they get in.
Up to a year between water changes
Stable, self-managed water means you drain and refill far less often. The titanium cartridge is owner-replaceable about every four months with no tools, and that is most of the maintenance.
Which spas have it
Included on the Highlife® and Utopia® collections, and salt-ready on Limelight®, Hot Spot®, Paradise® and Vacanza®. See the full Salt System details.
Salt Water vs. Traditional Chlorine Care
Both routines keep the water sanitized. On a typical chlorine hot tub, you test the water with strips several times a week, measure and add chlorine by hand, shock after heavy use, and drain and refill every few months as the chemicals accumulate. With the FreshWater® Salt System, the routine and the result look like this.
FreshWater® IQ
FreshWater IQ adds hourly water testing and one-touch dosing on top of the salt system. A built-in sensor measures chlorine, pH, and salt every hour, the spa shows you what it needs on the control panel or the app in simple color-coded terms, and it corrects pH at a tap, so even the strip check mostly disappears.
Available on 2024-and-newer Highlife®, Limelight®, Utopia® and Paradise® models.
Explore FreshWater IQ
FROG® Water Care for Plug-and-Play Spas
Plug-and-play Freeflow® and Fantasy® spas use the FROG® sanitizing system: pre-filled cartridges that release sanitizing minerals and chlorine and self-regulate to your spa’s needs. It keeps chlorine steady without daily measuring.
Explore FROG @easeFrequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to the questions we hear most about hot tub water care. The Learning Center covers each one in depth.
Is salt water better than chlorine?
A salt system still sanitizes with chlorine, it just makes it for you from dissolved salt instead of asking you to add it by hand. The water feels softer, you dose far less, and you go up to a year between water changes.
Is the water salty, like the ocean?
No. The system runs on a small fraction of the salt found in seawater, so the water feels soft rather than salty. If you want to check for yourself, any of our three showrooms can let you feel salt-cared water in person.
How much maintenance does a salt spa need?
Very little. Replace the titanium cartridge about every four months, rinse the filter on a normal schedule, and check the water now and then. FreshWater® IQ reduces even that by testing hourly and dosing at a tap.
Do I need to be good at chemistry?
No. The system is designed so the spa holds its own sanitizer steady, and your part is an occasional test strip that takes under a minute to read. We walk every new owner through the routine, and you can always call us if a reading looks off.
What if my tap water is hard?
Hard fill water is worth catching early, because excess minerals shorten the cartridge’s life and can scale the heater. The fixes are simple. Depending on how hard your tap water is, that can be a pre-filter that attaches to the garden hose at fill-up or a softening pillow that sits in the water, and we will point you to the right one.
Can I add salt water care to a plug-and-play spa?
Freeflow® and Fantasy® spas are built around the FROG® cartridge system rather than the salt system. It is the simplest routine going, and a great fit for a first spa. Ask us which path fits the model you are considering.
