Everyone loves a spa pool, and they’re such a great addition to any home. But everyone has seen a green spa or swimming pool at some stage! Clearly, it’s important to keep your spa pool clean and hygienic.
Simple Silver Water Treatment for Spa Pools is said to be an innovative water treatment system designed to keep spa pools clean all year round.
One of its main claims to fame is that it removes the need to use chemical sanitisers like chlorine in your spa pool.
Chlorine is the most common way to sanitise spa pools and is effective in killing germs, bacteria, and other contaminants. In fact, chlorine has been the go-to choice for water sanitisation for nearly a century. Added and maintained effectively, your spa pool can have similar levels of chlorine as the town supply water and is barely noticeable.
However, to efficiently maintain a clean and safe spa pool, chlorine must be added on a regular basis, and tested frequently. Frequent testing is required, as the amount of chlorine needed will vary depending on the size of the pool, the number of users, the pH level, the temperature, and the amount of sunlight exposure.
Regular testing is also important as excessive levels of chlorine can damage skin and clothes and also create odors. Testing can result in the need to add precise amounts of additional chemicals to bring the water back to balance.
To add to the complexity and maintenance required, regular shock treatments are also essential in order to avoid a build-up of residue that can form on spa surfaces, which in turn can create an unhygienic and unfavourable environment. Shock treatments are known to oxidise organic materials, such as sweat and oils, and help to balance the pH level of the spa.
Finally, chlorine can irritate eyes, throats, and skin in certain concentrations, and it can also give off a chlorine-like smell that some people find unpleasant.
So, while chlorine is very effective, it’s all a bit of a hassle and can be unpleasant.
This is where the idea of chlorine-free spa pool maintenance has great appeal. But is it safe and effective? Can you really just leave it and expect a crystal clear pool for one year?
Today, lets examine the claims.
What is Simple Silver?
According to the manufacturer, Simple Silver is:
“the simple solution for balancing spa pool water. A single tablet that automatically balances your spa pool water for 12 months.”
Simple Silver comes in It works by releasing a combination of naturally occurring minerals and a very small amount of silver oxide into your spa pool.
One of the main minerals is magnesium, which is known for its healing properties. Simple Silver have released many testimonials from people who have experienced relief from skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis when using Simple Silver in their spa pool.
Other benefits reported by the manufacturer and retailers include:
- Regulates the pH and alkalinity of the water.
- Prevents scale formation and corrosion.
- Limites the growth of bacteria for crystal-clear, pristine water.
- Gentle on skin, hair, eyes, nose and throat.
- The tablet and minerals last for 12 months.
- Only one water change per year is needed.
- No other chemicals are required.
- Assessed by AsureQuality for safety & efficacy as a spa pool water balancing solution.
- Complies with New Zealand Standard – Pool Water Quality – NZS 5826:2010.
Online spa retailer, Jet Spas, states that:
“Using simple silver is as easy as putting the block in your spa, and using your spa on your terms for a whole year without needing to stress over how balanced your chlorine or bromine is.”
The tablet is packaged in a plastic container for ease of use (photo supplied).
Reputation
Simple Silver has been used worldwide for over 20 years and has many positive testimonials.
Is it expensive?
Simple Siver state that:
“For just over a dollar a day, you can relax & enjoy your spa pool for 12 months”
The 500g tablet costs around $395 and lasts for 12 months. How does that stack up to chlorine-based treatments?
In 2021, Consumer.org.nz suggested that the cost of chemicals and test strips will set you back about $200-$400 a year. It’s now 2023 and costs have gone up in that time.
The actual cost of chlorine-based treatments depends on many factors including how often you change the water, how good you are at adding the chlorine, testing regularly, and using additional chemicals to maintain perfect conditions.
In other words, it is likely that both solutions will cost similar amount of money.
What about ongoing maintenance?
While Simple Silver appears to remove a lot of the maintenance from spa pool sanitisation, it is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. The instruction manual states clearly that regular water filtering is required, in the same way as for chlorine treatment:
“If the spa pool water turnover is diminished or comprised by a blocked filter or an incorrectly set filter pump time, then the water will not be in pristine, crystal clear and clean condition.”
Simple Silver explains further:
- It is vitally important that the filter pump operates daily so that the correct volume of spa pool water can be turned over and passed through the filters.
- This filtration process removes any skin, perspiration, oils, lotions, skin, hair, water salts, dust, dirt and any other foreign matter from the water.
- During the filter pump cycle the simplesilver™ minerals must also have the correct volume of water flowing over the simplesilver™ tablet to consistently dispense the minerals into the spa pool to treat the water.
The only other maintenance required is to clean the filters on a regular basis, as instructed.
- Every two weeks clean your filters using a cartridge cleaning sanitising solution. Water alone is ineffective in cleaning the filters as it can not breakdown the skin, perspiration, oils and lotions.
Summary
In summary, both treatment solutions have pros and cons.
Chlorine – pros
- Kills Bacteria
- Reduces Algae Growth
- Safe to Use
Chlorine – cons
- Must be used correctly to be effective
- Must be added on a regular basis
- Need to be tested frequently
- Requires additional chemicals
- Must be shock treated
- Water should be changed every 3 months
- Can damage skin and clothes
- Can create odours
Chlorine is safe and effective when used correctly, but requires regular maintenance for perfect conditions.
Simple Silver – pros
- Kills bacteria
- Limits the formation of scale & corrosion
- One tablet which lasts 12 months
- Contains no harmful chemicals
- Gentle on your skin, hair, eyes & nose
- Automatically balances the water
- Safe to Use
Simple Silver – cons
- Must be used correctly to be effective
Simple Silver is safe and effective when used correctly, with very little maintenance required.
Conclusion
Ultimately the solution you choose to use will come down to personal preference. If you have added a spa pool recently, and love a good soak, you want the peace of mind that comes from knowing your pool is safe.
For people who trust traditional methods, and don’t mind handling chemicals, chlorine will provide a good result and it is a known product.
Although Simple Silver has been used in New Zealand for over 20 years, it is not as well known as Chlorine. From a sanitation and convenience point of view, it seems to be hard to beat, with few, if any, drawbacks.