Know your exact MAAX spa
Save the model, serial number, water capacity and owner's manual. American Whirlpool and Vita Spa capacities and control systems vary, and swim spas need a different maintenance scale than hot tubs.
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A guided path built from MAAX/Vita owner guidance, official Leisure Time product information, and O-Care's weekly system.
Official-source guide
Manufacturer guidance, made easier to use.
Equipment steps come from MAAX-built American Whirlpool and Vita Spa resources. Troubleshooting and products link to Leisure Time. O-Care information comes from O-Care US. Your exact owner manual and every current product label still control.
New MAAX spa owner
Your first-fill roadmap.
Use this sequence as a plain-language companion to the American Whirlpool or Vita Spa manual supplied with your exact model. The manual and product labels always control.
Fill through the filter area
Following MAAX/Vita guidance, remove the filter cartridge and place the hose in the filter opening. This helps fill the plumbing and reduces the chance of an air lock. Do not power the spa until it is filled to the manual's level.
Start circulation and heat
Reinstall the filter, power the spa according to its manual, open the jets and verify water flow. MAAX/Vita startup guidance says to run the pumps and let the water reach at least 78–80°F before adding startup chemicals.
Test the source water
Use fresh spa test strips at home. Record sanitizer, pH, total alkalinity and hardness. Make corrections in the order required by the current product labels, allowing circulation and retesting between products.
Choose one sanitizer system
Use either a chlorine routine with Spa 56 or a bromine routine built with Sodium Bromide or Reserve plus Bromine Tablets/Renew. Never combine products in a container, and never use trichlor pool tablets or granules in a MAAX/Vita hot tub.
Establish the weekly routine
Following Vita Spa guidance, run the pumps briefly and test before adding chemicals. Adjust pH and alkalinity first, then maintain sanitizer and oxidizer according to the current labels for your chosen system.
Protect the equipment
Keep filtration operating, rinse cartridges and deep-clean the filter system monthly as Vita Spa recommends. Follow the exact MAAX/Vita manual for draining, refilling, freeze protection and service.
Spa problem finder
What is the water doing?
Choose the closest symptom. The guide will show what to check before buying another bottle and which products may fit after the cause is confirmed.
or search the guide
Brady's spa-care programs
Two clear paths.
Leisure Time is our foundation for first-time owners. O-Care is a separate subscription for customers who want ongoing mineral care.
First-time owners
Leisure Time Startup Program
Choose a chlorine or bromine foundation, then add only the testing, balancing, shock and maintenance products that routine requires.
- Chlorine or bromine sanitizer path
- Testing and water balance
- Compatible shock or oxidizer
- Filter-care essentials
Ongoing option
O-Care Subscription
Stay supplied with bottles 1 and 2 for the weekly mineral routine matched to your spa volume.
- Simple two-bottle weekly care
- Supports softer, clearer water
- Works with chlorine or bromine
- Sanitizer and testing remain required
Products Brady's carries
20 spa-care options
Spa 56 Chlorinating Granules
What it does: Routine sanitizing and shocking in a chlorine-based spa. The concentrated dichlor formula is made for hot spa water.
Best fit when: Owners who prefer a straightforward chlorine routine and will test and maintain a safe sanitizer residual.
Official product informationBromine Tablets
What it does: Maintaining a bromine sanitizer residual through an approved spa floater or feeder after the bromide reserve is established.
Best fit when: Owners who prefer bromine's low-odor routine and steady sanitizer delivery.
Official product informationSodium Bromide
What it does: Creating the initial bromide reserve before Bromine Tablets are used in a freshly filled bromine spa.
Best fit when: Starting or restarting a bromine system after a drain and refill.
Official product informationReserve
What it does: Establishing and maintaining a bromide bank as part of the Reserve and Renew bromine system.
Best fit when: Owners following the liquid Reserve plus Renew system rather than a tablet-only routine.
Official product informationRenew Granular
What it does: Oxidizing contaminants that contribute to odors and cloudy water. It is compatible with chlorine, bromine, ozone and mineral systems.
Best fit when: Routine oxidation, especially with the Leisure Time Reserve and Renew bromine program.
Official product informationReplenish
What it does: A quick-dissolving chlorine and MPS shock with built-in buffers and clarifiers.
Best fit when: Chlorine systems that need a convenient oxidizing shock, including spas using a mineral system.
Official product informationTest Strips
What it does: Checking free chlorine or bromine, pH, total alkalinity and total hardness at home.
Best fit when: Home checks before adjustments. Follow your exact sanitizer system, MAAX/Vita manual and the current strip label for timing and target ranges.
Official product informationSpa Up
What it does: Raising low pH and total alkalinity when a test shows the water is below the product's target range.
Best fit when: A confirmed low-pH result—not cloudy water or irritation without testing first.
Official product informationSpa Down
What it does: Lowering high pH and total alkalinity so sanitizer can work effectively and scale risk is reduced.
Best fit when: A confirmed high-pH result, especially when hard water is also creating scale pressure.
Official product informationpH Balance Plus
What it does: Helping lock pH between 7.2 and 7.8 from refill to refill in hard-water spas.
Best fit when: Hard-water startup when the current label and the spa owner's water conditions make this product appropriate.
Official product informationCalcium Booster
What it does: Raising low calcium hardness to help reduce corrosion and some foaming problems.
Best fit when: Only after a test confirms calcium hardness is low. Fremont County water can already be hard, so do not add automatically.
Official product informationMetal Gon
What it does: Sequestering iron, copper and other metals when the spa is filled to help prevent stains and discoloration.
Best fit when: Fresh fills, especially when source water has metals or has caused staining before.
Official product informationDefender
What it does: Weekly protection against scale formation on spa surfaces and equipment.
Best fit when: Hard-water conditions and spas showing a recurring scale tendency after water balance is corrected.
Official product informationBright & Clear
What it does: Combining tiny suspended particles so the filter can capture them and restore water clarity.
Best fit when: Cloudiness caused by fine suspended particles after sanitizer, balance, circulation and filter condition have been checked.
Official product informationEnzyme
What it does: Breaking down oils, lotions and other organics that contribute to odors, scum lines and filter maintenance.
Best fit when: Spas with frequent use, lotions or recurring waterline buildup.
Official product informationFoam Down
What it does: Temporarily knocking down visible foam on contact.
Best fit when: Short-term foam control after checking for soaps, lotions, low calcium, old water and excess dissolved solids.
Official product informationInstant Cartridge Clean
What it does: A spray-and-rinse cleaner for scale, minerals, oils, lotions and debris on cartridge filters.
Best fit when: Routine quick cleaning between deeper filter soaks.
Official product informationFilter Clean
What it does: An overnight deep-cleaning soak that removes oils, grease, lotion, scale and mineral buildup.
Best fit when: Monthly deep cleaning or a filter that does not recover with a simple hose rinse.
Official product informationJet Clean
What it does: Cleaning oils, dirt, organics and mineral buildup from internal spa plumbing before draining.
Best fit when: Scheduled drain-and-refill maintenance, or when buildup and water-quality problems keep returning.
Official product informationO-Care Subscription
What it does: Brady's ongoing O-Care option supplies the two-part mineral system used weekly to support softer, clearer water and reduce chemical demand.
Best fit when: Owners who want an organized ongoing care program while continuing to check pH and maintain the sanitizer required for their spa.
Official product informationSafe spa care
The label and your MAAX owner manual come first.
Confirm the spa's water capacity before dosing. Add products separately with circulation operating as directed, keep the cover open when required, store products dry and away from children, and never mix chlorine, bromine, acids, oxidizers or cleaners together. Do not enter the spa until the water is clear, balanced and within the sanitizer range required by the current product label.
Need help choosing a spa-care system?
Visit Brady's in Cañon City for Leisure Time, O-Care, filters and practical product guidance for your American Whirlpool or Vita Spa.