The Health & Safety Executive’s recent publication «The control of legionella and other infectious agents in spa-pool systems», more commonly known as «HSG282», sets out specific and detailed guidelines for hot tubs installed in holiday let situations and places risk responsibility on holiday let owners and operators to ensure their installations are HSG282 compliant.

Section 76 of HSG282 deals with the specification of hot tubs installed in such a setting where used as part of a business activity. With regard to managing safe and hygienic water quality, Section 76 prescribes that hot tubs must be «disinfected using bromine or chlorine through the use of an inline disinfectant feeder». This ensures that the disinfectant is dosed continuously while the hot tub is in use or in a filter cycle, and avoids the peaks and - more pertinently - troughs in disinfectant levels that would occur by hand dosing or the use of floating type dispensers, which have to be safely removed and stored while bathers are using the hot tub - the precise time when continuous disinfection is needed the most.

The team at Darlly Europe, among the leaders of European suppliers of replacement hot tub filters, has invented a competitive and effective solution for HSG282 compliance for the majority of hot tubs on sale in the UK with the launch of their new SaniStream Direct Line Filtration System.

It is an inline dosing dispenser which allows for the continuous dosing of chlorine or bromine tablets or bromine granules. It is fully adjustable to allow for the regulation of sanitiser flow depending on the demands of the particular spa it is fitted in, and it does not require the modification of any of the hot tub’s existing plumbing. It can be filled and, more crucially, refilled with regular suitably sized chlorine or bromine tablets from the client’s regular supplier.

This filtration System is designed to install in the void in the centre of an adapted Darlly filter cartridge, so that dosing is inline and continuous whenever the spa is in a filter cycle or in actual use - satisfying the key demands of HSG282 compliance. For example, the SC714 filter (also known commonly as PWW50), which fits 30% of all spas installed in the UK and is the most common filter sold in the country, will have a removable top to allow the SaniStream dispenser to be removed for refilling and reinstalling in the spa.

The design also allows easy access for inspection, refill or replacement, while keeping it locked away out of sight of consumers using the spa.

Philip Moseley and Gil Gingell, directors at Darlly Europe, envisage that 90%+ of their replacement filter offering will be able to accept the new dispenser in the coming year, to allow the majority of spas sold in the UK to be converted to the new Filtration System.

Not only will this open up the holiday let market enormously, but the Company forecast considerable demand for SaniStream from the domestic sector to satisfy the needs of homeowners who want to avoid the pain of constantly hand-dosing chlorine or bromine, and don’t want floating dispensers around and having to remember to remove and store them when they or their children wish to use the spa.