Hot Tubs 101

A hot tub is a large investment, much like purchasing a car; and you want your investment to last as long as possible. You want the people who use it to be safe, which is why you need hot tub chemicals. Keeping your hot tub sanitized is not only important for your tub, but it’s also important for the people in it.

Let’s take a look at some of the chemicals that you NEED for your hot tub.

SANITIZER

The first step is to decide on which type of sanitizer you will use.

1. Chlorine: The Most Popular Water Sanitizer

Chlorineis an excellent sanitizer for your hot tub. However, chlorine mixed with hot, steamy water can create an unpleasant chlorine smell, which is why some hot tub owners stay away from this chemical.

There is a reason behind the chlorine smell. When chlorine goes into your water and attacks bacteria or algae, it dies. That dead chlorine is then gassed off, which is called oxidation. That means, when you smell chlorine, it’s not in the water – it’s in the air.

Here are some advantages to using chlorine:

It’s cost effective
Easy to manage and apply to the water
It’s a very aggressive bacteria killer

[NOTE: Salt systems for hot tubs use basic table salt in the water that is converted to chlorine. Salt systems are the same as chlorine system, just a different delivery method.]

Proper Level For Sanitation: 3-5 ppm (parts per million)

2. Bromine: Chlorine's Odorless Cousin

Bromineis a popular choice for hot tubs and indoor pools, because it doesn’t have that chlorine bleach smell. That’s because bromine works differently than chlorine, even though they are in the same halogen family.

Bromine has some advantages over chlorine:

It’s more effective at killing certain types of algae
Keeps on killing bacteria and doesn’t die after an attack, unlike chlorine
Oxidizing breathes new life into used up bromides
Works well in a wide range of pH

[NOTE: Even though it seems like bromine is a better sanitizer than chlorine, doesn’t mean you can also use it in your swimming pool. The one drawback to bromine is it’s unstabilized. Meaning, the sun’s UV rays eat up bromine very fast, and there is no additional chemical to help stabilize it like there is for chlorine. This makes bromine good for pools and hot tubs that are not in direct sunlight.]

Proper Level For Sanitation (tablets): 3 – 5 ppm (parts per million)

3. BaquaSpa: The Alternative Sanitizer

BaquaSpais a biguanide sanitizer: a non-chlorinating product that kills bacteria much like chlorine and bromine do. Here are some advantages to using a biguanide sanitizer:

It’s a liquid product that is easy to apply to the water
Makes the water feel smoother
It’s applied less frequently than chlorine and bromine
Doesn’t produce an odor because it does not oxidize

You’ll want to check with your hot tub manufacturer before using it, because biguanides are known to deteriorate some parts in your hot tub, including rubber gaskets and certain plastics.

Proper Level For Sanitation: 30 – 50 ppm (parts per million)

4. Minerals: The Silver Sanitizer With A Little Help From Chlorine

Mineral systems like Nature 2 use copper, silver, and other minerals to kill bacteria in the water. However, it’s not as aggressive as chlorine and even a little slow. That’s where chlorine comes in.

Along with using a mineral purifier in your tub, you will need to add a little bit of chlorine as a backup, in case the minerals don’t kill all the bacteria fast enough. It also helps to give the water a fresh smell. Without chlorine, the water would smell stale.

The advantages to using minerals are:

Cost effective
Easy to manage
Less chlorine

Proper Level For Sanitation: .05 ppm (parts per million) of chlorine – that’s half a part!

SHOCK (OXIDIZER)

All hot tubs should be shocked once in a while, based on how many people use the tub and how frequently. Some shocks even have additional benefits, depending on the brand, including pH buffers and water clarifiers. Make sure you purchase the right shock for the type of sanitizer you use.

For chlorine hot tubs, you can use:

More chlorine
Non-chlorine shock

The shock oxidizes (gasses off) the dead chlorine along with body oils, sweat, dirt, and urine.

For bromine hot tubs, you can use:

More bromine
Non-chlorine shock

It reignites the non-working bromides and gets them killing again along with getting rid of oils, sweat, dirt, and whatever else comes off our bodies.

For mineral and biguanide hot tubs:

For mineral systems, we recommend using a non-chlorine shock to keep the chlorine levels low. BaquaSpa or biguanide chemical systems have their own version of shock designed specifically for the brand you use.

ALKALINITY AND PH

To keep your sanitizer at the right level and working efficiently, you need to keep your water’s pH balanced.

pH

pH is a measure of the acid or base of a solution. If your water has low pH then your water will be acidic, like vinegar. If you water has high pH it will be dry, like baby powder.

Alkalinity

Alkalinity is a pH stabilizer which helps keeps your pH from changing drastically. First, adjust your alkalinity to the correct level, and then fine tune your pH levels if needed.

If both your pH and alkalinity levels are low, just adding alkalinity will increase both, but make sure to adjust the pH if the alkalinity doesn’t bring it up to the correct level.

If both your pH and alkalinity levels are high, use pH decreaser to drop it back to the right level.

These two chemicals are very inexpensive but extremely important – especially in a hot tub. Because a hot tub has such a small body of water, the pH and alkalinity have a tendency to fluctuate a lot. It’s important to keep a close eye on these levels by testing it frequently.

How to Test Hot Tub Water Properly

In order to maintain a clean and clear hot tub, you need to learn how to test hot tub water properly and accurately. With this simple VIDEO tutorial, you will learn, step by step, how to test your hot tub water.

[WARNING: low pH and alkalinity will cause damage to your hot tub, especially your heater because of the acidity of the water. High pH and alkalinity will cause scaling which leaves a milky residue around anything the water flows through. The heater is at risk both ways. Acid will eat away at the heater element and the high pH will cause a scale around it which will make it work harder to heat your hot tub.]
Proper Level For pH: 7.4 – 7.6
Proper Level For Alkalinity: 100 – 150 ppm

CALCIUM HARDNESS

Calcium Hardness hardens the water, which prevents the water from slowly eating away and breaking down your hot tub’s shell, pipes and other parts. This chemical is important for the

life of your hot tub and not really for the health of it’s occupants. This chemical is very inexpensive and needs to be added at the beginning of every fresh refill.

Proper Level For Calcium Hardness: 100 – 200 ppm (parts per million)

In conclusion, these are all the chemicals you NEED to care for your hot tub properly. Of course there are other chemicals you can use, including clarifiers and cleaners that you may need in case of any water issues.

Speaking of water issues, the great thing about a hot tub is if you are having problems with water clarity, algae or scaling, you can drain and refill the hot tub with ease – unlike a giant swimming pool. In fact, you should drain your hot tub every 3 or 4 months, and refill it with fresh water.