If you are a new hot tub owner, congratulations! Not only are hot tubs a great way to relax and reduce stress, they are also wonderful for fun with family and friends, enjoying a romantic night in, exercising, and recovering from injury. 

Now that you have your own hot tub, you have hours upon hours of enjoyment to look forward to, but as a hot tub owner, it also falls to you to make sure it is properly cleaned and maintained.

Choosing Hot Tub Chemicals

To keep your hot tub clean and ready for your enjoyment, it needs to be treated with chemicals to prevent bacteria growth. Bacteria thrive in a hot environment, so needless to say, it’s essential to treat your hot tub with the appropriate level of hot tub sanitising chemicals to kill any bacteria. Failure to keep your hot tub sanitized will result in cloudy or green water.

So, which chemicals should you choose? The two most common hot tub chemicals are Chlorine and Bromine.

Chlorine

Chlorine is an extremely popular hot tub sanitisation solution as it is fast acting and cost effective. 

Chlorine hot tub sanitiser can be purchased in tablets or in granule form:

• Chlorine tablets can be added to your hot tub in a floating dispenser or spa pod. Whilst a major benefit of hot tub Chlorine tablets is that they can constantly dispense sanitising chemicals into your hot tub water, they do take a couple of weeks to get the level of dispense right for your usage. 
• Chlorine granules can be diluted in a container of warm water before adding to your hot tub water or can simply be sprinkled over the surface of the water whilst the pumps are running. We would always suggest that you add Chlorine granules a little amount at a time to make sure you don’t add too much.

Bromine

Bromine is slower to act than Chlorine, but provides an effective sanitising solution for anyone sensitive to Chlorine. 

One of the key benefits of Bromine is that it has a slightly softer smell, so if you are sensitive to smells, Bromine may be the ideal hot tub chemical for you. It is also very stable in higher water temperatures, and unlike Chlorine, it will regenerate when Non Chlorine Shock is added, reducing the need for sanitising chemicals.

Like Chlorine, Bromine can be purchased in tablet or granule form:

• Bromine tablets can be used in the same way as Chlorine tablets – simply add them to a floating dispenser or spa pod for continued sanitisation of your hot tub. For your safety, remove your floating dispenser when you use your hot tub. 
• Bromine granules can be added to your hot tub water in place of tablets, or to boost Bromine levels. 

Checking Hot Tub Chemical Levels

The process for checking the levels of hot tub sanitising chemicals is quite simple. To check the levels of hot tub sanitising chemicals, you can use testing strips to measure the Chlorine / Bromine, pH and alkalinity of your hot tub water or a digital water testing kit.

The chemical levels in water are measured in Parts per Million (PPM). Chlorine users should look to keep their Chlorine levels at between 3-5ppm. If you choose to use Bromine, you should keep your chemical levels between 2 and 5ppm.

Alkalinity levels should be maintained between 80 & 120. Having the alkalinity balanced will prevent large fluctuation in the pH levels.

In terms of pH levels, your hot tub should be close to neutral, with a little alkalinity. Whilst neutral is 7 on a pH scale, the ideal hot tub pH level should be between 7.2 and 7.4. 

If the pH is lower than 7, this can lead to problems such as skin and eye irritation, and the corrosion of hot tub components. If the pH is too high, then this can lead to the build up of scale, cloudy water and skin and eye irritation. For both low and high pH levels, sanitiser efficiency will be reduced.

Other Weekly Treatments

Shocking the water

It is recommended that in addition to treating your hot tub with chemicals as normal, you should also shock dose your water on a weekly basis using Non Chlorine Shock. Shocking your hot tub water is important for breaking down Chloramines, killing bacteria, and removing organic compounds such as dead skin and oils from hot tub users.

Protecting your hot tub

Use No Scale to protect the components that come into contact with the water in your hot tub, such as the heater, pump seals and the surface of your hot tub.

Filters

Clean filters on a weekly basis to ensure the effective water filtration which will keep your hot tub water clear.

Learn more about Hot Tub Chemicals

For more information on hot tub chemicals and how to use them, or advice on the right hot tub chemicals to choose, you can contact All Weather Leisure online or call 0333 600 7008. 

Whilst as of February 2021, our Cannock and Shrewsbury showrooms are currently closed under Government regulations, we continue to ship all hot tub chemicals and accessories via our online shop.