How To Maintain & Keep Your Hot Tub Clean

A lot of people are confused about hot tub maintenance. Most people are totally befuddled by how to maintain it and what to do with it. In fact, many people put off doing anything with it for a while just out of fear and the unknown. Really, it is incredibly simple and very time efficient to properly maintain your hot tub. It does not require a chemistry degree, it does not require hours of time, or hundreds of dollars of chemicals.

Hot Tub Sanitizer

First we have to use a sanitizer. That can be done by using either chlorine or bromine. There are also a few alternative products out there although I do prefer bromine because it's more gentle on the skin compared to chlorine and bromine sanitizes the water better than a lot of the alternative products. More importantly, it doesn't dissipate in heat as fast as chlorine does. Chlorine gets destroyed quickly in hot water that's why you see it being used in a lot in swimming pools but not as often in hot tubs.

I put tablets in a hot tub dispenser floater (right) that makes it quick and easy I just loaded up about once a week. I generally pour in about five or six 1-inch bromine tablets into the floater. Check with your floating dispenser as to how to control how much is releases as you don't want them to dissipate too quickly which then that could over chlorinate the water. Worst case if this happens, you might have to wait a few days before you get in your hot tub. Toss your floating dispenser into your hot tub and that's it! You don't have to do anything else with the sanitizer for about one week.

Checking Hot Tub Water & pH Levels

The next thing that I do is I will check the water levels with some test strips and I like to do it after I get out of using the hot tub. This way, if I need to adjust anything, it'll be ready the next time and I don't have to wait to get in. If your chlorine or bromine levels are low, you can add a little bit of chlorine shock to bring the chlorine levels up. This can be handy if you plan to use the hot tub soon because the tablets will take time to disintegrate.

When using your test strips, keep in mind if you adjust pH or alkalinity it will affect the other one. It's almost impossible to adjust one without the other. Typically, I really only have to do major adjustments to pH or alkalinity alkalinity; especially right after I've changed the water. Once I get the alkalinity set I don't usually have to adjust it again until the next water change. pH can be affected by a few things

• sanitizer levels can affect it
• how often people are using it
• what might be on a persons skin like body lotions
• also the running of the jets

When your jets are running, it raises your p pH slightly. That's a good tip too if your alkalinity is perfect and your pH is a little low; just leave the jets on longer than you would normally. You can do this either while you're in there, before you get in, or after you get in. That will naturally raise the pH levels up a little bit. 

Adding Bromine or Chlorine Shock

If you end up using a bromine shock or chlorine shock, take note that it's totally okay to use bromine sanitizer and chlorine shock. What you don't want to do is switch back and forth between chlorine and bromine sanitizer without doing a water change. That can be dangerous because the two chemicals do interact in a dangerous way but bromine tablets and chlorine shock are formulated differently than bromine and chlorine sanitizer. I know that's a little bit confusing but if using  chlorine based shock, I'm going to add about a capful and maybe a touch less.

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