Is your biggest goal for 2025 having sparkling clean hot tub water? It’s so easy when you know what chemicals for hot tub care to use! Most people know of the common chlorine, but at Hydropool North West we prefer to use bromine. We’ll explain what each chemical is and why you would use it in hot tub care.
What Chemicals Do I Need For A Hot Tub?
When we install a Hydropool Hot Tub we provide a starter chemical pack that will provide you with the basics to get your hot tub up and running, keep your water sparkling clean and safe for use. If you need to buy your own chemicals for hot tub care, just read on to find out what you need for hot tub care and why you need it.
Test Strips
These are for finding out the quality of your spa water. To get that sparkling clean hot tub water we first need to know the state of it, and if we then need to add anything to it.
Using test strips is very straightforward, dip the stick in the water for the time specified on the bottle. Wait for it to change colour, and then compare those colours to the chart on the back of the bottle. These results will then tell you what is needed to treat and balance your water.
Test Strips will usually test for these common parametres:
- Sanitiser (Bromine or Chlorine)
- pH
Depending on the brand or type they may offer more tests, such as, Total Alkalinity or Cyanuric Acid, but these are more advanced tests and once you're comfortable with the basics, these are good to look into.
There are alternatives to test strips, such as digital testing kits, which offer more accuracy but, to begin with, test strips are an easy way to understand the chemistry of your water.
The most important thing is to ensure that your test strips match the sanitiser you are using. Bromine test strips for bromine. Free/Total Chlorine for Chlorine.
Bromine
Here at Hydropool North West we prefer to use Bromine as a sanitiser instead of Chlorine. Bromine usually works better at warmer temperatures which is ideal for hot tubs. We often find that it’s a lot more gentle on your skin, doesn’t smell as strong, and works efficiently on a wider pH range than chlorine (more on that later)
It’s also a lot more gentle for your hot tub! Chlorine can often bleach pillows, covers, and eventually hot tub shells if left to get out of hand. While bromine can do the same it takes a lot to do so, and is much easier to manage.
Bromine usually comes in two forms, granules or tablets.
For tablets you will need a dispenser, either built into your spa or a floating one that goes in the water. Do not put tablets directly into the water! If they sit on the acrylic surface, over time they can stain, bleach or damage it.
With any granular hot tub chemical you can add it to the water while the water is warm. Open your spa cover, turn on all your jets and sprinkle the recommended amount of chemicals to the water's surface. Allow this to mix with the jets on and cover off for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Please take care when handling spa chemicals. Follow all warnings and instructions on the container. Wear eye and hand protection when necessary.
pH Plus and Minus
You may remember doing litmus tests at school to find out how acidic a liquid is. The acidity of your hot tub water can have a great effect on the health of your hot tub, the clarity of your water, and the efficiency of your chemicals.
Liquids can have a pH level between 0 to 14.
0 is very acidic, 14 is very basic, and 7 is neutral.
Water is usually somewhere around 7, very neutral and unreactive.
Your sanitiser, such as the bromine above, works best within a specific pH range (usually between 7.2 to 7.6), and to get the most out of it we can balance the pH.
If your pH level is low (below 7.2 in the case of bromine), you’ll add pH Plus.
If your pH lever is high (above 7.6 for bromine), you’ll add pH Minus.
Simple!
pH doses are usually a set amount depending on how much water your hot tub contains, and will be listed on the back. Add the same you would with bromine granules mentioned above.
Foamaway for Hot Tubs
It’s a staple in our starter pack. You’ll hope you won’t ever need it but when you do it’s great to have ready and waiting.
We always recommended washing your swimwear without detergents, using only water where possible. When detergents are used, they often become trapped in the clothing, despite the rinse cycle. When you hop into your hot tub, the detergents seep out into the water and, you guessed it… FOAM!
The same thing can happen with shampoo, conditioners, skin creams, deodorants, and especially fake tan (this comes with the added benefit of staining your whole hot tub orange).
We advise showering off before entering the hot tub where possible.
However, sometimes you just cannot avoid the foam - and so foamaway is here to help.
Adding just a dash of this will instantly disperse the foam on the surface. You’ll notice it turns it into a light oil that then sits on your water. Eventually your spa will filter this oil out, and then all you have to do is rinse your filter off the next day.
It may take a couple of doses to rid your hot tub of foam completely, but its a great quick-fix when you want to use your hot tub without the suds!
Shock for Hot tubs
A shock treatment is something we’d advise all hot tub owners to purchase. Bromine and chlorine work by finding bacteria in the water and attacking it, killing it off and making your water safe. Once that process has happened the sanitiser then sits in your water, used up.
A shock treatment can help revitalise the dormant sanitiser in your water and bring the sparkle back without having to add further sanitiser. It oxidises the water, and can often work as a quick treatment after heavy use.
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Did you find out what chemicals for hot tub care you need? We hope so! If you still have questions or are looking to purchase any of the above, visit us at our showsite at Notcutts Ashton Park, or give us a call.
