Beginners Hot Tub Care Guide

Sanitising Your Hot Tub

Your hot tub will need to be treated with a Sanitiser to control and prevent bacteria growth. Bacteria can multiply rapidly in a hot environment like a hot tub, so you must maintain an appropriate sanitiser level to ensure any bacteria in the water is killed. The main two sanitisers used in hot tubs are bromine and chlorine, however there are other sanitisers and sanitising methods.

Chlorine

Chlorine is the most popular choice amongst hot tub users as it is the most cost effective and fast reacting sanitiser available. Chlorine is available in granules or tablets.

Chlorine granules are the sanitiser that we recommend at Happy Hot Tubs. Chlorine granules are added by sprinkling the chlorine granules over the water surface with the jets on or by pre- diluting in a container of warm water. The benefit of chlorine granules is that they are PH neutral, they are cheap and they are a good way to increase your chlorine level fast.

Chlorine tablets are slow dissolving and work by being placed in a floating dispenser, built-in feeder or filter pod. The benefit of this is that chlorine is dispensed constantly, however it does give less control than using granules. We suggest you start by adding one to two tablets and adjusting the dispenser flow/tablet amount as necessary after testing. Product Warning - Chlorine tablets are acidic and if mis-used can cause damage to your hot tub. We recommend chlorine granules over tablets.

Bromine

Bromine is an alternative sanitiser to chlorine. It is more expensive and slower reacting. Benefits include having a slightly softer smell, being much more stable in higher water temperatures and it is able to regenerate unlike chlorine (meaning you can keep reactivating 'used up' bromine). Bromine is mainly dosed in slow-dissolving tablet form through a floating dispenser, built-in feeder or filter pod. You can also purchase bromine granules to boost bromine levels when they are low.

Other Sanitisers

Although chlorine and bromine will be used by over 95% of hot tub users, there are alternatives available.

• Aquablanc and other O2 Systems - O2 systems use a combination of active oxygen and a sanitiser liquid (hydroxide) to keep hot tub water clean. It is worth noting that they usually require a chlorine shock on start up too. These systems are expensive and the water can be harder to keep clean vs more traditional chlorine or bromine systems.
• Salt Systems - Salt systems work by salt water passing through an electrode, which in turn produces chlorine to keep the water sanitised. These systems can be expensive and they can also bring other chemical readings such as hardness into the equation. Click here to view our full guide on the Hot Spring Freshwater Salt System