Chemicals For Inflatable Hot Tub

It is absolutely necessary to add chemicals for an inflatable hot tub to the water in order to keep hot tub water clean. It is not a one-time thing, you have to add these chemicals regularly and keep track of several factors that may impact the quality of the water in your inflatable hot tub. Keeping hot tub water clean by adding chemicals may seem confusing in the beginning. There are sanitizers and oxidizers, some are tablets, some are granulated and then there is a pH level to be regulated. Which to use when and where to add them?

But if you understand how these chemicals work, it is easy and simple. Adding chemicals to an inflatable hot tub becomes a routine when you know what you want to do and how to do it. Here is a simple guide on how to use sanitizers, oxidizers, why to add calcium, and how to regulate pH levels.

Sanitizers to kill microorganisms

Sanitizer purifies water, kills bacteria and all other microorganisms. It is used to keep your hot tub water clean and hygienically safe. Water is generally an ideal environment for all kinds of germs to reproduce and build up. Especially when the water is warm. Sanitizers are used to kill all those bacteria that can do you harm in the water. Adding sanitizer is necessary even when the water in your inflatable hot tub looks fresh and clear. There are many invisible microorganisms that may still be in the water and ruin your precious moments of pleasure in your hot tub. That is why sanitizers are the first chemical to add before you get into your new hot tub for the first time. An ideal moment to add sanitizer is when the water is hot because it will dissolve better. And from then on you should check the sanitizer level regularly and add some when needed. There are three kinds of sanitizers to choose from.

• Chlorine-based
• Bromine based
• Minerals based

 Each of them is efficient to keep your water hygienically clean and safe and it boils down to personal preferences which one to use.

Chlorine Is The Most Commonly Use Sanitizer

Chlorine destroys all harmful bacteria that can be found in the water with high efficiency. It is also cheap and easy to use. These characteristics make chlorine the most popular sanitizer for inflatable hot tubs.

The only downside of using chlorine to sanitize your inflatable hot tub is a slight odor that occurs when chlorine does its job. It is the smell you remember from the public pools. Of course, the Chlorine smell around your inflatable hot tub will not be that intensive as at the public pool because of the less water in your hot tub than in the pool.

Chlorine can be bought as chlorine granules or chlorine tablets. Usually, granules are designed to dissolve when they touch water, so you can just sprinkle the granules in the water. Chlorine tablets ordinarily have higher concentrations than granules, therefore have to be used with a floating dispenser.

No matter if you are using granules or tablets you need to wait a few hours for the chlorine to dissolve properly before you use your inflatable hot tub. It helps to turn on the jets to spread the chlorine evenly across the water.

There Is No Typical Odor When Bromine Is Used

Bromine keeps your water hygienically clean equally effective as chlorine. But there is an important feature that chlorine lacks. Bromine is odorless. This is the main reason why people prefer to use bromine as a sanitizer. There is a downside also. Bromine is more expensive than chlorine and also doesn’t last as long as chlorine. You have to add bromine more frequently to the water in your inflatable hot tub than chlorine. This also builds up the price of bromine usage for sanitizing your inflatable hot tub.

Just like chlorine, bromine could be bought in granules or in tablets. It is the same procedure as adding chlorine to the water. You can simply sprinkle granules directly into the water, and tablets should be used with a floater or dispenser to dissolve into the hot tub water.

You should also know that bromine works slower than chlorine. It takes more time to dissolve in the water so you have to wait longer before you can get into your hot tub. When chlorine is used you have to wait 2-4 hrs before you can use a hot tub. When bromine is used this interval is 4-8 hours.

Seems like the odor that comes with chlorine is quite easy to avoid. Just use bromine instead. But using bromine definitely comes with a price.

Mineral Sanitizer

Minerals are another option for sanitizing inflatable hot tubs. Usually, it is a mixture of copper, silver, and other minerals that work together to keep your hot tub water clear and hygienically safe. Minerals still need to be used together with chlorine or bromine. But minerals greatly reduce the amount of chlorine or bromine used to sanitize hot tub water.

To make it clear, when you are using minerals you will still have to add a small amount of either chlorine or bromine in order to kill the bacteria in the hot tub water. Minerals are considered to be a more eco-friendly option with less chemical content, which is the reason why hot tub owners are using minerals these days for sanitizing more frequently.

Shock Your Inflatable Hot Tub

To break down any organic waste such as skin cells, hair, or body oils that might be found in your inflatable hot tub you have to shock it from time to time. Shocking your hot tub is a simple process. It is basically adding large amounts of chemicals(oxidizers) in order to destroy all kinds of contaminants.

The amount of shock (oxidizer) you have to add to the water depends on the product itself. The amount varies among manufacturers and it is really important to read product instructions to check what is recommended and how to use the product. Manufacturers recommend adding an oxidizer to the hot tub water at least once a week. But really it is about how often you use your inflatable hot tub and how many people are spending time in it.

After some time chlorine or bromine you use in your hot tub water gets a bit “lazy” and not so efficient. Oxidizing hot tub water turns back chlorine into efficient sanitizer again.

There are several types of oxidizers. Which one to use depends mostly on which type of sanitizer you use in your inflatable hot tub. If you use chlorine sanitizer you need chlorine shocks.

The most commonly used oxidizer for hot tubs is Dichlor which is stabilized well to be efficient in a hot water.

There are also non-chlorine shocks. Important to know about this type of hot tub shock is it is not killing bacteria. It is not a disinfectant but breaks down really well all organic contaminants.

The process of shocking your hot tub is rather simple. You put the oxidizer in the water and turn the air jets on. The amount of oxidizer is about 1oz for 500 gallons of water your hot tub holds. It is not more than one tablespoon for the hot tub of regular size. Leave air jets to work for about an hour and leave the cover on, then switch the air jets off and leave your hot tub for several hours at least before you jump back in.

Total Alkalinity and the pH Value Of A Inflatable Hot Tub

PH value is an important parameter that specifies the acidity or basicity of the water. The range on the pH scale goes from 0-14, where 7 indicates the pH neutral value of the water, 0 stands for being highly acidic, and 14 for highly alkaline. The pH of the water in a hot tub should be slightly alkaline between 7.4 and 7.6. If the pH value deviates from this range, should be adjusted. Before you adjust the pH value you have to check the total alkalinity.

While the pH value shows how acidic or basic (alkaline) water is, total alkalinity measures water’s ability to resist pH changes. If you don’t have the right value of the total alkalinity, the pH will rise and fall suddenly. Without having control of the total alkalinity you will not be able to adjust the pH value.

It can be confusing a bit what is the relation between the pH and total alkalinity. It is important to remember that it will be impossible to get the pH values you want to get in your hot tub if the total alkalinity is not within the right range. Remember to check the total alkalinity before you try to fix the pH value.

Testing of the inflatable hot tub water is of great importance. You shouldn’t presume the quality of the water while relying on some visual parameters or your experience. If the water looks fine to you and smells fine it doesn’t mean it really is fine. Always do proper testing to get accurate results for the level of the chemicals in your hot tub.

Using proper testing stips is the most common and quite simple way to check the level of the chemicals in the hot tub water.

Checking The Level Of Chemicals

The level of chemicals in the water should be regularly checked and adjusted. You can use water testing strips to do that. Water testing strips are very handy to use. Each strip has various patches for testing water. By sinking only one strip in your hot tub water for several seconds, you can find out all the important parameters like water hardness, levels of chlorine and bromine, level of the pH value, or level of total alkalinity.

Many people are asking how often water testing should be done. Our answer is every time before you use your inflatable hot tub. This is the safest way to use your hot tub. Water testing strips are inexpensive and take less than a few minutes to use and adjust chemical levels if needed. Patches on the water testing strips change color to instantly show the values of the chemicals. Test strips container has an easy-to-read color coding scale, so you can easily compare the testing strip to the scale and determine if you need to add any of the chemicals to the hot tub water. If the test strips don’t change color when you immerse them in the water they are probably too old and it is time to buy a new batch.

Calcium

Calcium is an important mineral to add to the water if you fill up your hot tub with soft water. You can also use water testing strips to determine if your water is soft or hard. Soft water and a low level of calcium in the water may shorten the life of the heater, air-jet system and corrode working parts rather quickly. This is the main reason calcium is added to the hot tubs.

Remember to add calcium every time you fill your hot tub with water. Once you add calcium to the fresh water in a hot tub you don’t need to add it again until you drain your hot tub and want to fill it with fresh water again.

Get To Know Inflatable Hot Tub Chemicals

It seems like there is so much to know about how to maintain a high quality of water in your inflatable hot tub. It may be like that when you are a fresh owner of the inflatable hot tub. But checking the level of chemicals in the hot tub water is necessary to be done regularly so you don’t harm yourself with inadequate water quality in the hot tub. If something is wrong you have to act and take care of the problem before you use your hot tub.

As your experience grows, everything that seems complicated and hard to learn will become just a simple routine for you. It will become easy to check and troubleshoot anything that can ruin precious moments of relaxation in your inflatable hot tub. Practice makes perfect.