
Intex has been a trusted brand for providing luxurious and refreshing spa experiences for years. Their superiorly constructed line of hot tubs is all about outstanding portability and comfort. The soothing bubbles, massaging jets, and hot water of Intex hot tubs excel at keeping the water nice and toasty and bringing on a wonderful relaxation.
However, the single most critical factor in enhancing the appearance and life of a hot tub is maintaining the correctly balanced sanitation of water. The ratio of hot tub water to hot-tubber is mostly high. This together with the normal temperature of an operating hot tub (104º Fahrenheit), serves as a possible breeding ground for unpleasant bacteria, fungi, and germs.
Nobody wants to open a hot tub one day to see a smelly, cloudy mess.
With all this in mind, here are Intex hot tub chemicals you will need to keep your hot tub water clean and properly treated. We shall also recommend some top-rating products in this regard so that you can spend greater time enjoying the spa than being a spa-side chemist.
Chemicals for Intex Hot Tubs
Here’s a breakdown of all the necessary chemicals and filters that you will need to keep your Intex hot tub water in good condition.
Testing the Water
The first thing that you need is to test the water with a test kit to understand its current chemical composition. This is because you don’t want to add more when chlorine is already present in high amounts. It has to be executed in moderation, even with these chemicals.
The process is pretty simple, and anyone can perform it. Just ensure that the hot tub’s massage system is turned off before doing it.
Insert a test strip into the water for two seconds. The excess water can be shaken off, and you will see the color of the test strip is transformed. This transformed color can then be compared with the color chart on the bottle’s exterior.
While there are 6-way or 7-way test strips available, we suggest you buy the 4-way ones as they are easy to use and test pH level, water alkalinity, chlorine levels, and bromine levels.
The Poolmaster 22200 Smart 4-Way Swimming Pool and Spa Water Chemistry Test Strips is our favorite choice in this concern. These Intex hot tub chemicals come with 100 test strips and are preferred by many pool experts.

You must test the water twice a week to ensure its chemistry is on the correct level. Just be sure that your hands are dry, or you don’t put water into the test strips bottle as it will ruin all the ones in the bottle. Try to cap the bottle once you take out the strip.
pH and Alkalinity Adjustment Chemicals
Acidic water isn’t ideal for soaking yourself. High acidity levels can not only melt your skin away but are harmful nonetheless. It can be irritating to your eye or skin, can spoil your hair, and minimize the life of your hot tub.
Moreover, when the Intex hot tub water is more acidic, the water sanitizers lose their effectiveness. For this reason, it\’s important to maintain their optimum pH levels to avoid the cascading negative impacts.
LEISURE TIME 22339-04 Spa Up and LEISURE TIME 22338-02 Spa Down for Spas and Hot Tubs are great options for adjusting the water pH of your hot tubs. You should use the water testing strips like above to determine the neutral point. The aim isn’t to make the Intex hot tub water more alkaline but to attain an optimal pH of 7.2-7.8.

If you end up overshooting the quantity while adding, you can add some clear water or lower down by adding the Spa down to get things to return to balance.
Water Sanitizers
Water sanitizers are, in fact, the most essential Intex hot tub chemical of all. The reason they are the most important is they keep the water in your hot tub clean and hygienically safe. They do this by invading and destroying any harmful algae and bacteria that may grow in the water.
Warm untreated water usually serves as a breeding medium for all kinds of germs, so it is critical to add a sanitizer to get rid of these harmful microorganisms before they can do any damage.
Even if your hot tub water appears sparkling clean and fresh, you must add a water sanitizer to remove any invisible nasties. You should never trust luck in this regard. So from the time you buy your Intex hot tub, you must have the sanitizer ready before you set your foot in it.
When the water is hot and bubbling, that is the time to add it. The bubbling action helps distribute it evenly and act more quickly for balancing out your tub. From then you have to check your water sanitizer level regularly to ensure it is correct. If it isn’t, it is fine as can add some till it is at the right level.
Depending on the location of your spa, and your personal preference, you will either want bromine or chlorine tablets. These tablets work as efficient Intex hot tub chemicals and tend to disinfect the water, keeping it crystal clear. Usually, chlorine is preferred for outdoor hot tubs and bromine for indoor hot tubs; however, the choice remains yours as what you like.
Bromine Tablets
We like the Leisure Time 45422A-02 Bromine Tabs for Spas and Hot tubs, 2.2 Pounds, 2 Pack. You have to just put these tablets in the dispenser that usually comes along with your Intex hot tubs. The tablets do their job on their own then. They gradually dissolve in the water, sanitizing and cleaning as you go.

They fit all kinds of floaters, and depending on how much you have to go to attain the ideal on your test strip, you can add more or less of these tablets to the dispenser.
In case the test strip reveals a lot of bromine, you can take the tablets out till it attains the balanced level, or you can add more water.
Chlorine Tablets
Chlorine is one of the most favored Intex hot tub sanitizers by far. The reason is its outstanding capability of destroying bacteria and being an economical sanitizer.
However, it has a little odor, so many spa owners prefer bromine tablets. But you should know that the smell of chlorine is relatively smaller than the one you have had experienced while visiting swimming pools because the size of your hot tub is a lot smaller compared to the pool.
Strangely, the odor of chlorine in a spa is a good thing because it produces a smell when it attacks and destroys dangerous bacteria present in the water. So, whenever you smell the chlorine from your hot tub water, it means it is performing its task.
We like Clorox Pool&Spa Small Pool 1 inch Chlorinating tablets as they are efficient and work well in keeping your Intex hot tub clean and sanitized.

They are 1 inch in diameter and can be easily inserted into the Intex floating chemical dispenser. Leave them in it to mix in water. You can add more or fewer chlorine tablets depending on the distance from your ideal on the test strips. In case of overshooting, you can always remove the dispenser and wait for some time or add clear water.
Shock Chemicals
These Intex hot tub chemicals are the second line of defense against your water contaminants. They destroy the impurities that escaped your standard water sanitizers.
They work best in cleaning the body materials such as oils, lotions, deodorants, and dead skin particles. Besides, they clear out algae and microorganisms as well.
If the water is cloudy even after you have added the water sanitizer or if you have just filled your Intex hot tub with fresh water, you need to add a shock chemical.
Since not all Intex hot tub chemicals of this kind are compatible with both bromine and chlorine, you have to ensure their compatibility from the label before buying.
We highly recommend SpaGuard Enhanced Shock as it is compatible with an extensive variety of sanitizers and works well in restoring water sparkle and removing unpleasant odors.

Conclusion
As you have seen, there is quite much to get your head around when it\’s about Intex hot tub chemicals. But once you have owned the hot tub for some while and taken care of adjustments and levels checks on the chemicals, it soon becomes second nature. With some test strips and a few chemicals, you can keep your Intex hot tub in great shape and condition for the whole season.