Hot Tubs 101

Matt Giovanisci: 00:00

Everyone, and welcome to hot tubs 101 by Swim University, where we help you keep your hot tub clean and clear all year. My name is Matt, and I'm the founder of swimuniversity.com. And on this episode, we're talking about how to add chemicals to your hot tub for the first time. Let's dive in. Real quick.

Matt Giovanisci: 00:29

If you want more help taking care of your hot tub, be sure to grab our free hot tub cheat sheet at swimu.com/spasheet. Okay. It's time to get your hot tub ready to use, and that means adding a dose of hot tub chemicals. Adding the right chemicals in the right order can prevent cloudy water, slimy surfaces, and nasty hot tub smells. Luckily, all the chemicals you need to start up your hot tub are the same ones that you need to maintain it throughout the year.

Matt Giovanisci: 00:53

Now before you start adding any chemicals to your hot tub, you'll wanna know how many gallons it holds. This will help you this will help you add the correct amount of chemicals to your hot tub. And you can find the volume of your hot tub or your water capacity in either your owner's manual or with a quick Google search. So how do you add chemicals to your hot tub water? You'll be adding you'll also be adding chemicals directly to the spa water.

Matt Giovanisci: 01:20

You wanna measure out your chemicals and then add them 1 at a time to the surface of your hot tub water. Then wait at least 20 minutes or until the chemical is completely dissolved before adding the next chemical. Keep your jets running and your air valves off to help your chemicals evenly and quickly disperse. You'll also wanna keep your cover off so that the hot tub chemicals like chlorine can off gas. Finally, whenever handling chemicals, you wanna use gloves, goggles, and a mask.

Matt Giovanisci: 01:50

Safety first. And keep your chemicals separate before adding them to your hot tub. Mixing chemicals outside of your water can be dangerous and less effective. So what type of chemicals do you need for your hot tub? Well, you'll wanna have the following chemicals on hand to start up and maintain your hot tub.

Matt Giovanisci: 02:08

That's alkalinity increaser, or you can use baking soda, pH increaser, pH decreaser, a sanitizer like chlorine or bromine, calcium hardness increaser, and a metal sequestrant or a stain and scale preventer if you need it. Now it's time to add chemicals to your hot tub. So here's how to do it in a step by step sequence that we recommend. Alright. 1st, you're gonna test the hot tub water.

Matt Giovanisci: 02:32

You wanna know what chemicals to add in what order if you don't know your water chemistry. Use your test strips to measure your alkalinity, your pH, and your sanitizer levels in your hot tub. If this is your first time filling up your hot tub, you may also wanna test the water for calcium or metals like copper or iron. You'll also need to buy a more comprehensive liquid test kit or bring a water sample into your local hot tub or pool supply store. Filling up your hot tub with a hose filter, this is a filter that attaches to the end of your hose, can help remove those impurities like metals, the calcium, before they get into your hot tub.

Matt Giovanisci: 03:10

Alright? When you test your water, you'll wanna test for the following levels. Your alkalinity, which should be between a100 and a 100 and 50 parts per million. Your pH, which should be between 7.47.6. Your chlorine, which should be between 1 and 3 parts per million with 3 parts per million being ideal.

Matt Giovanisci: 03:29

Now, if you use bromine, your bromine level should be between 3 5 parts per million. And if you have a a mineral sanitizer, your chlorine level should be at 0.5 parts per million and your bromine level should be at 1 part per million. The next thing you're gonna do is heat up your spa until the water temperature reaches at least 80, 85 degrees or about 30 degrees Celsius. Alright? Your hot tub water will disperse your chemicals more effectively with the heat.

Matt Giovanisci: 03:58

So remember to turn your jets on, you turn your air valves off, and then keep the cover off of your hot tub. Finally, it's time to add the chemicals to your hot tub, one at a time, waiting at least 20 minutes in between each chemical before retesting. The first thing you're gonna do is add a metal sequestrant or a stain and scale preventer if it's necessary. Because this is gonna help neutralize the metals in your water before they can stain your hot tub or harm your equipment. Then you're gonna adjust your alkalinity and pH.

Matt Giovanisci: 04:29

Your pH helps your sanitizer work more effectively and alkalinity helps prevent fluctuations in the pH. So it's important to adjust these levels first. Alkalinity and pH go hand in hand. So adjusting one affects the other. That's why it's so important to add these chemicals 1 at a time, wait for them to dissolve, and then retest your water.

Matt Giovanisci: 04:49

And remember, you can always add more, so don't overdo it. Start with a few tablespoons, and then if your levels are like off by a little bit. If you need to raise your alkalinity, you can use alkalinity increaser or baking soda. If you need to lower your alkalinity, you can actually add pH Decreaser, because there's no such thing as alkalinity decreaser. Just remember that pH Decreaser is also gonna lower your pH levels.

Matt Giovanisci: 05:14

If you need to raise your pH, use a pH increaser. And then if you need to lower your pH, use a pH decreaser. And after adding each chemical, let them circulate for at least 20 minutes and then retesting and then retest your water. Okay. Then you're gonna adjust your sanitizer levels like your chlorine or bromine.

Matt Giovanisci: 05:33

Now now it's time to add the chlorine granules or bromine directly to the water. And you can also use bromine tablets or chlorine tablets in a floating dispenser system. As always, you wanna start with a small amount of sanitizer, test your water, and then add more if necessary. Bromine does not dissolve as quickly as chlorine, so you'll need to wait a little bit longer to retest these levels. And if you're using bromine tablets in a floater, this can actually take several days to disperse in your water before you get a proper reading.

Matt Giovanisci: 06:05

If you're using chlorine to sanitize your hot tub, we recommend using dichlorgranules over the trichlor 1 inch tablets. It's easier to control your dosing with granules compared to tablets. And trichlor can damage your hot tub's acrylic shell. Then you're gonna adjust your calcium hardness levels. These levels do more damage in the long run, like eroding parts, or, you know, in your hot tub, and can wait until your sanitizer is balanced before adjusting this calcium hardness.

Matt Giovanisci: 06:37

Now, your levels for calcium hardness should be between about a 175 and 250 parts per million. If you need to raise your levels, you can just add what's called calcium hardness increaser. And if your calcium hardness levels are too high, the best solution is just to drain your hot tub, scrub it down, and start over with fresh water. Finally, do you you do not need to add any shock right after filling your hot tub. Shock helps kill contaminants and removes compounds that build up over time like chloramines and bromamines.

Matt Giovanisci: 07:09

Because your hot tub is full of fresh water, you don't have any build up of these contaminants. So you don't need a shock right away. You can also add a non chlorine shock once a week when your hot tub is in use. This will help refresh your sanitizer levels. And you can use a chlorine shock if you're experiencing issues with your hot tub like cloudy water or algae, or if your pH or if your hot tub has, if your hot tub is in high use.

Matt Giovanisci: 07:34

If you're getting a lot of bodies in the water, maybe you just need to shock it with a little chlorine. And that's pretty much it. That's all you need to do to start up your hot tub with those chemicals. So remember, if you need more help with hot tub maintenance, you can grab our free hot tub cheat sheet at swimu.com/spasheet. And if you found this episode helpful, please subscribe for more hot tub maintenance tips on whatever podcasting app that you like.

Matt Giovanisci: 07:56

And when you do, leave us a review. Your support will help more pool owners sorry. Your support will help more hot tub owners. I have a we have a pool podcast too, just so you know. Will it help more hot tub owners just like you find the show?

Matt Giovanisci: 08:10

That's it. Thanks again and happy soaking.