Many of us fantasise about owning a hot tub. Indeed, you might have spent a while yourself contemplating the respective merits of hot tubs and small swimming pools, before settling on the former of those options.
Certainly, hot tub ownership can bring a wide range of benefits. Hot tubs tend to be more affordable to purchase in the first place than even a small pool, and the hot water in a hot tub can greatly help relieve sore muscles, reduce joint pain, and improve circulation. And of course, a hot tub is simply a very inviting place to relax after a long and stressful day.
Another potential advantage of owning a hot tub rather than a swimming pool, is the relative lack of maintenance it requires.
But of course, we have to put a strong emphasis on the “relative” here. There is still a real need to proactively look after a hot tub, not least given that – in common with a swimming pool – it holds the same body of water for extended periods.
So, while the below is not a rundown of everything you will need to account for when it comes to hot tub water care, it nonetheless provides a “starter for 10” in terms of things you shouldn’t forget.
Naturally, we stock many hot tub and swimming pool chemicals in our online store that can help you fulfil these priorities.
Testing the water in your hot tub
Very few aspects of your hot tub maintenance regime will be as crucial as routinely testing the water inside it. You will need to ensure your chosen testing method provides an accurate picture of the state of your hot tub water, so that you can make well-informed decisions on chemical dosing.
We offer reasonably priced products in our store that can help with this process. They include our packs of 50 water test strips that you simply need to dip into the water to test for chlorine, pH, and total alkalinity (TA), as well as packs of 50 InstaTest strips. The latter strips test for free bromine/chlorine, total bromine/chlorine, pH, TA, and total hardness.
Sanitising the hot tub
A hot environment – such as a hot tub – can lend itself to the rapid growth of bacteria if sanitiser isn’t used to control and prevent it. So, an appropriate level of sanitiser will need to be maintained in the water to kill off bacteria.
There are two types of sanitisers that are largely used in hot tubs – bromine and chlorine – although other sanitisers and sanitising methods exist. Nonetheless, checking our own online assortment of sanitisers – encompassing the likes of chlorine granules and bromine tablets – could be an excellent place to start.
Speaking of “starting”, we also make available comprehensive bromine and chlorine starter packs, put together with the needs of hot tubs specifically in mind.
Maintaining appropriate pH levels
It’s difficult to touch on any aspect of water care in a hot tub or swimming pool without referencing pH at some point. In keeping with this vital priority, the Pool Warehouse store offers both pH Minus – which is used to lower the pH of water – and pH Plus, which has the purpose of increasing pool water’s pH.
The “pH level” of your hot tub refers, of course, to how acidic or alkaline the water is. As we have written about in the past, there are adverse consequences to the pH level in a pool or hot tub being too high or too low. So, this is another aspect of hot tub water care that necessitates proactive and careful attention. For great deals on a broad range of essential hot tub and swimming pool chemicals, please browse the relevant part of our online store today. Our various sanitisers, cleaners, testing products, and dosers can make a big difference to the safety of your hot tub, as well as your day-to-day enjoyment of it.
