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Get My Free PlanWhat’s the right order to add hot tub chemicals? Adding chemicals in the wrong order can cause cloudy water and prevent them from working. So here’s the right order to add chemicals to your hot tub.
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Test the water using test strips (or a liquid test kit). You’ll want to check the following levels:
Tests for 7 important chemistries in seconds: Total Hardness, Total Chlorine, Total Bromine, Free Chlorine, pH, Total Alkalinity, and Cyanuric Acid.
Be sure to wait 10-20 minutes after adding each chemical to let it circulate and dissipate. Keep your jets on low, the air blower off, and the water heated when you’re adding your chemicals.
Okay, here’s the order I recommend for adjusting your water chemistry. This order works whether you’re starting your hot tub for the first time or just doing weekly maintenance.
If you use a stain and scale preventer, add this before anything.
Your alkalinity helps prevent your pH from fluctuating, so balance this first. If you need to raise your alkalinity, use an alkalinity increaser. If you need to lower your alkalinity, you’ll actually use pH decreased.
You likely won’t see this fluctuate much week to week, but make sure it’s in range before adjusting the other levels.
Proper pH levels help your sanitizer work more effectively. And when your pH is off, it can cause cloudy water, equipment damage, and skin and eye irritation. This can fluctuate often, especially if you use your hot tub a lot. So, test and adjust your pH weekly.
You can lower your pH with
This is what kills contaminants, bacteria, and algae in your hot tub and keeps your water sanitary. So, refresh your sanitizer levels each week. You can add chlorine granules directly to the water or bromine tablets to a floating dispenser.
If you’re using bromine, it can take a while for these levels to build up in your water. So, if you’re having trouble, be sure to check out our other video on how to use bromine in a hot tub.
Poor calcium levels do more damage in the long run, like eroding hot tub surfaces and equipment. But it’s still important to keep on top of these levels, especially if you’ve just refilled your hot tub with fresh water.
And if you have hard water, be sure to use a hose filter when refilling your hot tub.
Lastly, you’ll want to shock your water once a week. This helps refresh your sanitizer and kill extra contaminants. You can add either oxidizer, a.k.a. non-chlorine shock, or chlorine shock to your water.
Oxidizers help keep chlorine or bromine active and working in the water. However, chlorine shock is more powerful and directly kills contaminants.
Either one is fine, even in bromine hot tubs, so it will really depend on your hot tub usage and if you’re noticing issues like cloudy or murky water.
I asked around 20,000 hot tub owners if they had any questions about adding chemicals. Here are some of their questions and my answers.
The schedule for chemicals in a hot tub varies depending on factors like water quality, usage, and the type of chemicals used. It is recommended to test the water regularly (at least twice a week) using a test kit to measure pH, sanitizer levels, and total alkalinity. Based on the test results, adjust the chemical levels accordingly.
The most important chemical in a hot tub is chlorine or bromine. These chemicals kill bacteria and contaminants and make your hot tub safe. Every other chemical is added to support the fighting power of chlorine and bromine. But it’s not the ONLY chemical you should add. You need the other ones for safety and to keep your hot tub lasting longer.
Yes. You should run your hot tub jets on low to help the chemicals mix into the water. I also recommend turning off the air valves. Adding air to the hot tub increases pH.
Maintain the hot tub temperature between 80°F and 104°F before adding chemicals. The warmer water (and keeping the jets on low) helps the chemicals you add to mix better.
I would wait at least 15 to 20 minutes after adding any chemicals to your hot tub to get it. I would also test the water to make sure all the chemical levels are in range.
Answer a few questions and we'll tell you what to test, what to add, and when.
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Matt is the founder of Swim University. He's been in the pool and spa industry since 1996. His mission is to make pool and hot tub care easy. Each year, he continues to help people with water chemistry, cleaning, troubleshooting, and more.
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The best way to raise alkalinity in your hot tub or swim spa is to use an Alkalinity Increaser (or baking soda). Here's a step-by-step guide.
