- [Narrator] How do you keep
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your hot tub not just clean,
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but sanitary?
The key is knowing
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the right way to use these six
types of hot tub sanitizers.
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Before we dive
into different types of sanitizers,
you won't know how much sanitizer you need
unless you test the water first.
So the first step
is water testing.
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For supplies, you'll need
some test strips.
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They're pretty easy to use
and they'll give you fast results.
If you're having trouble
getting the right balance and you need
more precise results,
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you can also use a liquid test kit.
You can also take a water sample
to your local hot tub dealer
and have them test it for you.
You'll wanna test the hot tub water
at least once a week.
And you'll wanna test more often
if you're actually using your
hot tub on a regular basis
or if there's a lot of people in it.
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Now that you know what your
water chemistry looks like,
let's talk about hot tub sanitizers.
Sanitizer is the primary chemical
that's gonna keep your
water, well, sanitized.
Dirty hot tub water can lead to everything
from minor skin irritations
to severe rashes,
in the form of hot tub folliculitis
or hot tub rash.
- Ow!
- [Narrator] It can also cause conditions
like Legionaries Disease
and a respiratory disease
commonly known as hot tub lung.
So keeping your hot tub
clean makes sure that you
and everyone who uses your
hot tub stays healthy.
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Okay, so what
are the different sanitizers?
Well, there are six types
and the first is chlorine,
which is the most common
sanitizer for a few reasons.
It's cost effective, it's easy to manage,
and it's an aggressive bacteria killer.
The same way you might use bleach
to kill bacteria, fungus and
viruses in your bathroom,
chlorine does all of that for
you in your hot tub water.
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Now, one drawback to
chlorine is the strong smell.
But it's actually not
the chlorine that smells.
As chlorine works in the water
to kill all that nasty stuff,
it oxidizes and gives off chloramines
and those are what have
that chlorine smell.
If you can smell chlorine,
it probably means you actually
don't have enough chlorine in the water
because it's being used up.
So you need to test the water.
The proper level for chlorine
is between one and three
parts per million or PPM.
If the level is below where it should be,
shock your hot tub to
bring it back up quickly.
Get rid of the chloramine
and put the chlorine back to
work killing contaminants.
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Number two is bromine
and bromine is probably the
second most common sanitizer
for hot tubs.
Chlorine works by oxidizing
but bromine works by ionizing,
which means it forces apart
the chemical bond of contaminants.
Basically, it tears contaminants apart.
One of the advantages of bromine
is that more of it remains active
after combining with contaminates
so it works a little
longer than chlorine does
before you have to add more.
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But bromine gives off
its own waste product called bromamines.
They're not as noxious as chloramines
but they still indicate a low level
of sanitizer in your hot tub.
Shocking is a solution here as well
and then keeping a closer
eye on your sanitizer levels.
The proper level for bromine
is between three and
five parts per million.
Another advantage
bromine has over chlorine
is that it's more effective
at killing certain types of algae.
But bromine has a big drawback.
Bromine is unstabilized, which means that
if your hot tub is outside and uncovered,
the sun's UV rays will
burn it off very quickly
and there's no additional
chemical you can add
to stabilize it, in the way
that you can stabilize
chlorine with cyanuric acid.
So it's a better choice for hot tubs
that are either under some sort of cover,
like a gazebo, or indoors altogether.
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Real quick before we continue.
If you're looking for
an easy to follow tutorial
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that'll answer all your hot tub questions,
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go check out
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keeping your hot tub clean.
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Now we've come to a few
alternative sanitizers.
Baqua Spa is actually a
brand name for biguanide.
It's a non-chlorine sanitizer
but it kills bacteria just as well
as chlorine and bromine do.
It's a liquid and so it's easier
to add to hot tub water.
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It also makes the spa water
feel smoother.
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You also don't have to add it
as often as you do with
chlorine and bromine
and it doesn't produce any kind of odor.
The two biggest drawbacks,
it's more expensive than
chlorine and bromine
and can actually deteriorate
some of the parts
of your hot tub, like rubber
gaskets and certain plastics.
You'll wanna check with
your hot tub's manufacture
before using it and possibly
voiding your warranty
and melting parts of your hot tub.
Now the proper level for biguanide
is between 30 and 50 parts per million.
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Now the most alternative
of all the alternative
sanitizers is minerals,
specifically and most
commonly, copper and silver.
Oddly enough, those metals
have contaminate killing properties.
Silver is a known bactericide
and copper is a known algaecide.
But, they can't sanitizer
your hot tub alone.
If you use a mineral sanitizer,
you have to supplement it with chlorine.
Minerals alone won't kill
bacteria quickly enough
and it can get out of control.
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The benefit with minerals
is that you don't have
to use as much chlorine
as you would if you were
only using chlorine.
This makes it a very
cost effective option.
Now there's no set level for minerals
but when using them,
the ideal chlorine level
needs to be a 0.5 parts per million.
So that's half a part per million.
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Now, number five
is a salt water chlorinator.
If you have a salt water hot tub,
it means that you have
a salt water chlorinator
that converts salt to chlorine
and it actually sanitizes your water.
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To get the sanitation
from salt, you want the salt level
to be between 2000 and
3000 parts per million
with 2500 parts per million being ideal
and the chlorine level will be
at around three parts per million.
Now, I know what you're thinking,
"That sounds like a lot of salt."
It's actually not.
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Sea water salinity level
is about 35,000 parts per million.
You likely won't even be able to
taste the salt in your hot tub
but you shouldn't try to taste the water
in your hot tub.
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And finally, let's talk about shock.
This is basically a
massive dose of sanitizer
to do things like kill algae
or quickly bring the sanitizer level
back up to where it needs to be.
But you also need to shock your hot tub
on a regular basis to prevent those things
from happening in the first place.
If you have a chlorine hot tub,
you could either shock your hot tub
with chlorine shock or chlorine
or use a non-chlorine shock.
For a bromine hot tub,
you can use a non-chlorine shock.
But to get the most benefit,
I recommend using a chlorine shock.
Not only will it kill contaminants,
it'll also reactivate some of the bromine.
Biguanide brands, like Baqua Spa,
usually have their own hot tub shock
designed to work with their products.
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For mineral systems,
I recommend using a non-chlorine shock
to keep the chlorine levels
from going up too much.
And for salt water hot tubs,
you can use a chlorine shock.
The salt water generator
will likely have a super
chlorination setting
but it's not enough to take care of things
like algae
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or, I don't know, bodily fluid accidents
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that may happen
in your hot tub, perhaps.
And remember,
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test your water before you shock
and then test it again
before you get back into your hot tub
to make sure the sanitizer level
has returned to normal.
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So that's all you need to know
about sanitizing your hot tub water.
If you missed anything
or have any questions
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please leave a comment to let us know
and to help out your fellow hot tub owner.
Hit the like button below
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if you found this video helpful
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and if you wanna learn more
about hot tub maintenance
and trouble shooting,
subscribe to our channel for
more videos like this one.
And, check out The Hot Tub
Handbook and Video Course
at swimuniversity.com/spa.
Don't forget to enter
that promo code VIDEO
to get 10% off.
That's it, thanks again and happy soakin'.
