Adding a hot tub to your home can be a real luxury but keeping your hot tub clean takes effort. Proper maintenance is very important to keep your hot tub in top running condition. Before you start cleaning your hot tub you should be aware of required pH balance, alkalinity levels, sanitizers, and oxidizers.

Sanitizers kill the bacteria that can grow in warm water. There are 3 types of sanitizers i.e. Chlorine, Bromine and Biguanide. Chlorine can be used in a different concentration in hot tubs. There are chlorine tablets and chlorine granules created specifically for hot tub use. Bromine is similar to chlorine but is less harsh on the skin and does not smell as strongly. In fact, the bromine tablets you can put in your spa are made of chlorine and sodium bromide. Most bromine solutions use a floating "brominator" that allows the bromine tablet to slowly dissolve into the water over time. Biguanide sanitizers are a non-chlorine, non-bromine product that kills bacteria by attacking the cell wall. The elimination of organics is accomplished with a hydrogen peroxide-based oxidizer used to "burn" off the organic matter and keep the water clear. This system produces fewer odours than chlorine or bromine and does not "gas off" at spa temperatures.

Oxidizers:  Ozone is released into the spa water to oxidize and destroy bacteria and other contaminants (viruses, algae, yeast, cologne, sun tan lotion, saliva, urine, etc).  Ozone is an oxidizer and  it reduces the work of the sanitizers and lowers the level of sanitizers needed in the spa to keep it clean. The ozone process requires that your hot tub is equipped with a piece of equipment called an "ozonator." Even if you have an ozonator, you will need to supplement your water with a low level of sanitizer like bromine or chlorine.

PH and Alkalinity Balance:  Alkalinity Increasers increase the total alkalinity of your hot tub. Your goal for Total Alkalinity is 80-120 PPM. Total Alkalinity measures the waters ability to resist pH changes by neutralizing acid, acting as a buffer for your spa water. If your TA is high, it is hard to change the pH of your water. This is good if you have your water at the neutral pH level. When testing your hot tub water with test strips you may find that the total alkalinity of your water is too low despite the previous hot tub chemicals you have added to it.  You can increase your TA by simply adding Alkalinity Increasers  or baking soda to the water to resolve the problem.

Anti Foams: Soaps and shampoos can often lead to a build up of foam on the surface of your hot tub water.  Anti foams  will reduce the build up of foam within your hot tub.

Water Clarifier With use your hot tub water can become cloudy and merky, while still be clean and healthy to use.  When added to merky hot tub water Water Clarifiers can help to bring back the shine and make sure that fine particles get trapped in the filters of your hot tub

There are many good online sites where you can buy chemicals for your spa or hot tub. You can all the chemicals on The hot tub house website. They sell sanitizers, oxidizers, fragrances, balancers, anti foams, you name it.