If you are a hot tub owner, it does not matter if you can have the best and the most expensive hot tub. It would be useless if you didn’t know how to maintain a hot tub care routine. One way to keep your hot tub is to ensure it is at average alkaline and pH levels.
You must monitor and ensure that the hot water they enjoy soaking into has a suitable chemical composition. A high alkaline level in your hot tub produces green water that kills your sanitizer�s effectiveness.
To ensure the most of your hot tub experience during the cold weather, this article will explain the importance of having a lower water alkalinity level and completely guide you and other hot tub owners towards achieving it. Make sure to stick until the end.
Step 1. Identify The Hot Tub’s Capacity For Holding Water
The first step is finding out the water in the hot tub. The ph decreaser must be added in the correct quantity, so this first step is crucial. The inappropriate dose can worsen the issue by changing the composition of the water.
Determining the capacity of the hot tub to hold water will also help you determine how much water is inside. All you have to learn is the amount of liquid it can contain when loaded, as you must have previously filled it to the top. Using a garden hose, you can manually estimate it by filling it with water. But for general information, an estimate is given below based on the various sizes available.
- About 250 to 300 water gallons for 2-3 person
- About 320 to 500 water gallons for 4-6 person
- About 550 to 700 water gallons for 7-8 person
Step 2. Conduct A Water Test To The Hot Tub
You can examine the water in the hot tub by bringing samples to your neighborhood water store for expert examination. Or you can buy a water testing kit, an electronic tester, or testing strips and test the hot tub water on your own.
Testing strips are more widely available and more straightforward to use. Just take a test strip out of the water after dipping it in. To get your result, compare the color of the testing kit to the colors indicated on the bottle.
About 80 to 150 ppm of alkalinity is the recommended range for a hot tub. According to some estimates, the total alkalinity in a hot tub should be maintained at around 100 to 150 parts per million (ppm)
If, after the test, you have found out that the level in the hot tub has increased, that is when you should proceed to step 3.
Step 3. Put The pH Decreaser Into The Hot Tub Water
After draining the water, use a garden hose to fill it again with water. Next, the water must be cleansed by adding sodium bisulfate or a ph reducer to the submersible pump or pump housing. Before adding the ph decreaser, make sure the nozzles are operating. This will ensure that the ph decrease is evenly distributed throughout the water and avoid accumulation in one hot tub area.
The ph decreaser will take significant time to disperse through the water if the nozzles or jets aren’t working. This may result in entirely incorrect water chemistry.
Make sure to apply the correct amount of the ph decreaser as well. When adding it to the water, follow the directions on the package.
To reduce the alkalinity in a hot tub level by ten ppm, take 3 ounces or about 85 grams of sodium bisulfate and add it to 1000 water gallons or parts per million.
Powdered sodium bisulfate is used to lower its pH level. It’s always advisable to keep everyone out of the hot tub in the process.
Step 4. Continue Running The Jets In The Hot Tub
Continue the jet nozzle for fifteen to thirty minutes after applying the necessary quantity of ph decreaser to the hot tub water so it can thoroughly assimilate into the ph decreaser. Most hot tubs have a jet nozzle that can then be turned off. You can leave the hot tub running and the air blower for a while and use a hot tub cover. After this treatment, the hot tub must be kept for a minimum of 24 hours. Use a hot tub cover or a spa cover during this time.
Step 5. Test the Water Again
Keep testing the hot tub water using the test strip to determine the alkalinity of the hot water level within 24 hours. Drain it using a sump pump and a garden hose to fill it with water again. Alkalinity levels should have been reduced at this time. You can try it again if the alkalinity level is still not what is needed.
Step 6. Optional Step As A Last Resort
You must empty the water using a sump pump or a shop vac and refill the water in your hot tub if you still can’t achieve the low alkalinity or ph level. The hot tub probably hasn’t been drained in a while. Because of this, it is challenging to maintain a stable balance in the water’s chemistry.
This is why there should always be regular hot tub draining. A sump pump or a shop vac can help you achieve this quickly. This is highly recommended to prevent a buildup of pollutants that could raise the alkalinity level of the hot tub water.
So empty the hot tub, wash it, then refill it with water. After that, add the chemicals in the proper quantity to ensure that the water’s composition is balanced.
Frequently Asked Questions About How To Lower Alkalinity Levels or pH Levels
We have presented some frequently asked questions to properly guide you when trying to achieve a lower alkalinity level.
What Is Alkalinity In Water?
Before we proceed with the steps, we must understand what we are dealing with in the first place.
You must still address the alkaline balance of your hot tub before balancing the water’s pH levels. You won’t be able to change the pH of the hot tub water if your alkalinity level is too high. Both levels are inside your hot tub’s pipe, influencing and affecting one another.
Total Alkalinity (TA), also known as a “barrier,” measures how well the water in your hot tub can neutralize the acidity. The first and most crucial step in regulating the pH level is to check the water’s alkalinity level. If you fail to check on this, chances are high that you will get a higher-than-normal alkalinity level in your hot tub, which could be harmful even if you will not use it because you will winterize a hot tub.
What Happens When Alkalinity Level Is High In Your Hot Tub?
Suppose you don�t make the best decision to lower the alkalinity level in your hot tub. In that case, you won�t be able to get the most out of the experience even if you plan to winterize a hot tub during the winter. Even worst, you will encounter health issues, expensive damage, and other faulty issues like the ones presented below.
- The scale will begin to hover on the water’s surface, which you can detect immediately. This is brought on by the rise in calcium that the high alkalinity level may cause. It’s not only a hassle to fix, but if it seeps inside the plumbing, deposit buildup might harm the machinery in your hot tub.
- Sometimes water can get cloudy. The water becoming hazy is another effect of having a high alkalinity level in your hot tub.
- Chlorine won’t be as effective because the pH rises as the alkalinity level rises. This occurs at a certain water temperature. This decreases the effectiveness of the chlorine over time.
- An imbalanced hot tub can irritate the eyes, skin, or even nasal passages. It can also cause garment fabrics to fade and slowly tear plastic eyewear, especially in a high water temperature.
- The pH value increases, which could be problematic as it will take longer to lower the pH. Numerous cycles of water testing may be necessary to achieve the right balance of alkalinity levels in the water and a hot tub’s pipes.
What Causes The Rise In The Alkalinity Level?
The harm caused by the high alkalinity level can result in time and money loss. Thus, it is rightful for a hot tub owner to know what can cause its level to rise. Knowing this helps you to find ways to avoid them in the future.
- Your community’s water source might be the reason for the high alkalinity level. Request a water level measurement from your place or neighborhood water utility. Most locations will offer one.
- Another reason could be that there are many chemicals in your hot tub. The total dissolved solids in your hot tub and the hot tub’s pipes could rise. These chemicals can also be stored in your plumbing lines. To prevent this problem, empty and sanitize your hot tubs using a shop vac every three to four months. Open the drain spout or drain plugs and ensure no remaining water is left. You can also run the air blower in this case.
- Body lotions, perfumes, sunblocks, hair gels, and other products can increase pH and alkalinity levels in your hot tub. So, the next time you soak in your hot tubs, take a good shower and use an absorbent towel. These solutions will stay in the remaining water. You can drain this utilizing a garden hose and a shop vac to remove excess substances.
Can I Use Baking Soda To Lower The Alkalinity Level or pH Level In My Hot Tub?
It does not reduce the total alkalinity level or pH level in the water in your hot tub.
You should not add baking soda to a hot tub with high alkalinity levels. That will just worsen the situation. Green water might result from pouring baking soda when the water has a significant level of alkalinity.
What Needs To Be Lowered: The pH Level Or The Alkalinity Level?
Alkalinity is a measurement of the amount of acidity the water can neutralize. Thus it is advisable to adjust alkalinity before adjusting pH levels. An appropriately balanced pool has an alkalinity level that is correctly regulated.
Can You Use Vinegar To Achieve a Low Alkalinity Level In Hot Tub Water?
Like baking sodas, the myth called ‘vinegar lower alkalinity’ is a bluff. It also does not cause low alkalinity. Only the hot tub pH level is lowered by vinegar. However, it is not advised to utilize it either. This tends only to worsen the situation. Only a Sodium bisulfate can lower its ph scale.
What Are Other Types Of Ph Reducer in A Hot Tub?
Muriatic acid, No Mor acid, and Acid Magic are the pH levels reducer you can use to lower the pH and total alkalinity levels in your hot tub water.
Conclusion
If you have a hot tub, remember that part of the luxury of enjoying its hot water is the responsibility of maintaining it. Thus, you need to monitor your hot tub’s water chemistry regularly. If the results show that your hot tub has a significant alkalinity level, follow the instructions above to bring it back to normal.
You are not only keeping your hot tub’s life longer, but it will also save you the expensive damage. Lastly, you create a magical experience using hot water in your hot tub for yourself and your family during freezing temperatures.
