Keep Your Water Clean, Clear, and Comfortable with a Hot Tub Test Kit
If only owning a hot tub or a pool could be as easy as filling up a basin with water and jumping right in. Maybe adding a heater for a hot tub to make it warm. That would be quite the life. Unfortunately, being the owner of a pool or a hot tub comes with a lot of responsibilities and regular maintenance.
That’s because, as you know, your hot tub isn’t just a basin full of water. It’s a carefully balanced system where sanitizer levels, pH and other factors like water hardness all must be kept in balance. If not, you could end up with an unpleasant, algae-filled mess in no time.
That being said, a well balanced, properly shocked and sanitized swimming pool or spa is an absolute joy to use. Either one of them, if well maintained, can be sparkling clear and refreshing - the perfect treat on a hot summer day.
Therefore, it’s worth your while to invest in a hot tub test kit (or a pool test kit) to ensure that your hot tub water is properly balanced and sanitized to start clean, clear and comfortable.
Keep Your Spa Sanitizer at the Proper Levels
Whether you use bromine or chlorine in your pool or hot tub, you’ll need to keep it at the proper levels. Sanitizer is pretty much the first line of defense that your hot tub has against environmental and biological contaminants. Without sanitizer, your pool's water would quickly become populated with bacteria, protozoans, viruses, and much worse. You’d also be fighting an uphill battle against algae, especially if your pool is in a sunny spot. Different sanitizers work in different ways, and some treatments even contain metals like silver and copper to help combat the spread of microbes and algae.
Either way, the levels of sanitizers need to be maintained in order to remain effective. For example, for most pools in most situations, if you use a chlorine-based sanitizer, the levels of chlorine in the pool should remain between 1 and 3 parts per million. If the chlorine levels drop below one part per million, it will cease to be effective at controlling the growth and spread of microbes. If the dissolved chlorine in your pool rises above 3 parts per million, while it will still control microbial life and infections, it will come at a cost. Excess chlorine levels can cause issues like eye irritation or chlorine rash.
The critical levels of sanitizer will vary by situation and environment. For example, in a hot tub, chlorine levels of between one and three parts per million are still advisable. However, chlorine is less stable at high temperatures that will be present in a hot tub. Therefore, testing your water periodically with a hot tub test kit that includes chlorine (or other sanitizer) testing is critical to keeping your pool or hot tub clean and clear.
Keep Your pH at the Right Level
A water’s pH, or power of hydrogen, explains the levels of acidity or basicity of the water. Being too far towards either end of the scale is no good, and the only way to ensure that your water is within the proper range is to periodically test and treat the water. That all starts with a hot tub test kit or a pool test kit. Maintaining your water’s pH levels can be just as critical as keeping the sanitizer within the acceptable range, although for some slightly different reasons.
For example, if your pH is too low, the water will be highly acidic. Highly acidic water can cause a slew of difficulties for pool and hot tub owners. For one, acidic water is uncomfortable to swim in. It will sting your eyes and other mucous membranes and will remove protective oils from your skin which will leave you feeling irritated overall. High acidity can also cause pitting of concrete and over time can dissolve your pool or spa liner.
Conversely, high pH resulting in basic water can also wear out your liner faster and can even cause cloudy water. Basic water also makes chlorine less effective and diminishes its effective lifespan, so if your pH isn’t balanced and is too high, you will be wasting time and money with extra sanitizer while reaping no benefits
Pick up a Hot Tub Test Kit Right Here
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to test your water so you can ensure the proper levels of pH and sanitizer in your hot tub or pool. Here at LeisureQuip, we offer solutions for water testing so you can avoid some of the issues listed here and keep your pool clean and comfortable.
Consider our BioGuard 1200V Multi Test Kit, a water test kit that is easy to read and more convenient than spa test strips. It can even tell you exactly how much pH increaser or decreaser is needed to restore the proper balance to your pool or hot tub’s water. If you have any product-specific questions, especially pursuant to testing, give us a call at 866-546-8882 and let us know. We’d be glad to help you answer any questions you might have.