The Key: Its Alkalinity
Now that you know why achieving the perfect pH is so important, youre itching to get straight to balancing.
Hold it right there.
Before you balance pHor any other chemical, for that matteryou want to nail your total alkalinity. This should always be the first step in your weekly chemical balancing routine.
So why is it important to balance total alkalinity first? Its pHs righthand man. If youre not in pHs inner circle, you might not know that its super, super sensitiveespecially to environmental factors. Alkalinity acts as a buffer for pH by keeping it stable.
The ideal level for total alkalinity is between 100 and 150 parts per million . Add it in small doses until youve hit it. Only then should you move on to balancing pH.
Did you know rain messes with pH? To save yourself the trouble of rebalancing, youll want to cover your hot tub and pool for the less windy storms. Keep your cover light and secure with the BLACK+DECKER 800 GPH Automatic Pool Cover Pump, which detects up to a quarter inch of rain and works on its ownfast.
How To Lower The Ph In Your Hot Tub
Typically, the active ingredient in pH decreaser, sodium bisulfate, will also lower TA, sometimes so significantly youll need to bump your TA back up a little afterward.
Sodium bisulfate also helps stabilize pH, so if you do need to tweak your TA, its less likely to become an endless pH rollercoaster ride.
Muriatic acid is an alternative way to decrease both pH and alkalinity. Because its an extremely caustic chemical, you must use safety glasses, chemical-resistant gloves and a whole lotta caution when working with it. Heres more information on lowering hot tub alkalinity.
To be even safer, you can use a muriatic acid replacement product thats not as caustic. Youll still need to wear the safety gear, though.
Its not the best idea to just pour muriatic acid directly into your spa. Youll need to dilute it, add it to your spa, then aerate it by running the jets. Finally, leave your spa to circulate overnight before retesting the water.
Is It Safe To Put Baking Soda In A Hot Tub
Yes, baking soda will help to raise the pH of your hot tub naturally without the need to use extra chemicals. The responsible use of baking soda will involve adding 1 oz of the product at a time.
Youre probably unsure whether adding baking soda to your hot tub is safe because you want to raise the pH. I have seen that you can add baking soda to the hot tub to keep the pH in the range of 7.2 and 7.6.
The dosage is recommended if you make a slight adjustment to the pH. I would not recommend adding too much baking soda because it can take the pH levels higher than the recommendation, defeating the purpose.
After adding 1 oz of the baking soda, leave the hot tub water to circulate for 2 to 3 hours. You should then test the pH to determine within the recommended parameters.
If the pH is still lower, you should add one more baking soda and repeat the process after two or three hours until it reaches the recommended levels.
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How Do I Adjust A Spa’s Alkalinity
The target range for alkalinity is 80-120 ppm. Adjusting alkalinity varies based on the chemical system your using.
Some systems such as the Freshwater Water Care System have an alkalinity adjuster built into its pH products. In these cases you will adjust both pH and alkalinity at the same time.
However, in split systems such as the Brilliance for Spas Water Care System there is a separate product for increasing alkalinity. In either system the pH down product will also lower the alkalinity.
How to adjust alkalinity in a split system:
Pro Tip: If your using an excessively large amount of chemicals to try to balance your alkalinity it may be a sign that the water needs to be drained and refilled.
Ideal Ph Range For Hot Tubs: 72 7 8
The ideal pH range for your hot tub should always be in the range of 7.2 7.8. I recommend testing the pH regularly, usually twice a week with test strips or a test kit to ensure it is within the desirable range. You may also establish the accuracy of your test results by taking a sample of your hot tub water to your local dealer for testing.
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Testing Total Alkalinity And Ph Levels
Testing for total alkalinity and pH levels requires two different tests, but they are both performed in a similar way. To begin with, run your hot tub water pump for at least 10 minutes before turning it off again. Take samples of water by placing your thumb over the opening of the sample container, turning it upside down and submerging it to elbow depth, removing your thumb, turning over the sample container and lifting it out of the water. You can dip water testing strips into the sample or add reagents to the container and compare the resulting colours with the chart provided by the test kit.
Does Ph Plus Minus And Ta Plus Vary In Quality
The chemical formula of these products is quite basic but we have seen some poor quality batches on the market in the past. These are generally weaker and therefore you use a lot more to balance your levels. All chemical products sold by Happy Hot Tubs, including our own brand come from high quality UK suppliers so you can trust everything you see available for sale on our site to be of the highest quality.
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Does High Ph Cause Hot Tub Foam
Most of the time, a foamy or cloudy hot tub is caused by not sanitizing it. If you fail to sanitize your spa for weeks or after heavy use, maybe after a party, your hot tub will get foamy.
All the residues like hair cream, body cream, sweat, hair particles, etc are capable of causing cloudy or foamy hot tubs. We must take care of these things by sanitizing the spa immediately.
However, high pH in your hot tub can also cause foam because it weakens and depletes the sanitizer faster. Without a proper sanitizer level in your spa, it can easily get foamy or cloudy.
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Is Soda Ash Better Than Baking Soda To Raise Ph
Simply put, soda ash is much better at raising your hot tubs pH level than baking soda.
Soda ash has a pH level of 11.4, while baking soda has a pH of 8.3. If you were to add baking soda to your hot tub, and the pH was higher than 8.3, it would actually lower the pH level.
Soda Ash is sodium carbonate compared to baking soda being sodium bicarbonate.
Soda ash will drastically raise your pH level, but it also raises your waters alkalinity. Baking soda is the exact opposite.
So that is the biggest downside to soda ash it also tends to raise total alkalinity a lot.
The only thing I know of that raises total pH without significantly impacting total alkalinity is called magnesium oxide powder.
Now to be sure, it does raise alkalinity a little, but not to the same degree as soda ash.
Magnesium oxide powder is concentrated too. So if you buy it, just know you wont need to use as much of it as you would soda ash. Use about 2/3 as much magnesium oxide as you would soda ash.
So for the average size hot tub, that means starting with about 1/4 cup of magnesium oxide powder. You can always add more, but if you overdo it, youll have to add something to drop it back down.
Also, remember that turning the jets on will also raise your pH a little bit too due to the aeration.
So if you need to raise pH without significantly impacting alkalinity, check out the Bulk Supplements brand of Magnesium Oxide powder on Amazon Prime.
Just click that link to see it on Amazon.
Does Vinegar Lower The Ph In A Hot Tub
Vinegar is an acid that will only lower the pH level in your hot tub if a very high amount is added or if a very strong type of vinegar like the spirit vinegar is added to the water. Vinegar is a weak acid that is used as a cleaning agent. White vinegar especially is used to clean hot tubs. The acidic content of vinegar however is not enough to lower the pH in your hot tub to a level that will cause concerns.
Asides from being a weak acid, the acidic content of vinegar is also reduced when it is mixed with water. So if you mix vinegar and water, the acidic level of the vinegar will drop.
The more water you add to vinegar, the lower the acidic content. Even if you add some vinegar to your hot tub, the water in the hot tub will be too much for the vinegar to even have any effect on the pH level of the water.
That being said, you can use vinegar in and around your hot tub without any fear or concern. Vinegar disinfects, cleans, and some products have nice fragrances too. Vinegar wouldnt lower your hot tubs pH unless you add a very high amount to the water. But what if you do?
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How To Raise Hot Tub Ph
Of course, it would be great if you could just relax in your hot tub while the cleaning, maintenance, and water quality would all just take care of itself. Unfortunately, this isnt the case and youll need to do some work to keep the water clean, maintain the hot tub components so theyre working properly and use a bit of basic chemistry to keep your water balanced. Fortunately, you dont need to be a professional technician or have a degree in natural sciences to make this happen. To learn how to perform basic functions like how to raise hot tub pH, read the article weve put together here.
Chemicals To Raise Hot Tub Ph
There are three common chemicals you may have heard of used to raise pH in a hot tub:
There is some confusion about Soda Ash vs Baking Soda, these should be used for two different purposes.
Soda Ash is best for making large pH increases. Whilst baking soda is used to raise alkalinity whilst minimally increasing the pH. In the end, the choice will be yours, and the situation you are in. Lets look at both these methods.
Youll find that Soda Ash is usually labeled pH Increaser or pH Up when you look in a pool or hot tub supply store. Similarly, Baking Soda is often labeled as Alkalinity Up or Alkalinity Increaser.
A less common chemical to raise pH is Borax. This will help stabilize the pH and get it to where it needs to be.
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How To Raise The Ph In Your Hot Tub
Most pH increasers contain the active ingredient sodium carbonate. You might recognize this chemical by its more common namesoda ash.
You may be thinking, that sounds an awful lot like sodium bicarbonatebaking soda. Youre right. Theyre closely related, and baking soda will also raise the pH in your hot tub. But its not nearly as effective as soda ash. So when youre considering how to raise the pH in your hot tub, choose soda ash over baking soda, and youll save yourself a lot of time and trouble.
Sodium bicarbonate is actually much better for raising TA, especially if you dont want to affect the pH level too much.
Its important to note that soda ash can also dramatically increase total alkalinity. So if your hot tub pH is low, but the total alkalinity is normal or high, sodium carbonate may increase the alkalinity beyond the recommended maximum level.
Also note that soda ash can make your hot tub water cloudy, so if you use it to lower pH levels, you may have to address a cloudy hot tub afterward.
How To Raise Alkalinity In A Hot Tub
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Ensuring that alkalinity levels are within the correct range is vitally important for the safe running of your hot tub and its components. So how do you raise the alkalinity when its low?
There are two ways to raise alkalinity in a hot tub: baking soda and soda ash . Baking soda raises alkalinity levels with minimal effect on the pH. On the other hand, soda ash raises both the alkalinity and pH, so it should only be used if both are low.
In this article, youll learn:
- The two best ways to raise alkalinity
- The damaging effects of low alkalinity
- The cause of low alkalinity
- How to prevent it from reoccurring
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How To Deal With Too Much Baking Soda
If you added too much banking soda to the water, you can resolve the problem in two ways. First, you can drain a bit of the water and then refill it. This will dilute the baking soda remaining in the water.
Secondly, you can add an acidic substance to the water. This includes chlorine, diluted bleach, or hot tub shock. Any of these methods will resolve the problem.
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How Do I Bring The Ph Down In My Hot Tub Tips From Pros
Many people have a hot tub in their backyard. The pH of the water is important to maintain the longevity of the hot tub. Individuals who use their hot tub on a regular basis should take it easy adding chemicals to avoid any adverse effects on the hot tub, which can be expensive to replace if damaged by a chemical imbalance. The ideal pH range for a hot tub is between 7.4 and 7.6, and anything above this can cause issues with your hot tub. But how do you lower the pH in a hot tub?
How do I bring the pH down in my hot tub?
You can lower the pH in your hot tub by adding a pool acid-like Muriatic Acid orSodium Bisulfate. This will reduce the total alkalinity and pH. The hot tub pH increases when the water becomes excessively alkaline, this causes the water to deteriorate. At this point, the overall alkalinity of the water in your hot tub will also be high.
There are different ways to lower the pH in a hot tub. In this article, I will provide more details on how you can bring down the pH in your hot tub. I will also answer some commonly asked questions.
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