What is total hardness in hot tub?
Total Hardness is a measure of the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the hot tub water. The basic recommended range in a hot tub is between 200 and 400 parts per million.
Is Hard water Bad for hot tubs?
Hard hot tub water can be corrosive and when high enough, excessive calcium can interfere with sanitation and filtration. Hot water temperatures makes the calcium more active, causing cloudy water and scale deposits more easily, as opposed to cooler pools.
How do I lower the hardness in my spa?
There is really only one way to lower your hot tub’s high calcium hardness level and that is to partially or completely drain your hot tub water and replace it with fresh water.
How do I test the hardness of my spa water?
Test Strips: This is the quickest and easiest hot tub water testing method. Just make sure you use strips that include total hardness. Liquid Test Kit: A little fancier and slightly more labor-intensive than test strips, but sometimes more accurate. Again, ensure the kit tests for calcium or total hardness.
Is Hard water good for hot tubs?
Most spas and hot tubs will be fine with calcium hardness levels of up to 400 ppm. After that, and you may begin to see signs of scaling and cloudy water conditions.
How can I lower the hardness of my hot tub water?
Lowering hardness is more difficult than increasing. The best way to have the correct hardness in your water is to fill soft. If you have a softener in your household and the water from the tap that you are using to fill your hot tub measures the correct hardness level then simply fill using this water.
What should the calcium hardness be in a hot tub?
Just like pH and Total Alkalinity, it’s important to keep the calcium hardness balanced to prevent your hot tub water from becoming corrosive or scaling. However, before you attempt to balance your hot tub’s calcium hardness level, first make sure your Total Alkalinity level is balanced, then the pH and lastly calcium hardness.
How can I remove calcium from my hot tub?
If you do not have access to a softener then you can use a portable water softener. These softeners can be recharged easily in under 15 minutes so will last years. If you have not filled soft and have hard water in your hot tub then you can remove calcium using the vanishing act calcium remover.
How to remove scale build-up from your hot tub?
If you have hard water in your hot tub, balancing the PH will also help prevent scale build-up as although hardness exists in the water, you are managing this correctly through PH. To reduce risk of scaling, it is always best to get your calcium hardness levels correct too. How do I remove scale build-up from my hot tub?
How can I increase the hardness of the water in my hot tub?
You need to raise the calcium level before your equipment begins to corrode. Fortunately, the easiest way to raise calcium hardness in a hot tub is to—you guessed it—add calcium to the water. Actually, you want to add calcium chloride, which is the active ingredient in calcium hardness increaser made specifically for hot tubs.
What can I put in my hot tub to lower the calcium level?
Trisodium phosphate will bring down calcium levels in a hot tub. Test the calcium hardness level of the water with a test strip from the calcium hardness test kit.
What can I use to soften the water in my Tub?
Water softener can be used, such as calcium treatment products. Another idea is to empty the tub and fill it with soft water. It is important to maintain water’s pH, as it controls the hardness.
What kind of chlorine to use in hot tub?
Finally, using a high calcium chlorine such as calcium hypochlorite (mainly used for shocking ), will also raise the calcium level in the water. For this reason, most spa owners won’t use this specific chlorine as a sanitizer or shock.
