No, salt can not replace chlorine in your hot tub water. The only situation where salt can be used instead of chlorine is when your hot tub uses salt water and not fresh water.
If you’re buying a hot tub for the first time, you’ll be presented with the option of either using saltwater or chlorinated water in your hot tub.
Even though chlorine is the more popular option between the two, saltwater has continued to gain ground over the years, and it is said to be more popular among residential hot tub owners.
Both options are very effective towards maintaining and treating your spa water. No matter which one of them you prefer to use, the healthy state of your spa is what’s important at the end of the day, so it is still necessary to go through the right procedures and measures towards maintaining your hot tub.
To treat your hot tub water using chlorine, it is important to first test the chemical level of the water before going ahead.
While in a saltwater system, you do not need to add chlorine; the saltwater produces chlorine in the water by itself. It’s a more natural process.
Is salt or chlorine better for a hot tub?
As stated above, both solutions are equally effective in managing your hot tub water when a chlorine-based water or a saltwater system is used.
However, salt water systems have their own pros and cons, which we’ll be looking at immediately to enable you to make a suitable choice.
Pros of Salt water hot tubs;
- Saltwater feels relaxing: it is generally accepted that saltwater feels more relaxing and has a gentle texture. Salt water is unlikely to leave your skin dry like its counterpart, chlorine.
- It’s safer to use saltwater: hot tub saltwater systems actually make their own chlorine naturally, which makes it unnecessary to add chemicals. Also, chlorine and bromine can become toxic if left for too long. They can also be very harmful to children, so with a saltwater system, there’s no need to worry about these problems.
- Salt water does not smell. Harsh: Compared to chlorine, saltwater does not have a chemical smell like chlorine.
- Saltwater is environmentally friendly. Saltwater generally does not harm the environment like chlorine does. If your hot tub is drained on grass, it won’t kill or discolor it like chlorine does.
- Saltwater is cost-effective: it is very much affordable to maintain salt water compared to chlorinated water because in chlorinated water you have to buy chemicals often to administer into the hot tub water, but in a saltwater system, this is not the case as there’ll be no need to administer any chemicals.
Cons of salt water;
- Some hot tub producers actually make their pump shaft seals BUNA so that they have the ability to corrode under saltwater conditions. Do ensure that the spar you use is saltwater supported.
- The salt cell used for saltwater systems in hot tubs is a titanium-coated electrolytic cell, which gradually dwindles and loses its power after four years and stops producing chlorine effectively.
- It is compulsory that you monitor the hot tub’s temperature whether it drops below 65 degrees. Many saltwater hot tubs are likely to not produce chlorine when the water temperature is low.
Will salt hurt my hot tub?
We all know the pleasure that soaking in a hot tub after a long day brings. It helps you relax and eases pain. Salt, or Epsom, is acetic in composition and should not be added to your hot tub‘s water because it can drastically reduce the pH level of your water.
If you administer salt into water and it is magnesium based, it is likely to cause flash burns and it misses with chlorine and bromine.
Again, you might also wonder if Epsom salt can be used in a hot tub since normal salts can not. Well, generally, Epsom salt helps to relieve sore muscles, increases the ability to flush toxins and provides relief from joint problems.
However, when it comes to your hot tubs, it is still not good to add it to them. This is because salt levels that are highly above 1500 ppm can be highly corrosive in a hot tub depending on its pH level.
Also note that an unbalanced pH level in a hot tub can cause corrosion of the hot tub equipment and reduced performance of the sanitizer.
In short, chlorine and magnesium are not supposed to mix; they should never mix. Because the both chemicals when mixed can create flash burns on your skin.
Why does my saltwater hot tub smell like chlorine?
One of the big mistakes that saltwater hot tub owners make is not realizing that because they do not add chlorine to their saltwater system hot tub, it does not mean they do not have chlorine. Your hot tub water still contains chlorine. The only difference is that it’s not the chemical chlorine. The salt added is water that converts to chlorine to safeguard your water.
The reason why your hot tub might have a bad smell might be as a result of two things: excessive chloramine in the spa or a low pH level.
Chloramines are a combination of chlorine and ammonia. This simply means a mixture of chlorine and urine, oils, and perspiration in your hot tub. This can make your spa develop a strong chlorine smell that would make using the tub uncomfortable.
Another reason is if your pH level is unbalanced. A low pH level gives room for so many uncertainties to occur in your hot tub, which prevents it from being safe and hygienic. This can always be the cause of your hot tub smelling like chlorine.
You should consider proper water treatment and management to keep your hot tubs healthy and hygienic. If you’re not so knowledgeable in hot tub maintenance, hiring an expert will be a much better decision to make.
Can I put Epsom salt in my hot tub?
No, do not use Epsom salt in your chemicals. Just like I said earlier, Epsom salt should not be used in your hot tub water because it can cause damage to your hot tub that’ll cost you some thousands of dollars to repair or replace.
Epson salts are generally magnesium sulfate-based chemicals, which is an alkaline chemical compound.
Because of how healing and suited Epsom salt is, a lot of hot tub owners have considered applying it to the hot tub. It is said to relieve joint pains and release toxins from the body.
Despite its effects on the human body, it still doesn’t change the fact that it is not okay to be used in a hot tub as it will drastically change the pH level of the water.
Salt levels in your hot tub can be very corrosive depending on your tub’s pH level. It is likely to cause corrosion of the hot tub equipment like gaskets, seals, plastics, and other metals, and reduce the performance of the hot tub sanitizer.
How much salt should I put in my hot tub?
If you use a saltwater hot tub or are planning to switch over to a saltwater system in your hot tub, knowing the salinity level your hot tub should be is very necessary in order to keep it clean.
He recommended that the salinity level of a saltwater system hot tub should be between 2,000 ppm and 3,000 ppm, with 2,500 being the perfect point.
Now, in case you’re wondering if your hot tub will begin to taste salty after administering so much salt, not to worry, because the threshold for a human to be able to taste salt is 10 milliliters, which equates to 3,550 ppm.
As long as you add the necessary amount of salt and your water is balanced, the salinity of your spa water will be undetectable.
What is the benefit of a saltwater-based tub?
Because of its natural saltwater-based hot tubs and generally known to be soothing and very relaxing, we’ll be providing you with some good benefits of using a saltwater system in your hot tub.
- Relaxation: Salt-based water systems are known to bring a gentle calmness and soothing feeling when soakers use them. This is because, unlike the chlorine-based hot tub, it doesn’t have chemicals that make one’s skin dry and it doesn’t have that chemical smell. A saltwater-based hot tub is soothing to the eyes and skin.
- The saltwater system is eco-friendly: No matter how sensitive your skin is, you’re likely not to get any reactions from using a saltwater-based tub because of the non-availability of chemicals in it. Also, if you decide to drain the tub, you need not worry about the safety of your lawn as it is unlikely to kill or discolor grass because of the lack of chemicals in it.
- Affordable to maintain: Saltwater-based hot tubs are actually cost effective. You do not always have to buy chemicals to treat the water as it produces natural chlorine molecules through the administration of salt that helps sanitize the hot tub and kill contaminants.
