Chlorine is a very important element when it comes to keeping your hot tubs and pools clean. It kills bacteria and germs that can be harmful to your health and sanitizes the entire space, be it in the hot tub or pool.
Even if the chlorine used in the pools differs from the ones used in the hot tubs, they are both meant for similar purposes.
The application of chlorine in a spa is now called “shock treatment.” This process is meant to clear or kill off bacteria or organic waste that leave the water cloudy and cause odor.
Moving on, we shall be addressing some important areas and answers to why there’s no free chlorine in your hot tub after shocking.
Why is there no free chlorine in my hot tub?
Finding out your chlorine level in your hot tub water is low can be really frustrating, especially when it’s not been long since you administered chlorine in the water.
One of the reasons why there’s no free chlorine in your hot tub is because it breaks down faster in heat. As a matter of fact, that is why the majority of hot tub owners prefer bromine.
Another reason is that you may have biofilm build up, which can drastically reduce the chlorine levels in your bath tub. Biofilms are a group of microorganisms like fungi and bacteria.
How do I raise the free chlorine in my hot tub?
This is a frequently asked question by most hot tub owners.
So, before we head on to look at how you can raise the free chlorine in your hot tub, it is necessary to be acquainted with the tests used on your test strip.
On your normal test trip, there’s a place you can find total chlorine and free chlorine.
Total chlorine is free chlorine plus combined chlorine.
Free chlorine, as the name implies, is chlorine without any combination or addition. It serves as an effective sanitizer, and it’s free.
Now, if you’re experiencing a strong smell of chlorine, there’s a high chance that what you are smelling is combined chlorine. This means that the chlorine in your tub is locked, and it is preventing it from sanitizing effectively.
This is when it becomes necessary to shock the water. Shocking the water helps purify it and break apart the chlorine.
Literally, in order to raise the free chlorine in your hot tub, you have to apply a shock treatment.
You can run a shock treatment on your hot tub by applying your oxidizer. Oxidizers will tear down the chloramines and lower waste by burning them off. This will in turn raise the levels of your free chlorine.
Will shock raise free chlorine?
Definitely, yes. Shock will raise free chlorine in your hot tub. Here’s how it works.
When bacteria, fungi, and other things that pollute your hot tub get into your tub, the combined chlorine level increases and the free chlorine level decreases, though the total level might stay the same.
So this is how it goes; free chlorine, whose job is to terminate pollutants, reacts with the same pollutants to form new bonds, which in turn creates a combined chlorine. This effect now increases the combined chlorine level and decreases the free chlorine level.
Now, to increase the free chlorine level, you need to shock the water to separate the chemical bonds, elements and free the chlorine molecules. The freed chlorine molecules become active and start taking down pollutants.
Again, yes. Shock does increase and raise free chlorine.
What happens if chlorine is too low in a hot tub
Being or sitting inside a hot tub with low levels of chlorine can be dangerous and harmful because bacteria and other contaminants begin to increase, and this can pose a serious threat to you as a person.
Some bacteria are so highly infective that they pose risks to the body and skin of people who use spas with low levels of chlorine.
Also, a bad odor can easily develop in the tub from low levels of chlorine, which in turn makes the water cloudy. All of these indicate that there is development of contaminants due to the lack of high enough levels of chlorine in the water.
Should I put chlorine in hot tub every day?
This is also a frequently asked question by hot tub owners because a lot of them know how necessary it is to keep their tubs clean but have no idea of how often they need to do that.
Well, here’s what to know and do:
Do not put chlorine in your hot tub everyday; instead put it 2-3 times a week depending on how frequently you use it.
It is also necessary that you add at least half a cup of chlorine shock every 7–10 days to enable the water to maintain its clean state.
What is the difference between total chlorine and free chlorine in spa?
Without careful understanding, these terms can be very confusing, especially to someone with little or no knowledge of water treatment.
Now, let’s look at the different terms and their meanings to accurately differentiate between these two.
- Free chlorine: free chlorine is the amount or level of chlorine that is able to sanitize pollutants and contaminants in the water.
- Combined chlorine: combined chlorine refers to the chlorine that has combined with the contaminants and pollutants.
- Total chlorine: total chlorine becomes the sum total of free chlorine and combined chlorine.
Therefore, if you carefully take a look at the various terms and what they mean, we can easily differentiate between free and total chlorine.
Should total chlorine and free chlorine be the same?
No, free chlorine, which is the amount of chlorine that is able to sanitize pollutants and contaminants, should always be higher.
Just as stated above, total chlorine is the total sum of both combined chlorine and free chlorine.
So, if total chlorine becomes higher than free chlorine levels, there’s a problem. Because this might be that the combined chlorine, which is a combination of chlorine and contaminants, is higher than free chlorine, and this can allow the rise of bacteria, fungi, algae etc.
Can you over shock a hot tub?
Over shocking a hot tube is possible and, as a matter of fact, you might have over shocked your hot tube at least once in the time span that you’ve owned it.
Because of the schedule or the fear of contaminants in the tub, you’re likely to be too anxious and over shock the hot tube more than it’s supposed to be shocked.
What happens if you over shock a hot tub?
An excessive use of a thing, no matter how good it is, is bad, and this applies to over shocking a hot tub too.
Chlorine in very high levels has some toxic effects on both your body and your hot tub. We’ll be looking at some of these effects.
A very high level of chlorine can be irritating to a person’s skin, eyes, and even respiratory system. It is also likely to cause your eyes and skin to be itchy and red.
Also, overshocking has a terrible effect on your hot tub too, as a very high level of chlorine is known to degrade things faster.
Things like: pillows, filters, acrylic surfaces, etc., can all be degraded by a high chlorine level.
How long after shock can I add chlorine?
It is generally advised that shock and chlorine should not be administered at the same time, as this can leave your efforts fruitless.
The best time range to add chlorine after administering shock should be at least six to seven hours after.
By this time, the chlorine levels from the shock may have fallen below 5 PPM. So it becomes better to add chlorine.
How much free chlorine should be in a hot tub?
Chlorine levels are normally measured in parts per million (PPM). It is advisable to have a range between 1ppm and 3ppm at all times.
It is also necessary that you test your chlorine levels from time to time to know the accurate amount of the needed chlorine to be added.
Can too much chlorine make a hot tub cloudy?
Obviously, a high level of chlorine can cause a chemical imbalance in the water and alter it’s look to become cloudy.
However, it isn’t just chlorine that is likely to make your hot tub cloudy.
Some of the possible causes for a cloudy hot tub are as follows;
- Poor water hygiene: if your water care is not adequate or up to date, then it’ll likely cause it to become cloudy.
- Frequent use of a hot tub: if you always use your hot tub, there’s a high chance of it becoming cloudy.
- Skin care products: if you use your hot tub without taking a shower most of the time then there’s a high chance of products already on your body being dumped into the water, which in turn makes it cloudy.
