A Hot Tub not only offers warmth and sensuous bubbles to our aching bones, but also provides a breading ground for bacteria. Bacteria loves a warm, moisture environment, so where better to live than a hot tub! The primary purpose of any sanitiser is to destroy this harmful bacteria.
If your hot tub is not looked after this bacteria can grow and spread infections, and in more serious cases, diseases to the user.
Chlorine Vs Bromine
There are many different sanitisers on the market today, but the most popular are undoubtedly Chlorine and Bromine.
Chlorine
Chlorine is a popular hot tub sanitiser that most people are familiar with. Most public swimming pools use Chlorine as their primary sanitiser. The great disadvantage of chlorine is its strong odour. This strength of the smell can vary between brands. Chlorine can be purchased in the granular or tabular form.
Make sure you purchase a Chlorine sanitiser that is specifically for hot tubs and not that made for swimming pools. Chlorine produced for swimming pools tends to be a lot strong than is necessary for a spa and can potentially damage your spas equipment.
Chlorine Advantages include:
• Can also be used shock treat your water
• Wide availability
• Acts fast
• When used correctly, gives off very little chemical odor
• Comes in convenient tablets form or granules
• More neutral pH level (7.0)
• Inexpensive
Chlorine disadvantages include:
• Chlorine grains are very inconvenient and need to be added to your spas and hot tub regularly
• Can become weaker or “gas off” when exposed to high temperatures
• When used incorrectly, chlorine gives off a strong odor that can drive guests from your hot tub
• Gives some people a rash and/or itch/sore eyes
• Lives for short amount of time in hot water
Bromine
Over recent years Bromine has become more popular with the hot tub user. One of the main reasons for this is because it doesn’t have the same strong smell of chlorine and is generally milder on the skin. An advantage of bromine is that it also works in a wide range of pH levels and doesn’t need to be added as often as chlorine, and doesn’t sting your eyes like chlorine can. Bromine ionizes organic material, whereas chlorine oxidizes them. Bromine offers the advantage of dissolving slowly in the water, facilitating a timed release of the sanitiser, making it easier for you to maintain the water quantity. Bromine specifically designed for hot tubs is produced in the form of tablets or granules.
Bromine advantages include:
• More heat stable than chlorine, can survive higher temperatures
• Less odour
• Less of a skin irritant
• More effective at sterilizing and maintaining safe and correct water PH
Bromine disadvantages include
• More expensive
• Low PH
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