So, what is hot tub shock? Hot tub shock is great for helping with murky or funky water. But read through the article below to learn about a couple of gotchas. Do note, I’ve personally used the products listed on this page but links to products are paid.
Congrats on Your New Hot Tub!
First and foremost, congratulations on your new hot tub! If you’re still in the research phase, holy crap are you going above and beyond! Just pull the trigger if you have the cash, it takes a bunch of maintenance but it’s super fun. Yes, it’s true that your hot tub won’t go up in value the longer you own it but, your quality of life will definitely go up! It’s an investment in yourself!
Chemicals Are Confusing
Let’s take a step back. So you’re confused about your hot tub chemicals. I’d say most new hot tub owners are; don’t be too hard on yourself. Hot tub maintenance is fairly similar to pool maintenance from my understanding so there might be a few of you out there that jumped into this with a huge leg up on the rest of us. But hot tub chemicals are confusing. Let’s jump into one of the most commonly mentioned chemicals in the hot tub community, hot tub shock.
What is Hot Tub Shock?
There are a couple different types of hot tub shock but they both generally do the same thing. The two types are chlorinated and non-chlorinated hot tub shock. I have only used the chlorinated hot tub shock in my hot tub. Here are a couple of do’s and don’ts. The shock I use is shown to our right.
Don’ts
1. Don’t jump in right after shocking your tub
Chlorinated shock is some strong stuff. Make sure to NOT use it right before you and your family are going to use the hot tub. We’ll need your shock to fully dissolve before it’s safe to jump in. Some folks recommend waiting 24 hours before using it again. If you’re still not sure if you can jump in, measure chlorine levels using test strips or another system.
Do’s
1. Check your hot tub’s chemicals before shocking
Make sure to check your hot tub’s chemical levels before shocking it. The Spa Guard Enhanced Shock we link to above uses chlorine to kill stuff in your water and make it crystal clear. So if your chlorine levels are high, shocking your tub will just make it worse. You can use paper test strips or something fancier like the Taylor Test Kit. The former is less accurate, but it’s quicker and gives you a general idea of where your water’s levels are.
2. Do Measure Out Your Chemicals
Follow your chemical’s specific instructions. But my Spa Guard said about three tbsp per 500 gallons. You can see how many tbsps to use by doing (3tbsp/500gal)*numberOfGallons where numberOfGallons is how many gallons your tub is. Mine is 400 gallons so I end up at around 2.5 tbsb. I stole a meauring spoon from my kitchen which is what I use for all my hot tub stuff.
3. Do Add Hot Tub Shock With the Filter On
So, once again. Follow your specific products guidelines, but most granulated shock’s directions will often ask you to add them with the filter running. This helps evenly distribute the shock throughout your water. The chemicals are too fine to get caught by your filter so no worries there. Running your tub while you add your chemicals is the way to go.
5. Watch out for stabalizers like Cyanuric Acid
Chlorine degrades with light. I.E. if your hot tub is open to the sun, your chlorine levels will slowly start decreasing. Cyanuric acid is a chlorine stabilizer that increases the life of your chlorine, but many hot tubs are covered. This stabilizer is super helpful for pools, but it isn’t as helpful for hot tubs. If your levels are too high, the only solution is to empty part of your water so it’s a very time consuming problem to cause. I’d try to avoid too much of a chemical with a stabilizer. How can you tell if there’s too much in your tub? Test strips or a chemical test kit like Taylor provides.
Are you still awkwardly stepping into your tub? Check out these hot tub steps we picked up from Amazon. They’re a great value and effective.