Water Chemicals and Maintenance Guide, by Hong Kong Hot Tubs and Pools

Using chemicals and maintaining healthy water is a whole separate area of owning an inflatable hot tub or swimming pool, and understandably something that a lot of new owners worry about. No worries, we've got your back!

There are 3 major steps, and all are covered in detail here, using a range of water maintenance products from our Accessories and Water Chemicals collection as a guide. If these steps are followed, and the correct mix of water sanitisation, testing and PH balancing is conducted then your hot tub or swimming pool water can be maintained for up to a month without changing.

Water Sanitation

Water sanitiser is the most important chemical because it keeps the water in your hot tub or swimming pool clean and hygienically safe. It does this by attacking and destroying any harmful bacteria and algae that might build up in the water. Water can be a breeding ground for all types of germs, so it’s vital you add a sanitiser to kill off these bacteria before they can do any harm.

So, from the moment you buy your inflatable hot tub or swimming pool, you need to have sanitiser ready to add to your water. You can either use granules or tablets. For both methods we recommend adding the sanitiser to a small bucket of water and mixing the chemicals before applying to the water. If you have purchased one of the 2021 range of Lay-Z-Spa hot tubs then you can use the ChemConnect dispenser included in your package. Whatever method you choose, you wait at least 1 hour after adding chemicals before you can use your hot tub or pool.

For this process we recommend either our 1kg bag of chlorine tablets (also available with our Basic Maintenance Kit for Hot Tubs) or our 2kg bottle of non-chlorine based water sanitiser (also available with our Basic Maintenance Kit for Hot Tubs/Swimming Pools). The short video below explains exactly how to apply these to your tub!

Water Testing

Once you have added sanitising chemicals to the water you will need a test kit ready to confirm the correct doses and treatment has been applied. A test kit is essential for maintaining proper doses of sanitiser and PH balance in your water and is extremely easy to use. We recommend our premium Taiwanese Test Kit (also available with our Basic Maintenance Kit for Hot Tubs and our Basic Maintenance Kit for Hot Tubs/Swimming Pools), which takes less than 30 seconds to use, is extremely accurate and can be used over 50 times. Check out the video below, where we demonstrate how to fill the test kit cylinders and test the free chlorine and PH levels of the water using 5 drops of the Phenol Red (red) and OTO (yellow) liquids provided.

The ideal PH levels are between 7.2 and 7.8 on the scale, and the ideal free chlorine levels are between 0.5 and 1.5 (we find that closure to 0.5 on the reader is a more comfortable experience). We would also recommend testing your water every time you get in your hot tub or pool – just be extra safe. If chemical levels have fallen far outside the normal ranges, it is recommended that the water is completely replaced and re-treated.

After a few days of usage the pH levels in your water will begin to change. When this is detected then you either need to change your water, or add pH Increaser or pH Decreaser to maintain a healthy pH balance in your hot tub or swimming pool. This is important as it will help to prevent a range of problems caused by pH levels which are too high or low, and is also a very simple process, as you can see in our video below. We have chemicals for increasing and decreasing your PH levels in our Accessories and Water Chemicals collection, and in our Intermediate and Ultimate Hot Tub maintenance kits. 

PH Level results:

• Too low - (below 7.2): use pH Plus to help raise the pH levels and balance the water
• Too high - (above 7.8): use Dry Acid to help bring those levels back down into the recommended range

Water Filtration

Filters should be cleaned every week during active use, to remove any small particles of debris, dust and oils. The filter will be automatically turned on during the heating process by default, and should be utilised whenever possible to help circulate and filtrate your water. You should make sure the pump unit is fully turned off before cleaning or switching out your filters, and you can also add the filter to a bucket of water with a small amount of bleach for an extra strength clean. Do not use any detergent or washing up liquid to clean the filter, and make sure to leave the wet filter cartridge out to dry before replacing it. If the filters are used for too long they will change colour and deteriorate, meaning the health of the water is not being maintained effectively, and can also cause E02 errors to appear on the hot tub pump. We recommend replacing your filter every 3 weeks, especially during active use periods.