How To Shock A Hot Tub Like A Pro

Shocking a hot tub is essential to keeping the water clean and free from bacteria. It involves adding a large amount of chlorine or other shock treatment to the hot tub, allowing it to circulate and dissolve, and then repeating the process until the water tests safe. This article will provide step-by-step instructions on how to properly shock your hot tub for optimal safety and hygiene. We'll cover how much shock is needed, how long it should be left in the water, how often it should be done, and some important safety precautions to take when shocking your hot tub. So if you want to keep your hot tub sparkling clean and clear all season long, read on!

What is Shocking Your Hot Tub?

Shocking your hot tub involves adding a large amount of shock treatment, such as chlorine or bromine, to the hot tub water to kill any bacteria that may be present. The purpose is to keep the water clean and free from potentially harmful organisms.

Benefits of Shocking Hot Tubs

It removes organic contaminants

Whenever somebody gets into your hot tub, they bring organic contaminants, such as shampoo, lotion, sunscreen, hair, dead skin cells, etc. If many people use the hot tub, this number is multiplied by hundreds, possibly even thousands!

You can reduce this number by showering before you go into the hot tub, but that only goes so far. After a while, the number of contaminants outnumbers the amount of active sanitizing molecules in your water. This creates cloudy water or scum.

It kills bacteria

Of course, bacteria will always be present. Sanitizers might kill 99.9% of bacteria. But then there is illness-causing bacteria for which hot tubs can be incubators.

• Pseudomonas dermatitis - this bacteria causes hot tub folliculitis, which is a skin rash.

• Legionella - this bacteria causes Legionnaires disease, which is a severe type of pneumonia

• Non-tuberculous mycobacteria - this bacteria causes hot tub lung, which is a diffuse granulomatous lung disease

If you do proper upkeep of your hot tub, you shouldn't need to worry about these types of bacteria. Shocking your hot tub can help boost your sanitizer and kill any of these bacteria before they cause problems.

It removes chloramines or bromamines

That chlorine smell you breathe in when going to public pools or hot tubs is not chlorine but the waste product chloramines.

When chlorine is doing its job and killing all the bacteria in the water, it creates waste products. The waste product is chloramines. That's what you're breathing and bathing in. When you have a lot of chloramines in the water, it reduces the effectiveness of chlorine. Hot tub shock helps restore the sanitizer levels to normal and eliminate the chloramines.

If you use bromine as your sanitizer, it produces a waste called bromamines. Although they don't smell like chloramines, they're still not something you want to be breathing in.

Types of Hot Tub Shocks

There are different types of shocks on the market. Make sure to read the labels and find ones made specifically for hot tubs. For example, Calcium Hypochlorite, known as cal hypo, is popular because it's convenient and inexpensive. However, you should not use it for your hot tub. It's better for pools. Here are some shocks you can use for your hot tub instead.

Dichlor

One of the more popular shocks is dichlor shock. You can add this directly to your water without dissolving it first. It contains a small amount of cyanuric acid, which will stand up against your hot tub's heated water.

If your hot tub is outside and not under any structure, it's best to shock it at dusk or night so that the sun's rays don't eat up the chlorine too quickly.

Non-chlorine shock

The most important thing to know about this type of shock is that it does not disinfect. So it doesn't kill bacteria. But that doesn't mean it's not effective.

The main ingredient, potassium peroxymonosulfate, is an effective oxidizer. So it does a good job of removing organic contaminants (dead skin cells, lotions etc.) and clearing up the water. Plus, if you use either chlorine or bromine, it reactivates the key sanitizing molecules that kill bacteria.

TubTabs Tablets

How to shock your hot tub

Shocking your hot tub is necessary to keep the water clean and free of bacteria. It involves adding a large amount of chlorine or other shock treatment to the hot tub, allowing it to circulate and dissolve, and then repeating the process until the water tests safe. Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to properly shock  a hot tub:

1. Uncover your hot tub
2. Test your water - before shocking your tub, you need to make sure your pH levels are between 7.2 and 7.8
3. Turn off the blower - it keeps the pumps on as that helps to circulate the shock. But turn off the jets.
4. Put on your safety gear - shock is a chemical, so you don't want it getting on your skin and eyes.
5. Measure the shock - you don't want to dump your shock into the water. Make sure you measure exactly how much you need. It depends on each hot tub model, so check the shock label to determine how much water you need.
6. Shock your hot tub - add the shock to your hot tub using the method listed in the instructions.
7. Leave the hot tub uncovered - Leave your hot tub uncovered for at least 20 minutes to allow the shock to disperse and dissipate.

Shocking your hot tub is crucial to keeping the water clean and free from bacteria and other contaminants. By understanding how to properly shock a hot tub using chlorine or non-chlorine shock treatments, you can help maintain good sanitizer levels in your spa water while also eliminating unpleasant odours caused by chloramines. With these tips and tricks for how to shock a hot tub at home, you’ll be able to enjoy healthy, hygienic spa sessions with friends and family every time!

For an even simpler, more reliable routine, TubTabs’ Weekly Aloe-Infused Shock & Maintenance Hot Tub Tablets combine shock, maintenance, and water balancing all in one. Each tablet releases the right amount of sanitizer and keeps water balanced and crystal clear, meaning you don’t have to measure powders or juggle multiple chemicals. Using TubTabs takes the guesswork out of shocking your hot tub, so you can focus on relaxing and enjoying your spa instead of constantly monitoring water chemistry.