- There are a few common problems that impact the pH in your hot tub. One, your sanitizer, like bromine or chlorine, can lower your pH over time,. Two,, sweat, body oils, grass, or dirt in the water can lower your pH, Three,, adding chlorine shock to your water can raise your pH, Four,, your water source, which can be acidic, can lower your pH, and five,, running your hot tub jets and aerating the water can raise your pH. That's right.

Even Just filling your hot tub with water or running your jets can mess with your pH. But Even though your hot tub pH seems really volatile,, there are ways to keep it in check.. So Here's how to keep the pH balanced in your hot tub. Let's dive in.

Real Quick! Before we continue,, if you want more help taking care of your hot tub,, be sure to grab our free hot tub cheat sheet at SwimUniversity.com/SpaSheet. It's totally free and will help keep your hot tub clean and clear throughout the year. First, why do you need to balance the pH in your water? High pH can cause cloudy water, irritate your eyes and skin, and prevent your chlorine or bromine from working properly. It can also cause scaling and even equipment failure, and low pH can corrode the inside of your liner and your hot tub equipment.

It can also affect your sanitizer and cause your eyes to burn. Your pH should be between 7.4 and 7.6. By Testing your water at least once a week, you'll know if your pH levels are too high or too low,. And that's also when you'll want to test your total alkalinity levels..

Here's how total alkalinity affects pH. Your Total Alkalinity measures your water's ability to neutralize assets. Basically, alkalinity acts as a buffer for your pH, preventing it from fluctuating wildly. Your Alkalinity should be between 100 and 150 parts per million.

Now, because alkalinity helps regulate your pH, adjusting it first may be enough to bring the pH in line. So Always adjust your total alkalinity before your pH. But Sometimes, it's hard to get those two levels to balance. You'll adjust your alkalinity only to find out that it's messed with your pH, or you'll balance your pH only to realize your alkalinity is out of range.

But Once you understand how the chemicals work,, it becomes much simpler.. There are three chemicals that matter in this process. Alkalinity increaser, pH increaser, and pH decreaser.. Alkalinity increaser only raises your alkalinity, pH increaser only raises your pH, pH decreaser actually lowers both, and there's no such chemical as alkalinity decreaser.

Okay, So here's how to balance low pH in your hot tub.: If You have low pH and normal alkalinity,. add pH increaser to the water. This may raise your total alkalinity levels slightly, but it shouldn't be too much. If You have low pH and high alkalinity,.

add pH decreaser to lower the alkalinity levels, then add a pH increaser. This will bring up the pH without impacting your now balanced alkalinity.. If you have low Ph and low alkalinity,. add pH increaser and alkalinity increaser.

So Here's how to balance high pH in your hot tub. If You have high pH and high alkalinity,. add pH decreaser to bring down both levels. If You have high pH and normal alkalinity,.

add pH decreaser to bring down your pH. Then add alkalinity increaser if you need to.. If You have high pH and low alkalinity, add pH decreaser to lower your pH. Then add alkalinity increaser.

By The way,: if you're running your jets and aerating your hot tub, it can cause your pH to rise. So If you're dealing with high pH, you might want to turn off your jets when adding chemicals. But If you have low pH, aerating your hot tub water is a simple way to raise your pH without affecting your other levels like alkalinity. And If you have questions about the right way to add chemicals to your hot tub water,, be sure to check out our other video.

Finally, keeping your water sanitized is one of the best ways to prevent pH fluctuations.. Test Your water weekly, and if your pH levels are chronically fluctuating, it could be coming from your other chemicals or the water from your hose. Use A hose filter when refilling your hot tub and avoid using cheap or harsh chemicals like cal-hypo shock. If You need more hot tub help, grab our free hot tub cheat sheet.

And If you found this video helpful, be sure to subscribe to Swim University for more hot tub care tutorials. Thanks Again and happy soaking.