- Using Bromine in your hot tub is actually a lot easier than using chlorine. Bromine is more stable at higher temperatures and tends to last longer in the water,, but it only works well if you know when to add it to your hot tub and what other chemicals you need to add with it. So Here's a quick guide on how to use bromine in a hot tub. Let's dive in.

Hey, it's Matt from Swim University. Before We get into the video, 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, what's the difference between using bromine and chlorine? Both Chlorine and bromine kill contaminants and keep your water sanitized.

The Biggest difference is how they do it. Chlorine oxidizes contaminants by invading them and destroying them from the inside out. And As the chlorine gets used up, it turns into combined chlorine, AKA chloramines. And The more chloramines you have,, the less effective your chlorine will be at sanitizing your water..

Chloramines are also the reason you may notice a nasty chlorine-like smell in your hot tub. Bromine, on the other hand,, ionizes contaminants, forcing the chemical bonds of pollutants to break apart. And Unlike chlorine,, a lot of bromine will remain active and working in your water even after combining with contaminants, and you'll never get that chlorine-like smell. Because Bromine is not as reactive as chlorine, it kills contaminants more slowly, but bromine is more stable, especially in hot water, or if your pH levels fluctuate.

Just Keep in mind that bromine breaks down under direct sunlight, so be sure to keep your hot tub covered. Finally, water with bromine feels softer and gentler than water with chlorine, making it a popular choice for people with sensitive eyes or skin. Okay, so how do you add bromine to a hot tub? Well, bromine comes in two forms, bromine tablets and bromine granules.. Because It dissolves slowly,.

bromine tablets work really well in a floating dispenser. However, bromine tablets tend to dissolve too slowly to work in an automatic inline chemical feeder. It Usually takes three to five bromine tablets added once a week to a floating dispenser to sanitize your hot tub. Just Be sure to adjust the settings on your floater.

And Smaller floaters made for hot tubs or small pools works best. Bromine Takes a while to build up in your water, and it can be hard to quickly raise your levels if they're low. So If you're using your hot tub for the first time, or you've just filled it with fresh water,, you wanna start by adding a bromine booster, AKA Sodium Bromide.. After Adding your sodium bromide, you'll then add an oxidizer, AKA non-chlorine shock, to the water.

This will activate your bromide and convert it to active bromine sanitizer. After That,, you can start regularly using bromine tablets in a floater to keep your levels stable. But What other chemicals do you need besides bromine? You'll need a few other chemicals to keep your water balanced. Alkalinity increaser, which helps stabilize your pH levels, pH increaser and PH decreaser, which helps your pH stay in range, and balanced.

pH helps prevent cloudy water, corrosion, and skin and eye irritation. Calcium hardness, which raises your calcium levels and helps protect your hot tub from corrosion and foaming.. And You'll also need these chemicals We've mentioned before, bromine tablets in a floating dispenser,, bromine booster, AKA sodium bromide, and an oxidizer, AKA non-chlorine shock. The Final chemical on this list is chlorine shock.

Yes, chlorine shock. You Can use chlorine shock in a bromine hot tub. Chlorine shock is great to add to your water after a party or heavy hot tub use. Or You can add it weekly if you're noticing cloudy, murky water.

Just Make sure that your chlorine shock also contains an oxidizer.. Now, here's how to test your water levels, including your bromine. Your Bromine levels should be between three and five parts per million. If It drops a lot lower, your water isn't sanitized, and if it gets much higher, your hot tub will be unsafe to use.

So Test your water once a week to make sure your levels are within range. Test Strips are an easy, affordable way to monitor your chemistry. Just Dip it in the water, wait 15 seconds,, and then compare the strip to the packaging. If You want more accurate results, use a liquid test kit.

And If you want more help remembering the right ranges for your hot tub chemicals,, be sure to grab our free hot tub cheat sheet. Now That you know what chemicals you need and how to test your water, here's the order to add your chemicals. Be Sure to wait at least 20 minutes between adding each chemical before retesting your water and moving on to the next step.. Keep Your hot tub open and running with the jets on and the blower off..

And Make sure that your water is heated up to help the chemicals dissolve. Number One, start by balancing your alkalinity. This will keep your pH from fluctuating. Number Two,, adjust your pH levels with pH decreaser or increaser.

If You can't get your pH and alkalinity levels to balance, Be sure to check out our other video. Number Three,, if you've just added fresh water, add sodium bromide, which is sometimes sold as bromine booster. Number Four, add oxidizer, AKA non-chlorine shock. This will activate the sodium bromide and convert to active bromine sanitizer.

Number Five,, add your bromine floater,, retest your water weekly, and refill your floater once a week with new bromine tablets. And number six,: once a week, add non-chlorine or chlorine shock depending on how your water looks and how often you use your hot tub. Chlorine shock will clear up murky water and quickly kill bacteria and contaminants. Non-chlorine shock, AKA oxidizer, is a gentler option that helps reactivate your bromine.

And Finally,, here's how to switch from chlorine to bromine in a hot tub. If You're already using chlorine,, making the switch to bromine is actually quite easy. The Next time you drain your hot tub and change out your water,, simply add bromine instead of chlorine. Just Never mix chlorine or bromine chemicals together outside of your hot tub.

And Consider buying a fresh floating dispenser. Once You start using bromine, do not use chlorine pods or chlorine granules, but like we said,, chlorine shock is okay to use. If You need more help with hot tub care, Be sure to grab our free hot tub cheat sheet at SwimUniversity.com/SpaSheet. And If you found this video helpful, be sure to subscribe and check out our channel for more tutorials.

That's it,! thanks again and happy soaking.