To help you keep all the necessary tools and chemical products in one place, we have gathered all that you need to know from our website and Guide on the hot tub. The following chemicals and accessories list will be beneficial to make your own hot tub care and maintenance kit and reinforce what you already know about the maintenance of the hot tub.
We have divided them into different categories and stages:
- Delivery and installation
- Maintaining water balance
- Filter replacements and cleaning products
- Hot tub cleaning products
- Tools & products to drain and refill a hot tub
- Tools & products to winterize a hot tub
- Tools to convert a hot tub into saltwater
- Products to repair a hot tub
- Items to improve hot tub use
Delivery and installation
| Item | Why it is needed | Outdoors or indoors |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Tub Pad | Stable and secure platform for placing a hot tub | Outdoors |
| Ground Mat | Protects the hot tub equipment and floor from water excess | Outdoors & indoors |
| Exhaust Fan | Helps to eliminate humidity in the place you install a hot tub | Indoors |
| Dehumidifier | Effectively eliminates moisture from the air | Indoors |
| Ceramic Tiles | Moisture-resistant ceramic tiles to protect the walls in the place you install a hot tub | Indoors |
Maintaining water balance
| Item | Why it is needed | How often to use |
|---|---|---|
| Test strips (Chlorine or Bromine) | To figure out what kind of chemicals (e.g., pH decreaser, pH increaser, TA increaser) you need to add to make the water clean and safe | After each hot tub use |
| pH Decreaser | Make pH and Total Alkalinity lower (the most frequent chemical balance problem) and prevent scale built-up | When pH is over 7.8 |
| pH Increaser | Make pH higher to avoid skin and eye irritation, as well as avoid metal corrosion | When pH is lower than 7.2 |
| Total Alkalinity Increaser | Avoid cloudy water and make the sanitizer work more effectively | When TA is below 80 ppm |
| Sanitizer: Chlorine or Bromine | To kill bacteria and purify the water | After each use |
| Spa Shock: Chlorine or Non-Chlorine | Get rid of organic contaminants (e.g. oil, sweat, dead skin) and enable the sanitizer to work better | Once per week |
| Chlorine Starter Kit | Avoid buying all the items separately (if you prefer a chlorine system) | Depends on the products in the kit |
| Bromine Starter Kit | Avoid buying all the items separately (if you prefer a bromine system) | Depends on the products in the kit |
Additional water care products
| Item | Why it is needed | How often to use |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Tub Water Cleanser | To remove minor particles and dirt from the water that a sanitizer cannot deal with | Weekly |
| Chemical Floater | Make maintenance process easier, just put bromine tablets in a chemical floater and let them slowly dissolve in the water, purifying it | Daily |
Filter replacements and cleaning products
| Item | Why it is needed | How often to use |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-filter | Essential for areas with hard water (full of minerals) or for those customers that want the purest form of water | Daily |
| Cartridge filter | To catch the debris and contaminants from the water | Daily |
| Sand filter | To catch the debris and contaminants from the water | Daily |
| Ceramic filter | To catch the debris and contaminants from the water | Daily |
| Diatomaceous Earth Filter | To catch the debris and contaminants from the water | Daily |
| Filter for inflatable hot tub | To catch the debris and contaminants from the water | Daily |
| Filter Cleaner | Prevent germs from accumulating on the filter | Monthly |
| Filter Deep Cleaner | Get rid of bacteria accumulated on the filter and prolong its life | Quarterly (after draining) |
Hot tub cleaning products
| Item | Why it is needed | How often to use |
|---|---|---|
| Flush Line Product | Eliminate any contaminants in the pipes | Quarterly (before draining) |
| Hot Tub Shell Cleaner | Get rid of scale build-up on the hot tub shell | Quarterly (after draining) |
| Cover Cleaner | Eliminate dirt from the surface of the cover and protect the hot tub cover from damaging UV rays | Monthly |
| Jet Cleaner | Scrub dirt from jets (hard to reach places) | Quarterly (after draining) |
Tools & products to drain and refill a hot tub
| Item | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Spa Shock: Chlorine or Non-Chlorine | Shock to circulate through the hot tub and kill any bacteria that may be present in the process. |
| Flush Line Product | To get rid of the dirt accumulated on the pipes |
| Garden Hose | To drain the water; good for small hot tubs |
| Sump Pump | If you need to drain the water very quickly (let’s say 10 minutes instead of around 1 hour when draining with a garden hose) |
| Filter Deep Cleaner | Used to deep clean filters and prolong their life |
| Shell Cleaning Spray | Used to remove dirt and organic contaminants from the hot tub’s shell |
| Cover Cleaner | Gets rid of dirt accumulated on the hot tub’s cover and protects it from harmful UV rays |
| Pre-filter | Essential for areas with hard water (full of minerals) or for those customers that want the purest form of water |
| Test strips (Chlorine or Bromine) | To figure out what kind of chemicals (e.g. pH decreaser, pH increaser, TA increaser) you need to add to make the water clean and safe |
| Sanitizer: Chlorine or Bromine | To kill bacteria and purify the water after draining a hot tub |
Tools & products to winterize a hot tub
| Item | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Spa Shock: Chlorine or Non-Chlorine | Shock to circulate through the hot tub and kill any bacteria that may be present in the process. |
| Flush Line Product | To get rid of the dirt accumulated on the pipes |
| Garden Hose | To drain the water; good for small hot tubs |
| Sump Pump | If you need to drain the water very quickly (let’s say 10 minutes) |
| Shop-Vac (optional) | It works like a vacuum cleaner and helps remove excess water and debris |
| Filter Deep Cleaner | Used to deep clean filters and prolong their life |
| Shell Cleaning Spray | Used to remove dirt and organic contaminants from the hot tub’s shell |
| Cover Cleaner | Gets rid of dirt accumulated on the hot tub’s cover and protects it from harmful UV rays |
| Antifreeze solution | Protects pipes from freezing even in the coldest weather; is safe and non-toxic |
Tools to convert a hot tub into saltwater
| Item | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Saltwater system | To convert salt into chlorine to sanitize the water |
| Chlorine generators/bromine generators | To convert salt into chlorine/bromine to sanitize the water |
Products to repair a hot tub
| Item | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Flashlight | Inspect a hot tub and find cracks |
| Dark food color | Spot a leakage point |
| Leak Sealer | Fix a small leak within 24 hours |
| Multipurpose repair plastic | Get rid of bigger leaks |
| Silicone tape | To fix a small leak in the inflatable hot tub |
| Silicone seal | To fix a small leak in the inflatable hot tub |
| Vinyl repair kit | Fix a leak in the inflatable hot tub |
Items to improve hot tub use
| Item | Why it is needed | How often to use |
|---|---|---|
| Hot tub cover | Make water clean for a longer time and cut on heating expenses | When a hot tub is not in use |
| Windscreen | Cut heating expenses and get more privacy | Daily |
| Foam insulation | Insulate hot tub cabinet to save money on heating | Once |
All these products are more than enough to install, maintain and repair (if needed) any type of hot tub (usual and inflatable one). In our guide, we have described in detail when you need to use a certain product or tool. There you will also find working tips from hot tub experts that will save your time, nerves, and money on hot tub maintenance as well as tips to prolong its lifespan.