Regular pH testing is an essential component of proper hot tub care. Maintaining your hot tub at the correct pH keeps the water clear and free of bacteria, and also helps to extend the life of your hot tub equipment. It’s best to perform pH testing at least once per week, ideally when the hot tub is being heated.

Here are a few tips for checking the pH correctly in order to obtain accurate results:

Test the Total Alkalinity

pH issues are often related to an increase or decrease in the water’s alkalinity levels, which means that maintaining the alkalinity at the right level can in turn keep the pH levels balanced. The water’s total alkalinity should be somewhere between 80-120 ppm. Many test strips come as all-in-one kits that check the pH, alkalinity, and sanitizer concentrations at once, so depending on the type of strips you use to test your hot tub’s pH, you may not need to check the alkalinity separately.

Prepare a Test Strip

Keep in mind that you should use test strips specifically designed for the type of sanitizer used in your hot tub water. For example, test strips made for bromine sanitizers will not give accurate results for a hot tub that uses chlorine. Be sure to check the test strips’ expiry date, and recap the bottle tightly after removing a strip. Don’t wait until you’re finished testing to close the test strip bottle because, if left exposed to the air for too long, the test strips can become contaminated and inaccurate. Take a small sample of your hot tub water in a clean drinking class.

Wash Your Hands

Chemical residues and trace elements on your fingers can distort the test results, so it’s important to wash your hands before performing the test. Avoid putting wet fingers into the test strip container because this can also contaminate the unused strips.

Perform the Test

The test strip bottle should contain detailed instructions on how to perform the test. In most cases, you briefly lower the strip into the water sample, just deep enough to moisten the test pads. Then, you remove the test strip from the glass, gently shake off the excess water, and hold it horizontally, with the pad side facing up, for about 15-20 seconds. You can then compare the results on the strip to the colour-coded chart on the test strip container. The pH should be somewhere between 7.2-7.6.

Balance the Water and Recheck

If the pH is too high or too low, you can add the appropriate chemicals to equalize your hot tub’s water chemistry. After you’ve added the chemicals, it’s best to wait for about a day in order to give the water time to equalize, before retesting to check if the pH levels are now within range as a result of your chemical adjustment. Keep in mind that in order to preserve the accuracy of your test strips, it’s important to store the container in a dry, room temperature location, away from direct sunlight.

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