A chlorine dispenser is an easy and cost-effective way to make sure your hot tub retains the right chlorine level with almost zero effort. Hot Tub Chlorine Dispensers are an easy way to maintain the balance of your chlorine in your hot tub.
You can use the generic flotation devices (you can buy these for as little as £10) for both chlorine and bromine tablets.
But as chlorine is generally agreed to be the best chemical for keeping your hot tub clean and healthy, let’s take a look at how to use chlorine tablets in a dispenser.
Why Is Chlorine Important For Hot Tubs?
Chlorine is a very effective way of sanitising the water that we humans like to interact with. That’s why you’ll see it used in swimming pools, in water treatment, and elsewhere.
This chemical has the benefits of both being cheap and very good at killing water-borne pathogens. Unfortunately though, it isn’t too healthy for us humans either.
That’s why you need to keep the chlorine levels in your hot tub within the safety zone. This is often said to be between 1.5 and 3 parts per million, though some sources do suggest you can get away with 5 parts per million.
But whatever level your manufacturer recommends, adding chlorine to your hot tub regularly is vital. The alternative is dealing with the hair, dead skin cells, traces of shampoo and oils, and all the other lovely things that will slowly and unavoidably start to build up in your tub over time.
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Why use a chlorine dispenser for hot tub cleanliness?
There are several ways you can make sure your tub is getting the chlorine it needs to stay a healthy and welcoming environment for you and your nearest and dearest.
The first of these are chlorine granules. These have many benefits, which we’ve covered elsewhere. Using a chlorine tablet dispenser has benefits all of its own though, including:
1) Consistency
The tablets you place in chlorine dispensers are designed to dissolve slowly over time. This results in a consistent chlorine dose.
In theory, this means you shouldn’t need to mess around deciding on the right dosage level. Simply fill your dispenser as instructed and leave it to do its thing.
2) Minimal Effort
Dispensers save you the trouble of calculating the right dose of chlorine granules every time, providing a good baseline to work from.
However, it is worth noting that you may still occasionally have to use granules to top up your chlorine levels. This may happen if you end up doing a lot of ‘tubbing or if some other factor affects your chlorine levels (always test these before climbing in).
3) Fire And Forget (Not Forget To Fire)
Using chlorine granules can give you more flexible control over your tub’s chlorine levels. However, they also need to be added to your tub well in advance of putting your first toe in the water.
As many experienced hot tub owners will tell you, it’s very, very easy to forget to do this! A dispenser simply sits and works, doing the remembering for you.
How Do Chlorine Dispensers Work?
A hot tub chlorine dispenser is incredibly easy to operate. Simply:
- Unlock the top, usually with a twisting motion.
- Calculate the correct dose for your size of tub (most manufacturers recommend 1-3 tablets for smaller tubs, 3-5 for larger) and place them inside.
- Replace and lock the lid.
- Place the dispenser in your hot tub and allow it to float.
- Remove the floater before getting in the tub.
One vital safety note though: don’t just rely on the chlorine tablets to automatically deliver the correct dose. Always, always test the pH levels and chlorine levels in the water before you get in your tub. You can buy some very inexpensive hot tub test strips to do this with.
It’s tricky to predict exactly how much chlorine a tub will need. This depends on everything from the model to usage levels and water flow.
It’s also important to note that, unlike chlorine granules, trichlor (this is what almost all hot tub chlorine tablets are made from) is acidic. This means you need to check the chemical balance in your tub before use.
Choosing A Chlorine Tablet Dispenser For Your Hot Tub
There often isn’t much to choose between the different models of chlorine dispensers on the market. Most are essentially the same model (and if not, there is a strong trend toward a similar shape and colours!).
All your dispenser really needs to be able to do is:
- Safely contain chlorine tablets without allowing them to float freely
- Ensure the tablets don’t touch the sides of your tub, which may react badly
- Make sure they don’t escape and touch bathers, who will definitely react badly!
There are some more advanced dispenser models available, with a marginally inflated price tag to match. Yet when the job is so simple, it’s difficult to see why a basic model will not do the job in the vast majority of cases.
This is especially true when it’s so important to remove your chlorine dispenser from your tub before use, meaning no one will really ever see it anyway.
Click here to view a range of chlorine dispensers:>>
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