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Is Spa Up just baking soda?


Susanj

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I decided to switch from using SpaUp to baking soda. Same stuff, right? But could they be different somehow? Spa Up says to add 3 Tb for my size hot tub to raise pH. I started with 5 Tb based on my past experience with this tub and it ended up needing 13 Tb!  I did two at a time, waiting 30 minutes in-between each before retesting. Took forever. 

This is at our vacation rental and there have been 2 groups since I was last here and our service guy comes out after each one,  but he's obviously not adding enough. That's the problem in a rental. NONE of them keep adding and retesting. They check it and then throw some chemicals in and leave. But who'd have guessed it would take this much? That's why I'm wondering if it was because it's baking soda now.
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In general, there are two chemicals used to raise pH of spas and pools.  Sodium carbonate powder is stronger, will raise pH more per pound.  So one needs to be careful when handling it, as it by itself has pH about 10.

Sodium bicarbonate powder (such as Arm & Hammer baking soda) will raise the pH if low or close to proper level.

The container labels should detail exactly what the chemical is. 

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My Spa Up says soium bicarbonate,  but I wondered if there are stabilizers or some inactive ingredients that don't have to be labeled.

 I've never before seen it needing this much to raise the pH. Though maybe it wasn't because I switched to baking soda-couldve been a coincidence.

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7 hours ago, Susanj said:

My Spa Up says sodium bicarbonate,  but I wondered if there are stabilizers or some inactive ingredients that don't have to be labeled.

 I've never before seen it needing this much to raise the pH. Though maybe it wasn't because I switched to baking soda-couldve been a coincidence.

If you need more than sodium bicarbonate to raise the pH, then look for something that states "sodium carbonate" instead.  You can use something for pools, doesn't have to be a "spa" product.  See Pooltime pH Up from Home Depot  https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pool-Time-6-lb-pH-Up-23556PTM/302895491, stocked in most stores, it's sodium carbonate, I can see that on the SDS sheet. 

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/b1/b101bd67-79ed-4964-a10f-11dcc0b40815.pdf

Or sodium carbonate from pool store or Walmart or Lowes....

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sodium Carbonate (Soda Ash) will raise pH much more than Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda). Both raise Alkalinity about the same amout. So if you use Baking soda, you may raise the alkalinity too much by the time the pH is correct. Since a spa doesn't need much, I would just buy the right pH up that uses Sodium Carbonate , no bicarbonate.

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  • 3 years later...

The best ro system is a free chlorine system. If you have a salt water swimming pool this would be best because the salt in the water naturally add to your alkalinity levels, which can help with maintaining itself on its own. This type of system works by adding only non-chlorine shock weekly to maintain it enough so you don't have to buy huge amounts of chemicals, wasting money.

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I have considered this but how would it do for a vacation rental with variable use? Sometimes 6 people who may have lots of sunscreen, lotion etc , and sometimes 2 or none. The Frog system with the slow release chlorine cartridge seems to work pretty well , releasing what is needed , since I can’t be there daily. We have someone to service it after each rental of usually 3-4 nights, but sometimes a week. 
 

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