How Much Baking Soda To Raise Alkalinity In A Hot Tub?

Alkalinity level is very important when it comes to maintaining a hot tub. You can control the alkalinity level by using various chemicals, but this can also be done with things that you have in your home, such as baking soda. However, when adding baking soda, you need to know how much you need to add. In this article, we’ll give you a precise answer to this question. So, let’s start!

How Much Baking Soda To Raise Alkalinity In A Hot Tub? To raise the alkalinity level in a hot tub, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of baking soda per 100 gallons of water. An average-size hot tub that holds around 700 gallons of water will require 7 tablespoons to raise the alkalinity. Alkalinity levels should be between 110 and 150 ppm (parts per million).

Before you start adding alkalinity to your hot tub, you should know some basic things about alkalinity and the pH level range. It is important to have the right alkalinity level (between 110 and 150 ppm) in your hot tub for the equipment to work properly. If the level is not good, it may damage the equipment that circulates and heats the water.

Baking soda is an item that can be found in each household. Keep in mind that this item is not dangerous or harmful and can be easily bought. It can replace pool chemicals which are usually used to raise alkalinity in a hot tub. These chemicals are harsh, and their job is to lower the pH level so that the level in the hot tub is between 7.2 to 7.8. Because of their harshness, these chemicals may damage and burn your skin or the area around the hot tub if they leak.

However, this situation may be avoided by using baking soda, and you can maintain your hot tub safely. You can always check if it works and then adds more or less next time if needed. If you want to learn more, stay with us.

What Actually Is Total Alkalinity (TA)?

People often confuse and think that alkalinity and pH level are the same thing, but they are not. Total alkalinity (TA) is the measure of water’s ability to neutralize acids. What differs terms pH and total alkalinity is that pH is a relative measure that is related to water, measures the alkalinity of some solution, and total alkalinity (TA) measures the number of alkaloids that a volume of a solution has in total.

Total alkalinity is not a relative measure, and that is what differentiates it from pH. It measures alkaline chemicals that are concentrated in a sample, like tap water. Alkaloids that it measures are usually bicarbonates, carbonates, hydroxides, and others.

Can Baking Soda Be Used To Increase Alkalinity In a Hot Tub?

Yes, baking soda can raise both alkalinity and pH in a hot tub. Baking soda is a cheap product and can be found in each household. You can raise alkalinity with its help, but you need to be careful not to raise it too much. Water’s pH level needs to be between 7.2 and 7.8, and if it is higher, water will be too alkaline and damage the equipment for heating and water circulation.

If you own a hot tub and you want to move it, be sure to read How Much Does it Cost To Move a Hot Tub?

How Do I Test the Alkalinity in My Hot Tub

You can test alkalinity and pH levels in your hot tub using a single test strip. These strips are made of two test pads on each end of a strip, so you need to use 1 for pH level and 1 for total alkalinity. You can also do tests with wet chemicals, but test strips are not too complicated, and it is more convenient to do both tests simultaneously. These are the ranges for tested parameters:

How Much Baking Soda Is Required To Raise Alkalinity In a Hot Tub?

Usually, you need to add 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a hot tub for 100 gallons of water. If you have an average-sized hot tub that holds around 700 gallons, you will need to add 7 tablespoons. You can find information about how many gallons of water your hot tub holds in its manual, or you can simply search on Google and get this information.

Then, you need to turn off the jets and add as much baking soda as you need based on the above calculation but make sure to test its pH level before with test strips. After doing this, turn on the jets to allow water to circulate and keep them turned for around 3 hours. Make sure not to turn them off too early. After doing this, test pH and alkalinity again to ensure that everything is fine and safe. Alkalinity is at the correct level between 80 and 120 parts per million.

Does Baking Soda Raise the pH Level In a Hot Tub?

Yes, baking soda raises a pH level of a hot tub. To determine the pH level, you will need to use testing strips. They come with a color guide which you need to check after you test a sample of water from your hot tub. If you find that the pH is too low in your hot tub, you will need to do things differently from the instructions mentioned earlier.

Baking soda raises alkalinity levels much more than it raises pH levels, so if you want to raise your hot tub’s pH, you will need to add one ounce of baking soda into it and keep the jets running for 30 minutes. After that, make sure to test pH again and if it is still low, repeat the process. It must be in the range between 7.2 and 7.8.

Is It Possible To Raise the pH Level Without Raising Alkalinity?

Yes, it is possible to raise the hot tub pH level without impacting the alkalinity. This can be done by turning on the jets in a hot tub. If that does not help, you can use chemicals such as muriatic acid, magnesium oxide powder, and baking soda. By using this method, you can completely avoid raising alkalinity in your hot tub.

A more realistic solution is to raise one a lot and only touch the other a bit. 7.8 is the most your hot tub’s pH level should be. 7 is neutral in pH calculations, which is what you should aim for. The pH level range goes from 0 to 14, with everything below 7 being acidic.

Acidic water is dangerous for your hot tub and its equipment (pump) but also for your skin. Water with a high pH level is also dangerous for the skin and may cause redness and itching. It can also form scale (white buildup that forms on the surface above the headline) and clog or damage the pipes. That is why it is important to keep the pH level somewhere neutral.

For those who want to learn more, be sure to read Are Inflatable Hot Tubs Good in Winter?

Scale is dangerous because it can build up in hot tub pipes and damage or clog them. It can also cause its heater and pump to fail. It is important to test the pH regularly because scale build-up may clog the flow of water in your hot tub.

Both too low and too high pH levels are dangerous for a hot tub and may cause severe damage. You can use different chemicals to raise or lower the hot tub’s pH. You can choose from various brands that make products that are made exactly for this.

Here is one interesting video that shows how to raise the pool’s alkalinity by using a baking soda:

Is Low Alkalinity Bad in a Hot Tub?

If your hot tub’s alkalinity is too low, the pH will probably also drop. This can be bad for your hot tub since an acidic environment can damage its shell and surfaces that are made of metal. It is also not good for people. That is why it is important to check alkalinity and pH regularly to avoid these damages. The best would be to run these tests weekly.

Final Thoughts

As we can see, baking soda can raise alkalinity in a hot tub. It is a cheap household solution, but it works exactly the same since its ingredient is sodium bicarbonate or baking soda. It increases alkalinity but touches pH only a little since it is impossible not to raise pH at all. To raise alkalinity with baking soda, you should add 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 100 gallons of water.

An average-sized hot tub holds around 700 gallons, so you will need 7 tablespoons. If you are not sure how many gallons your hot tub can hold, you should check its manual or search on Google for your hot tub model.

After putting baking soda, you need to turn on the hot tub jets to allow water to circulate. Hot tub jets should run up to 3 hours after that, and you should check pH level and alkalinity. I hope that this article has helped you, and for any additional questions, feel free to comment below.