Most Popular Hot Tub Products On Amazon
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This article is a list of the 10 most popular hot tub products that spa owners buy from Amazon.com. Similar to this article about the 10 most popular swimming pool items that people buy from Amazon, this article looked at the 100 most commonly purchased hot tub items that people buy from Amazon.com and condensed it down to the top 10 items.
Hot tubs have quite a few regular purchases that you need to make, and buying these items online can easily reduce your hot tub maintenance costs significantly. With the convenience of ordering online combined with being the cheapest possible place to buy your products from, it is little wonder why people by the thousands are buying their hot tub supplies online now. With swimming pools and swimming pool supplies being so large it is inevitable that you will need to visit a local brick and mortar store, or deal with a local contractor or service person at some point. This is not true for hot tubs. It is possible to maintain your spa exclusively with products that you order online...and it actually would cost you less of you did. Take a look at these 10 most popular hot tub items that people buy from Amazon.
Nature2 Mineral Stick Replacements
These replacement Nature2 mineral sticks
are needed once every four months in your hot tub. These mineral sticks contain copper and silver minerals which act as a bactericide and algicide to help keep your water clean and safe and with minimal use of chemical sanitizer. These replacement spa sticks are designed to work inside of your hot tub filter and do not require a floater or in-line canister. Simply place inside your filter every four months. You need to balance and maintain the water like normal, but you will notice that you need less sanitizer, and less water corrections overall.
Hot Tub Test Strips
Pool and spa water test strips
were also on the list of the 10 most popular swimming pool products that people order online. It is even more fitting that these test strips are included in this hot tub list also. The small volume of a hot tub means that the bather load has a drastic effect on the water chemistry. Unlike a pool which tends to change water values slowly, hot tubs can have wild swings in the water chemistry. Combine this with the fact that a poorly treated hot tub is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and it is easy to see why you should be testing your hot tub water chemistry often. While the pH measurement on testing strips may leave some accuracy to be desired, the quick test to see whether you have sanitizer in the water or not is extremely important. Most water quality and clarity issues in hot tubs could be prevented if it was noticed sooner that the sanitizer level had fallen to zero.
Hot Tub Bromine Tablets
Bromine tablets
are one of the more expensive regular purchases that you will need to make for your hot tub. The cost of bromine (being higher than chlorine) is one of the main reasons that chlorine is more popular than bromine for swimming pools. Bromine is actually more user friendly than chlorine, and the pH range that hot tubs tend to operate in favor bromine over chlorine. If you are going to use bromine rather than chlorine then you are paying a premium for this, which makes it especially important to find the lowest cost source for your bromine. It is also important to note that lower price is not always lower cost for bromine products since high quality compressed bromine tablets will last three times longer than low quality ones with fillers used to bulk up the product.
Hot Tub Shock (oxidizer)
While bromine might be the most individually expensive product that you need to add to your spa regularly, using a non-chlorine oxidizer shock is the number one method that I recommend for reducing the amount of chemical sanitizer that you use in your water. Every single time you get out of your hot tub you should be adding one tablespoon of non-chlorine shock per person. This reactivates spent bromine salts which means that you can recycle the existing bromine in the water instead of constantly adding more. In addition to adding an oxidizer every time you get out of the water, you should also be adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup per week to the water whether you use the spa or not. Be careful that you do not raise the bromine level too high by adding oxidizer and always verify the bromine level in the water before using the spa to make sure it is safe.
Spa Frog Replacement Cartridges
This Spa Frog cartridge refill kit
comes with four bromine cartridges and one mineral pack intended for the Spa Frog floater
system. This is similar technology to the Nature2 mineral system in that silver and copper are added to the water to help combat bacteria and algae which results in less chemical sanitizer being needed in the water. Also similar to the Nature2 system you can also get the Spa Frog mineral purifier
that does not need a floater or bromine cartridges, but instead installs inside of your spa filter. You should still be using bromine or chlorine in addition to the mineral cartridge. If you use the in-filter cartridge instead of the floater simply use a bromine floater in the water, or regular dosing with granular sanitizer.
Oil Absorbing Sponges
While these oil absorbing sponges can be used in either swimming pools or hot tubs, the hot water environment of a spa really makes them ideal for use in hot tubs. Swimming pools also develop oils on the water from swimmers, sun tan lotions, cosmetics and sweat, but hot tubs are far more of a concern. The amount of sweat and lotions in a spa is many times greater than that of a pool simply due to the volume of water in relation to the bathers. Add to this that at 104 degrees sweat will be pouring off of you and you have a perfect situation for developing an oily slick on top of the water. The Scumbug is an oil absorbing sponge that will last between six months to one year. Simply allow to float in the water and periodically squeeze out and clean it with a phosphate free soap (like hot tub filter cleaner).
Replacement Hot Tub Filters
If you are getting your replacement hot tub filters from a local dealer then you are almost certainly paying more than you need to for them. While the average filter should last a year or more, there are a lot of reasons why a filter will fail early or need replacement sooner than that. When you buy your hot tub filters online you will be paying far less markup than in any pool store, and almost every brand, make and model of hot tub filter is available on Amazon. Ideally you should have two hot tub filters on hand at all times so that you can have one in the spa and one clean one on standby to put in when the one in the spa gets dirty. Soak with a non-foaming, no-phosphate detergent in hot water, rinse, and set aside for use in the spa again. You should be switching and cleaning your filters ever one week to one month depending on how often the tub gets used. In the event of cloudy water or foam/bubbles replace the filter with a clean one right away.
AquaFinesse Spa Water Treatment
AquaFinesse
is a rather unique product in the pool and spa market that is designed to help reduce on the day to day maintenance of your spa water. It does this by reducing the amount of biofilm that exists inside of your plumbing lines, as well as preventing new biofilm from forming. This vastly reduces sanitizer demand in the water. Additionally AquaFinesse causes bacteria to group together and be removed by the filter. While not an enzyme based product, AquaFinesse does succeed in reducing sanitizer demand as well as reducing fluctuations in the pH of the water through a proprietary blend of scale reducing minerals and mineral salts. AquaFinesse does not list exactly what is in their products so there is no definitive information about how it works other than that it works.
Battery Powered Hot Tub Vacuum
This is a cordless hot tub vacuum
that operates off of battery power. This is the ultimate in convenience items for hot tubs as it allows you to essentially "water vacuum" your entire spa in only a minute or two. The main reason that hot tub owners do not have one of these already is simply that they didn't know it was an option. While they make similar (slightly larger) products like this for swimming pools, a pool is simply too large to get the maximum benefit from this product. The Aqua Broom is the perfect size for hot tubs and a very popular spa item sold on Amazon.
Weighted Spa Cushions
This weighted spa pillow
is very popular with hot tub owners for a few reasons. First, this pillow is weighted so it will not float making it a lot easier to use underwater. It is also fast draining, and more importantly mildew resistant, which is obviously important if you want a spa cushion to last in this environment. You can use this product as a head rest however it is ideally used as a booster seat for shorter people. This cushion provides up to five inches of lift. This pillow also comes in a weighted headrest
style which is perfect if you want to set the height of your spa pillow and have it stay where you put it.
Hot Tub Scents
Just as with the article about the 10 most popular swimming pool items on Amazon where I included a bonus popular item that I do not endorse, this 11th hot tub item from Amazon is one that I do not recommend. Adding scented products
to your spa water will most likely result in higher TDS levels, oil in the spa filter, as well as foam buildup when you use the jets. Most spa scents are oil based and even moderate use will result in more frequent filter changes being required, higher sanitizer demand, foam in the water, as well as listless and dull looking water. For those who really like to use hot tub scents I recommend to double your maintenance schedule (filter cleanings and water changes), or consider using scents only shortly before you are ready to flush, drain and refill your spa.
Buying hot tub products online is a great way to save money on your hot tub care since you are paying the least possible markup on the products that you use. The average hot tub owner might want to consider shopping from a local hot tub store in order to have access to local professional advice and service - however if you are the type of person to take care of everything yourself, and you are looking for the lowest cost methods to make caring for your spa convenient and easy, then ordering from Amazon is hard to beat. If you would like to read more about how to take care of your own hot tub then you can find more articles and videos here in this section about hot tub maintenance.
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