Sodium dichlor is bad, even a little bit. Rash & Itch anyone?

Lance Fitzsimmons aka "The Hot Tub Wizard"

May 23, 2025

This is very relevant to my post Why Sodium Dichlor is NOT Your Friend

With our new tub that we got installed last weekend, I was trying to get the Freshwater Salt System dialed in. In the last week, I added approximately 3 tablespoons of Leisure Time Spa 56 (brand doesn’t matter) which came with our tub. Our tub holds 350 gallons so it doesn’t really seem like much. The IQ system kept telling me the chlorine was low so even though I knew better, it was a matter of convenience to add the chlorine granules as we were out of bleach.

I decided to test the water for conditioner (cyanuric acid) and found there was already 30 ppm! All this in only 6 days of having the tub. In another week, our tub could be in the range where we could get hot tub rash and itching. If you want to enjoy your tub, I recommend using regular household bleach and get rid of the chlorine granules. It can be tempting to use them once or twice….because it is easy and convenient but can make your tub unenjoyable.