Disinfecting your hot tub or pool water

You can prevent illness from hot tub and pool use by learning about and maintaining safe water quality. If you own a hot tub, spa pool or swimming pool, it's your responsibility to ensure it is clean and the water is properly disinfected to prevent the spread of disease-causing bacteria and other pathogens.

To keep a hot tub or spa pool clean and safe, you need to to maintain the proper level of disinfectant. Chlorine and bromine are the most commonly used disinfectants and both kill viruses and bacteria. However, they also react with organic material in the water including dirt, soap, shampoo, body oils, perspiration, food and drinks.

The more hot tubs and pools are used, the faster the disinfectant in the water gets used up, so you also need to ensure that your tub or spa is regularly cleaned to remove the build-up of these contaminants. The use of hot soapy water and brushing will usually suffice (please go to cleaning guidance page).

Make sure you frequently check the level of chlorine or other disinfectants in the water, and add more if required. Also, make sure you know the bather load of the hot tub or pool (how many people can use the tub at a time), and do not allow more than its limit.