Hot Tub Stabilizer 101
Hot tub stabilizer is used to bond with the chlorine, preventing this reaction. It stops the chlorine from quickly breaking down, eliminating the need to constantly be adding new chlorine and saving you money by using fewer chemicals.
Because chlorine is so unstable in the presence of the sun, a hot tub stabilizer is needed to prevent its degradation. Hot tub stabilizers are usually composed of cyanuric acid which easily binds to chlorine molecules. These bonds make the chlorine much more stable and more effective at eliminating bacteria and germs.
If the stabilizer level is too high in a pool, it will lock the chlorine molecules, rendering them ineffective as a sanitizer. This usually happens as a result of using chlorine tablets that contain cyanuric acid.
If it is too low, you would add an alkaline material, typically sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate. They will usually be labeled pH up or increaser and ph down or decreaser. Stabilizer - if it is too low, you add cyanuric acid.
Pool stabilizer is also known as pool conditioner, chlorine pool stabilizer, chlorine stabilizer, or Cyanuric Acid. And you can buy this chemical additive as either liquid or granular (powder). It's also included in chlorine tablets or sticks (called trichlor) or shock (called dichlor).
In the pool industry, Cyanuric Acid is known as chlorine stabilizer or pool conditioner. Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is a pool balancing product used to help chlorine last longer. Chlorine, in its natural form, is unstabilized—which means it degrades when exposed to sunlight.
Cyanuric acid (CYA), also called stabilizer or conditioner, is used in pools and spas exposed to the sun to reduce the rate of decomposition of available chlorine by ultraviolet rays in sunlight. Stabilized forms of chlorine, such as dichlor and trichlor, contain CYA in their formulas.
Direct sunlight received by your pool
Without any stabilizer, the sun can destroy up to 90% of the chlorine in two hours. The energy contained in UV light from the sun causes the hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ions formed from the reaction of chlorine and water to break apart in a process called photolysis.
But not every pool owner needs to worry about CYA levels. Because cyanuric acid protects chlorine from the sun, it's really only required for outdoor pools (or indoor pools with some ultraviolet light exposure). CYA stays in a swimming pool for a long time, even after the water evaporates.
There are two methods you can use to dissolve stabilizer into your pool water. You can either add the stabilizer to a pool skimmer box sock and hang the sock in front of the return jet or place it in the skimmer box. Or you can simply mix it in a bucket of water first and dump it into the skimmer box.
Because of the importance of stabilizer, there are unfortunately no alternatives. If you stopped using it, you would continually struggle with chlorine levels, bacteria, and algae. We understand that all the chemicals needed to keep a pool looking healthy can add up and become costly.
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity. Many commercial pool products for raising alkalinity utilize baking soda as their main active ingredient.
The addition of a cyanuric acid stabilizer to pool waters treated with chlorine is necessary to protect the active life of chlorine and its derivatives in the waters from the damaging effects of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. When exposed to UV rays, chlorine evaporates rapidly.
A swimming pool stabilizer is a chemical that helps protect your chlorine chlorine so it can effectively sanitize your pool. It does this by stabilizing the chlorine molecule that would otherwise breakdown in direct sunlight. You should only add stabilizer if your levels are below 30ppm.
What can you use instead? Bromine — considered a safe substitute for chlorine. Looks for BCDMH tablets, which are typically 66% bromine and 27% chlorine. If unable to find, you can use just bromine but it may leave the water a dull green color.
Liquid chlorine is an unstabilized chlorine and does not have any stabilizer (cyanuric acid or CYA) in it. This means that if used in a pool that is located outside and the water has no stabilizer or conditioner already in the water, the UV rays in the sun will degrade the chlorine in about 9 hours.
Baking Soda is used for raising the total alkalinity of the pool, which is the key to keeping the ph in balance. It's not a stabilizer.
This package of trichlor chlorine tablets can treat pools, spas, and hot tubs that have up to 5,000 gallons of water. Due to the stabilizer in these tablets, the chlorine released into the pool water is resistant to UV radiation, slowing the production of chloramines.
When all the other chemicals, such as chlorine. pH and alkalinity, are balanced, add the chlorine stabilizer. Add the stabilizer only after the filter has been backwashed to ensure it is cycled through a clean filter. Add the stabilizer slowly through the skimmer as per the product's instructions.
To raise the cyanuric acid level in your spa pool, you need to add a chlorine stabiliser product containing cyanuric acid. Follow the dosage instructions carefully in line with the volume of your spa or pool water. If unsure, add small amounts and test.
Most often, the only time you'll need to add any significant amount of CYA is when you open your pool for the summer. After that, if you use stabilized chlorine each week, you're adding a little CYA every time.
Regular bleach, or sodium hypochlorite – contains no cyanuric acid. Household bleach is normally a 5% or 6% strength, while commercial strength bleach for pools is generally 12.5% strength, and delivered by truck and hose.