If you’re a hot tub owner who has heard about Cyanuric Acid and wondered what it is and whether it’s something you should be concerned about, then this article is for you. Cyanuric Acid is often used in hot tubs, particularly those that use chlorine as a sanitizer. But what is it, why is it used, and is it harmful? This article will cover everything you need to know about Cyanuric Acid in your hot tub.
What is Cyanuric Acid?
Contents
Cyanuric Acid is essentially a stabilizer that gets added to chlorine products. As a hot tub owner, you might have come across this term if you’ve done any research online about hot tub information. It’s used because chlorine can easily get decimated in sunlight and in heat. Cyanuric Acid is added to minimize this loss so that you don’t have to replace the chlorine quite as often as you would if it didn’t have that in there.
If you use chlorine as your sanitizer in your hot tub, then you may be adding a product to your hot tub’s water that contains Cyanuric Acid. However, if you use bromine tablets or another form of bromine as your sanitizer in your hot tub’s water, you’re not likely going to have that in there, at least not to any large degree.
Causes of High Cyanuric Acid Levels
High levels of Cyanuric Acid in a hot tub can be caused by adding too much of your sanitizer or your shock, especially if either or both of those products contain Cyanuric Acid. To be fair, they may not actually list it on the ingredients. It may be classified as other ingredients, the way you see so often on chemical labels like hot tub products. Therefore, you may not know if your hot tub’s chemicals have Cyanuric Acid in there.
Is Cyanuric Acid Harmful?
Cyanuric Acid is considered to be very low in toxicity in the normal amounts. However, it can be harmful if the levels are way too high. Therefore, if you’re using chlorine sanitizer, you might want to get test strips that measure Cyanuric Acid so that you know what your levels are and you can make sure they’re not too high.
What Should the Correct Levels Be?
Cyanuric Acid is only going to be present if you’re using chlorine sanitizer or adding chlorine shock. The correct level of Cyanuric Acid should be somewhere between 30 and 50 parts per million. This can be measured by dipping a test strip in your hot tub water. Typically, the test strip will have colored squares that change color, and you can hold it up to your bottle to see if it’s at the appropriate level.
Symptoms of High Cyanuric Acid Levels
Symptoms of high Cyanuric Acid levels in a hot tub include cloudy and smelly water, and having to add sanitizer more frequently than usual. It is important to note that these symptoms exactly mirror having biofilm in your hot tub’s water. Therefore, if you’re seeing those things, it is important to get a test strip that measures for Cyanuric Acid.
How to Lower Cyanuric Acid Levels
If your Cyanuric Acid levels are too high, there are two things you can do to lower the levels in your hot tub’s water:
- Partially drain it: Drain a bit of water from the hot tub and then top it off with fresh hose water. Afterward, dip a test strip in and adjust other levels too, like pH and alkalinity. You don’t necessarily need to immediately add more sanitizer because the water is fresh and clean, but you’ll want to shock it maybe five to seven days after doing this.
- Use Cyanuric Acid reducer: You can purchase Cyanuric Acid reducer, which can help to lower the levels in your hot tub’s water.
Conclusion
Cyanuric Acid is a stabilizer that gets added to chlorine products. It is essential in minimizing the loss of chlorine due to sunlight and heat. However, too much of it can be harmful. It is crucial to regularly check the levels of Cyanuric Acid in your hot tub’s water, especially if you’re using chlorine sanitizer. If the levels are too high, you can either partially drain your hot tub or use a Cyanuric Acid reducer.
Leave a Reply