A smelly hot tub is actually more common than you think.

Don’t be alarmed. Due to both the chemicals used and general upkeep, your hot tub smells, good and bad are common. Here, we will go over the reasons why your hot tub water smells with honest and easy solutions. With a bit of understanding, you should be back in your hot tub, fresh water smell and all, in no time.

woman with clothes pins on her nose in a spa

1. The proper pH level of a hot tub is a deal maker or breaker.

Too low means the smell of the water will have you looking for a rodent nearby. Too high and the staleness will ruin your hot tub party. Make sure that the pH level is always between 7.4-7.6 so you can keep a clean and welcoming hot tub. Most hot tub owners check this daily or every other day to ensure things are where they need to be.

2. Purchase a water sanitizer!

There are fantastic water sanitizers right here and we recommend you grab the ones best for your hot tub. It is important to not only keep your sanitizer levels high enough to kill bacteria but to keep it at this level consistently. This keeps the water clean and the odor very low. Many hot tub owners rely on the spa shock, a way of shocking your spa with strong sanitizing chemicals. Most do this after a few weeks of heavy spa use to quickly kill and shock the hot tub back into a clean state.

3. Biofilm is a real bother.

It happens when you leave your hot tub untouched for a while. While these sanitizing chemicals can help with the spa shock and cleaning the odors out, you still must deal with the trouble of Bio-film. It is exactly how it sounds and the residue and film tends to drift into your hot tub pipes and cling to the insides. You don’t see it and the filter won’t catch it like regular debris. But the odor is there, pungent and heavy, ruining your experience in the hot tub. Best bet? Use a strong tub rinse and let it sit in the water overnight before you drain it. This way, you are completely sure the cleaner worked its way through the pipes. Our selection of Master Spa Parts chemicals keep your spa water balanced, clean and clear.

4. Spa packets.

If you have double-checked everything and now know where the bad smell is coming from, you should have a solution by now. Clean your pipes, change the water, check the pH level, and spa shock every once in a while. Beyond all that, maybe you’re the type of person who doesn’t just want it to smell clean. Maybe you want it to smell amazing. There are wonderful sanitizing products available that have scents just as you would expect in an aromatherapy spa. You can definitely go with those options once you have double-checked everything else. After all, you don’t want to mask the odor of the water. Having clean and safe water should always be priority over a pleasant scent.