Articles on Spa Chemistry

Rethinking Spa Chemistry!  (Buddy M - EverClear Spa)

In l991 Jock Hamilton postulated the Hamilton Index system where total Alkalinity level be between 100 – 120 instead of  60 – 80.  The pH to be between 7.6 and 8.2 instead of 7.4 – 7.6. The benefit of running a higher pH is less use of a sanitizer with a more stable pH.  The Hamilton method has been used successfully for the last 12 years and is currently recommended by several Spa supply houses.

EcoOne is a product line that has widened the pH between 7.2 – 8.2 leaving the Alkalinity at 100 – 120.  With this system it is quite common to find that your pH rarely needs adjustment.  Calcium levels should be maintained between 150 – 400 ppm and never filling the spa with water that has gone through a home water softener.  Using Dichlor  sanitizer is highly effective and dissipates at a fast rate, so you can add the minimal recommended amount after using your spa and its gone by morning.  The use of Dichlor in this way ensures a clean bacteria free spa, with reduced exposure to chemicals during tub use.

No more itching, rashes, scum lines foam, etc, etc,.  I am a dealer for EcoOne and on my web site under “Instructions” you can get full details.  EverClearSpa.com

After doing extensive research on spa water conditioning my head aches trying to read through the various methods.  This is my effort to simplify spa maintenance.

A Safer Spa Maintenance Solution
By  Michael L. Wynhoff

President / CEO

Pacific Sands, Inc.

Simple Solution
There's nothing like splashing down in the hot tub after a long and stressful day. Unfortunately, maintaining clear, clean water in your tub can be a Herculean task. Hours of maintenance time and a host of dangerous, toxic chemicals that shouldn't even be stored near each other can take the joy out of owning a hut tub.

The Hamilton Index is a new approach to spa water chemistry that not only reduces the amount of chemicals needed to maintain your spa, but drastically cuts down on maintenance as well.

THE PROBLEM
The currently accepted method for maintaining pool and spa water chemistry, called the Langelier Index, was originally deigned for municipal water systems to provide sanitary drinking water without destroying underground lead pipes.

Langelier was adopted by the pool and spa industry in the 60's essentially for lack of any alternative. The index has been modified and adapted slightly over the last forty years, but has essentially remained unchanged. It is the ideal solution for the chemical companies to promote for spa care as it is nearly impossible to sustain and requires a massive amount of expensive and toxic chemicals.

According to Langelier, spa water should have a sanitizer level of 3 parts per million, a pH of 7.4 to 7.6 and total alkalinity in the range of 60 to 80. Langelier looks easy enough on paper, and it works just fine for municipal water supplies where the water is only used once. The nightmare starts when one tries to maintain these balances with water that is kept over 100 degrees and used over and over.

It is simply not possible to maintain these levels without constant tweaking of the pH, sanitizer levels and total alkalinity. Every time you add chlorine or bromine, you have to balance the pH by adding more chemicals. By adding more chemicals, you alter the total alkalinity, increase the number of total dissolved solids and create chloramines and bromamines, which are the leading cause of 'spa itch.' 

THE SOLUTION
The Hamilton Index causes us to completely rethink spa water chemistry. It is an alternative approach that has proven itself to be very effective, safe and simple. It maintains that total alkalinity should be between 100 and 120 rather than the traditional 60 to 80. The pH levels should be between 7.6 and 8.2 with a sanitizer level of around 1 part per million.

Maintaining these higher pH and alkalinity levels has a truly amazing effect on amount of maintenance required to keep your spa at its peak. You will find that you need to add chemicals to your spa once a week rather than once a day. It has the added benefit of increasing the longevity of your sanitizer and reducing the amount of chlorine or bromine required from 2 ppm to 1 ppm. The higher alkalinity helps to lock the pH in place.

When your pH remains stable, you're less likely to have cloudy water. A higher pH will reduce the amount of sanitizer needed, improve overall water clarity and is easier on the internal workings of your spa. A slightly higher pH also greatly reduces the likelihood of skin and eye irritation.

The Hamilton Index is no newcomer to the spa industry. It was developed by pool professionals specifically for use in pools and spas and was tested over the course of eleven years. Give it a try and let me know the results. I'm confident that you will substantially reduce the amount of chemicals needed to maintain your spa while enjoying the feeling that you're helping the environment as well as your health.

The Hamilton Index.
pH: 7.6 to 8.2
Total Alkalinity: 100 to 120
Sanitizer: 1 ppm (.05 ppm  in spas with ozone, depending on the system)

 Michael L. Wynhoff is the  President / CEO of Pacific Sands, Inc. (OTC BB: PFSD), manufacturer of the EcoOne Spa product line.   Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Hamilton Index™ Versus  (United Chemical Corp.)

The "Modified" Langelier Saturation Index

The Langelier Saturation index was designed for underground water pipes used by municipal water districts. The Pool & Spa industry began using it in the early 60's, as our industry had no other water balancing system to guide us. Since then we have been modifying the Langelier because we have put on limits & conditions that were never part of Dr. Langelier's original index. We are not using the Langelier Index, even though the pool & spa industry still calls it the Langelier Index.

Have you ever  wondered why there are so many opinions on how to run your pool chemistry? The answer is simple... if you base your science on an erroneous principle, then your conclusions will be inconsistent. That means the answers that the pool and/or spa professional comes up with will be inconsistent, adding to the confusion.

The Hamilton Index™, was developed by a pool technician for the pool & spa industry. This index was tested, by field service and research, over a period of 11 years. The index is so accurate, that in 20 years of field application, it has not needed to be modified. Today,  there is an estimated 400,000 pool & spas being run on the Hamilton Index™. Interestingly, in 1991, the National Pool and Spa Institute lowered the recommended total alkalinity towards the guide lines that the Hamilton Index™ has used for 25 years. But, of course, they are still calling it the Langelier Index.

Besides being very accurate,

our 3 step system in extremely easy...

Step 1

Test your total hardness (Not Calcium Hardness), that tells you where to put your total alkalinity...exactly!

Step 2

Put your total alkalinity where the chart tells you.

Step 3

Keep your pH at 7.8 to 8.2

Hot Tub Life Articles (this article was taken from Poolandspa.com)

What is the Hamilton Index ? - The Spa Guy Answers Questions

If you have a Hot Tub Spa question that you would like answered in an upcoming column, write to the Spa Guy

c/o Long Island Hot Tubs, 12 Old Dock Road; Yaphank, NY 11980.

Dear Spa Guy,

One of my friends was talking to me the other night about his hot tub spa. He mentioned to me that he uses something called the "Hamilton Index" to maintain his water. He says the water is always clear, never smells, and it sounds like he uses a lot less chemicals than me. I did not want to sound ignorant, so I told him that I used it too! What the heck is this ? A brand of chemicals, a different test kit ? Please help !

R.S., Hobbs, New Mexico

Dear R.S.,

You know, when I agreed to write this column, I figured that most of the questions would be real easy, like "what is a pump ?". However I am beginning to see that I have to put a lot more thought into this than I planned !

I guess our readers are pretty knowledgeable about their spas, and you are certainly not "ignorant" to be unaware of the Hamilton Index. As a matter of fact, I bet many of our readers already use the Hamilton Index and don't even know it !

About 6 years ago, a California research group was looking for a way to improve the chemical sanitization of hot tub spa water. What they developed was named the Hamilton Index. It involves rethinking the ways people have always been taught to care for hot tub (or swimming pool) water chemistry.

Most of the information about spa water chemistry is given to spa dealers by the manufacturers of spa chemicals. This information is then taught to the spa owners. Obviously, the chemical manufacturers would like you to use the most chemicals possible ! With the Hamilton Index, you can actually use less chemicals and have better sanitized spa water.

The basic concept is this - for many years, the accepted chemical level reading for bromine was 2.0, pH was 7.4 and Alkalinity was 80. The Hamilton Index rethinks this accepted water chemistry. By analyzing the chemical reactions down to their molecular level, it actually turns out that these "old" accepted chemical levels are neither the most economical nor the best and easiest way to sanitize water.

Over the years, we at Long Island Hot Tubs have seen that our customers have had a lot of trouble maintaining their pH and Alkalinty at the proper levels. If they boost the Alkalinity level, the pH goes up too much. When they add pH Minus to bring down the pH, the Alkalinity drops way down. They are caught in a perpetual "Catch-22" and usually end up getting very frustrated and just dump out and change the water. Proper use of the Hamilton Index specifically fights this problem of pH and Alkalinity bounce as well as cuts sanitizer use by up to 50 %.

According to the Hamilton Index, the Total Alkalinity level should be at least 100-120 instead of floating between 60 and 80. Remember, Alkalinity is different than pH and must be tested with either a test strip or a 5 part dropper bottle test kit. The benefits of running a higher Alkalinty are: less sanitizer is needed, the pH is much more stable, there is a reduced tendency for cloudy water and stale smell, makes maintaining other chemical levels easier and reduces the possibility of corrosion to metal spa parts.

The pH level should be kept between 7.6 and 8.2 instead of 7.4 to 7.6. The darker red color on most test kits is better than the middle pink/red color. The benefits of running a higher pH are: less sanitizer is needed, sanitizer is more stable, less skin irritation, less chemical smell, reduces corrosion of metal spa parts, reduces chance of algae, improves water clarity, and higher pH is automatically "locked in" when Alkalinity is at 100-120.

Your sanitizer level (bromine) should be 1.0 instead of 2.0. The lighter yellow color on most test kits is better than the middle yellow color. The benefits of this are: less sanitizer odor, less skin irritation, less inert chemical materials building up in the water, less water foaming, less sanitizer cost.

To start using the Hamilton Index, simply follow the our "E-Z Chemical Instructions" elsewhere on this Site. You will quickly find that maintaining your spa water chemistry becomes much easier, and something that you can do only once a week, rather than every few days. Feel free to call us if you have questions !

Note:  This article can be found at poolandspa.com

The EcoOne Advantage:

- No more Itching

- No more rashes

- No more scum lines

- Reduce or eliminate foam

- Stabilized pH and alkalinity

- Increases filter efficiency; easier cleaning

- Reduces and/or eliminates the majority of your spa care chemical regime including foam reducers, pH up, pH down, clarifiers, scum digesters, filter cleaning products, chlorine/bromine, etc.

- Never scrub your spa again

- Will not damage clothing

- Naturally softens your water

- Extends the life of your spa water

- Leaves your skin feeling soft

- Great for indoor spas where fumes can be noxious

- Reduction of overall maintenance.