The Complete Chemical Kit

Honest answer: it depends on the spa and how often it's used. As a working guide, on a 4–6 person acrylic hot tub used a few times a week, the chlorine granules and the pH up are the first to need restocking — typically two to four months in. The pH down (1 kg) often outlasts the pH up because tap water tends to drift alkaline more than acidic. Foam free, scale control and spa clear last meaningfully longer — six months plus is common for those.

On an inflatable or patio spa with smaller water volume, doses are smaller and everything lasts longer. On a swim spa, doses are bigger and the kit runs through faster.

Follow the dosing guidance on each chemical container, and test as often as your spa's usage pattern requires. Residential and commercial use have different routines, and the right cadence varies with how heavily the tub gets used between water changes. The 50-strip pack in the kit is enough for sensible regular checking through to the next water change for most owners.

Practical rule that catches most owners safely: test before each use. If something's drifted, dose to bring it back, run the pump, retest before getting in.

Both work. We ship stabilised chlorine granules in the kit because chlorine is the more forgiving of the two for new owners learning the rhythm — if you over-dose chlorine, the level drops back to safe in hours; bromine's harder to recover from a slip. Chlorine also reads more clearly on the test strip pads.

Bromine remains the right call for some owners — high-temp use, indoor installations, customers with chlorine-sensitive skin. We sell bromine separately in our chemicals range; if you want to swap your routine to bromine, do it on a fresh fill rather than mid-cycle.

Yes to all three — with caveats. Inflatables: use the granules rather than chlorine tablets (tablets are designed for hard-shell skimmer dispensers and over-concentrate on inflatable shells). Smaller water volume, smaller doses. Patio spas: same eight chemicals, smaller doses, kit lasts longer. Swim spas: same chemistry, much larger doses — the kit is a sensible starter but you'll get through chlorine and pH balancers faster than on a hot tub.

Fill the spa, run the pump for 30–60 minutes to circulate. Test alkalinity, pH and sanitiser. Adjust alkalinity first — pH won't hold steady without it. Bring alkalinity into band, run the pump, re-test. Then adjust pH with pH up or pH down. Bring pH into band, run the pump, re-test. Then dose chlorine per the container's printed guidance. Run the pump for the time the chlorine label states before getting in. Add scale control on the fresh fill if you're in a hard-water area; spa clear and foam free are reactive top-ups for later.

The printed guide in the kit covers this in detail. If it's the first spa you've owned and you'd rather have it walked through with a person, call 01293 824 094 — ten minutes on the phone covers it.

No — not chlorine. Granular chlorine doesn't dissolve evenly until it's circulated, and concentrated patches will irritate skin and eyes. Always dose chlorine into water that's circulating, with no one in the tub, and wait the time the container's label states before getting in.

The reactive products (foam free, spa clear) are okay to add with someone in the tub — squirt of foam free onto the bubble crown, dose of spa clear onto the surface — but it's still cleaner to dose, run the filter for 10–15 minutes, then carry on using the spa.

About 2–3 years sealed, stored cool, dry and out of direct sunlight. Each container has a printed best-before date — check those if the kit has been sitting in storage. Once opened, granular chemicals (chlorine, pH up, pH down, alkalinity) keep well if the bucket is sealed between uses; liquid chemicals (foam free, scale control, spa clear) hold up similarly with their original caps.

Things that shorten shelf life: heat (above 30°C for extended periods), frost, direct UV, and contamination from another chemical or moisture getting into the bucket.

The kit's price advantage is on the first purchase — the eight bundled products work out at roughly half the price of buying them individually. When you restock, ordering the full kit again costs more than topping up the chemicals you've actually used. Most owners restock chlorine, pH up and alkalinity boost first; the others hold over.

Browse our chemicals range for individual top-ups. The reusable bucket and the unfinished products from the first kit carry on as your kit caddy.

Yes — every container has full UK CLP safety labelling, and full Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are available on request. Email service@canadianspacompany.com with the product name and we'll send the relevant SDS PDFs. Useful for commercial users who need them for site files; not usually requested by domestic users.

Photograph the container and the packaging, then contact us within 14 days at service@canadianspacompany.com or 01293 824 094. We'll replace the container at no charge. Concentrated chemicals don't always survive a knock in transit gracefully; this is the rare event but we'd rather know than have you make do.

Yes — 01293 824 094, UK office hours, Redhill, Surrey. Water-care queries are routine for the team; ten minutes on the phone walks most new owners through their first fill, and we'd rather you started right than fight a wonky water chemistry for two weeks. Also service@canadianspacompany.com if email's easier.