A very common debate among spa folks is whether chlorine or bromine is the best spa sanitizer. Both have their advantages but since chlorine is, by far, the most common sanitizer in pools, its also the most commonly used in hot tubs. That said, bromine has some distinct advantages over chlorine in a hot tub.
Unlike some less commonly used spa sanitizers, both chlorine and bromine are sanitizers and oxidizers. This means they both kill pathogens and remove biologic waste in your spa water.
Chlorine
The ability for chlorine to work effectively is strongly related to maintaining pH in the range of 7.2 – 7.6 and changing your spa water every 3 – 4 months. Chlorine also tends to dissipate out of spa water given its rather warm temperature. Lastly, the combination of chlorine and biologic wastes results in something called chloramines, which have the characteristic very strong chlorine odor.
Bromine
Bromine is equally as affective as chlorine but has none of the disadvantages of chlorine other than being somewhat more expensive. Bromine is not affected by pH imbalances, does not dissipate out of spa water, and its combination with biologic wastes, bromamines, have relatively little odor.
