Thank you chemistry geek. The sticky says we should add FC even during a soak as to not get FC to zero. Is that correct? Is it safe to add bleach while you're in the hot tub? I thought we usually bleach and jet an hour before use or after use only?
Most people just start with 1-2 ppm FC and if it goes to zero during a soak then the monochloramine that is formed will still have some slower disinfection. For commercial/public spas you'd want the active chlorine level in the water at all times, but for residential spas the risk is lower especially if you are soaking just with your family and not strangers. Bacteria under ideal conditions double in population every 15-60 minutes so with normal soak times you aren't going to get much uncontrolled bacterial growth. So the only issue is person-to-person transmission of disease such as viruses.
Your adding chlorine after your soak will kill off most pathogens in the water so will prevent uncontrolled growth and have the spa water be in good shape in time for your next soak. It's up to you if you want to start your soak with a higher FC so that it will last through your soak. Most people don't do that because you'll notice more of a chlorine/chloramine smell. As for adding chlorine during the soak, again up to you but I think it's more convenient to have the FC level be higher at the start of the soak if you wanted to keep the FC up throughout the soak.
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