One thing is for certain and that is that if the water in your spa isn't regularly treated, bacteria will begin to flourish in it. The problem is that they are too small to see and your water can look just fine when it isn't, so regular testing is a definite necessity.
By far, the most common method is to use safe and easy to handle water test strips. They are simply dunked into the water and a color change will indicate the level of available chemicals that are in your spa water. You can keep a package of them out by your spa and simply give it a check every day or so.
The two chemicals that you will be using to treat the water in your spa are called chlorine and bromine. They are both classified as being caustic, which means that they are the opposite of acids which are classified as being acidic.
Both of these chemicals can be harmful to your skin if they come into contact with it when it is wet. It is for this reason that you should always wear rubber gloves when you are handling them. There are however, spa treatment tablets that are now available that gradually release their chemicals into the water.
Both chlorine and bromine in pure gaseous form are highly dangerous. In fact, breathing either of these two gases can result in serious tissue damage and even death. Perhaps you have heard of chemical warfare that was used during World War1? Well these were the two chemicals that were used.
Don't worry about either one of these chemicals being any type of danger when you are using them though. This is because in order to produce them as a gas they have to be combined with a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid. Still, all spa chemicals should be kept locked up, well away from curious children.
