Saltwater Spas Without Chlorine: The BluWater Salt System
The BluWater Blu Fusion salt system runs on Dead Sea bromide salt — not chlorine. Carefree Spas explains how salt-based bromine sanitation works.
Walk into our Littleton showroom and you'll hear the same question week after week: is a saltwater spa really better, or is it just a trend?
Here's our honest answer after 50 years in the business: for most owners, yes — and the system we sell is genuinely different from what most people picture when they hear "saltwater spa."
We sell the BluWater salt system — the Blu Fusion salt-based bromine generator, made in Lakewood, Colorado. It runs on bromide salt, not chlorine, and it's one of the most loved water care options we've ever offered. Here's how it actually works, and how it compares to traditional water care.
Most Saltwater Spas Make Chlorine. Ours Doesn't.
When most people talk about saltwater spas, they're describing a salt chlorine generator — a system that converts ordinary salt into chlorine. It's the standard approach in the industry, and it's also where a lot of the complaints about saltwater spas come from: it's the same chlorine, just made on-site.
The Blu Fusion system takes a different path. It's a salt-based bromine generator: a low-voltage current passes through the water as it flows through the electrode cell, converting Tru Blu sodium bromide salt into bromine — the sanitizer spa owners have trusted for decades. The salt is the only significant chemical you add to the water, and you add it just once a year.
Why Bromine Makes Sense in Hot Water
Bromine holds up where chlorine struggles in a spa. Chlorine is a gas at spa temperatures, so it off-gasses into the air you breathe; bromine stays liquid in hot water and keeps working. It isn't dependent on pinpoint pH the way chlorine is — chlorine needs the water held tightly between 7.2 and 7.6 to sanitize effectively, while bromine keeps killing bacteria even when pH drifts outside that window.
Then there's the smell. The harsh odor people associate with chlorine comes from chloramines — a byproduct that doesn't kill bacteria and isn't kind to your skin. Bromine doesn't produce chloramines, and its own byproduct, bromamine, is itself an effective sanitizer. Add in the softness salt-dissolved water is known for and you get water that feels noticeably better than hand-dosed spa water.
Dead Sea Salt — and Water You Can't Taste
The Tru Blu bromide salt BluWater uses is sourced from the Dead Sea in Israel — one of only two commercial sources of sodium bromide in the world, and the one BluWater chose over the alternative. The concentration in a Blu Fusion spa is around 1,700 ppm — well below the roughly 3,500 ppm where the human tongue can taste salt, and about one-twentieth the saltiness of ocean water.
What you notice instead is the feel: silky, smooth water that leaves your skin soft when you dry off. It's why owners with sensitive skin — and doctors who often recommend salt treatments for skin conditions — gravitate toward salt sanitation.
Low Maintenance, By Design
Because you're not adding chemicals week after week, a Blu Fusion spa gets drained and refilled once a year instead of the three or four times most sanitation regimens require. Weekly chemical dosing builds up dissolved solids and cyanuric acid until the water can't be balanced anymore — the Blu Fusion system does neither, which is what makes an annual refill possible. In a typical 400–500 gallon spa, that saves 1,200–2,000 gallons of water every year, and considerably more in a swim spa.
The system itself is gentle on your equipment and your electric bill: it draws about 20 watts — a tiny fraction of what the spa's pumps and heater use — and its electrical current is comparable to a 9-volt battery, never exceeding 12 volts. The TS model adds a sacrificial anode that protects your spa's heater, typically the most vulnerable component in any spa, from corrosion.
Made in Lakewood — Practically Next Door
BluWater Technology manufactures the Blu Fusion system in Lakewood, Colorado — a Denver suburb right inside our service area. American-made, from a company you can actually call, backed by a 3-year warranty on every component: electronics, display, and electrode cell. No other hot tub salt system on the market offers a 3-year warranty.
One caveat from the manufacturer: that 3-year warranty is provided through the dealer network, which is exactly why we recommend buying and installing the system through us. Over the 10-year life of your spa, BluWater estimates the total cost of running the system at roughly $400 a year including the initial purchase — likely the lowest of any sanitation option once time and effort are counted.
Saltwater System FAQs
Does a saltwater hot tub use chlorine?
Not ours. Many saltwater systems on the market are chlorine generators — they make chlorine from ordinary salt. The BluWater Blu Fusion system we sell is a salt-based bromine generator: it converts sodium bromide salt into bromine, so your spa sanitizes with bromine, not chlorine.
Can the Blu Fusion system be added to my existing hot tub or swim spa?
Yes — BluWater says the system can be installed on existing spas, though they recommend having a registered dealer do the installation. Proper water flow through the electrode cell is critical to performance, and the 3-year warranty is only provided through the dealer network. Bring your spa details to our Littleton showroom and we'll tell you honestly whether Blu Fusion is a fit.
Will my spa water taste salty?
No. The salt concentration in a Blu Fusion spa is around 1,700 ppm — well below the roughly 3,500 ppm threshold where humans can taste salt, and about one-twentieth the saltiness of the ocean. What you'll notice is water that feels silky smooth, not water that tastes salty.
How often do I drain and refill a Blu Fusion spa?
Once a year — after refilling, you add the Tru Blu bromide salt, and that's the only significant chemical the spa needs all year. Most other sanitation regimens require draining three to four times a year because weekly chemical additions build up dissolved solids and cyanuric acid. Blu Fusion does neither.
Is the salt system available on swim spas?
Yes. Thousands of our customers run the Blu Fusion system in both hot tubs and swim spas — and because swim spas hold more water, the annual drain-and-refill saves even more water than it does in a hot tub. Ask about it when you visit the showroom.