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This is a hot tub question....I get 50 lb bags of sodium bicarbonate which as I understand is basically baking soda from the company who supplies my water treatment systems for my well. The material is in a white powder form. In this case, the sodium bicarbonate gets injected into my water supply at a very specific rate with the intention of increasing the PH of my water supply in my house.

On the other hand, I have a hot tub and when I fill the hot-tub, the PH level is still a bit low for hot-tub standards so I go to the hot-tub store and buy their version of a product called "PH-UP" for some ridiculous price. ON this container, the ingredients are stated as 95% sodium bicarbonate and 5%-Other ingredients.

I am trying to figure out if I can use the baking soda from my well supplier in the hot-tub. I am sure if I go to the hot tub store, they will say I need their expensive little container of material so I doubt I'd get an honest answer from these them.
The pool supply place is ripping you off. Heck you could buy Arm and Hammer baking soda at Costco and it would be the same thing. The 5% other stuff is what you want to avoid and I bet the stuff you use to increase the pH of the house water is pure stuff.
That other 5% is likely sodium carbonate or sodium borate or soda ash or a mix of the three.
It'll basically do the same thing but will reduce the total alkalinity more than the pure baking soda will.
For our pool we use the Kroger version of Arm & Hammer. Same thing, 1/4th the price. Works fine.