Hot tub sanitizer

[Bruce Koch]

We have had a hot tub for 5 years now and after about three and a half using chlorine my started to react from it. Red itchy patchs. So iI sat alone in the tub for a while until she healed up. I tried bromine and she was fine for a while and now back to the red itchy patchs. Any suggestions for a sanitizer or what to try? Thanks, Bruce

[Matt Meiser]

We have a UV unit and use a Nature2 stick. You use a non-chlorine shock with Nature2. Not sure what the shock actually is, but it says it works with bromine or mineral sanitizer (which is what the Nature2 is). There's another brand call Spa Frog or something like that that is the same thing and our dealer seems to switch every other year. We've been using it for close to 7 years now.

[Frank Hagan]

It might be pseudomonas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomonas_aeruginosa). Some anti-biotic creams will help. It sounds scarier than it is when it is merely a skin rash.

Most people don't realize the difference between a spa and a pool. In a spa, you are usually dealing with 250 to 400 gallons of water, and its hotter than in a pool (that can typically be 12,000+ gallons). You quickly raise the total dissolved solids (TDS) in a spa through the chemicals you add, the sweat from your bodies., and the rapid evaporation of the water (that leaves the solids behind). If it gets to 1000 ppm above the start, or 2,000 to 3,000, dump it out. But even if it doesn't get that high, most manufacturers say that you should change the water at least every three months (when I had a spa, and worked in that industry, I changed the water every month).

So the first thing I would do is dump the water. In most areas, you'll spend far less on water if you went crazy and dumped it every week than you would on chemicals. "If in doubt, dump it out". Then use a bit of chlorine, keep it covered, and you should be OK.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Heat accelerates the chemical reaction between your skin and the Chlorine.
So you having a rash like reaction makes perfect sense. Chlorine as you prolly know is a strong base. It's eating you alive.
Heat also accelerates the performance of chlorine as a disinfectant and also accelerates it's evaporation into the air.

I suggest reducing the amount of chlorine you are using by a substantial factor and then stay with as little as you can get away with.

UV is a fine way to kill things in the process but you still have to kill the crap that accumulates in the warm tub. so you may never be able to eliminate the chlorine 100%.

If you can't get a titration of chlorine that works for you then you might consider hydrogen peroxide as an alternative.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/764295/switch_your_hottub_to_hydrogen_peroxide.html