dm8711

Thanks guys for all your help on this topic. I learned a lot that's for sure. The links to the "How to's" are great too. Oh, by the way QUANUMCHROMODYNAMICS.......you'll forgive me if I don't mention the "Motel Pool Urine thing" to my wife won't you ? I see a K-2006 in my immediate future ! Thanks !

First of all let me apologize for an error. The Multi Shock I have now DOES NOT list available chlorine at 58.2%. It doesn't list it at all ! You were correct that it couldn't be 58.2 (Sorry about that...it was late!) Thanks for your quick response! So let me get this straight......I shouldn't be using just Dichlor to sanitize my tub ? When I bought the tub 10 years ago the spa place that sold it to me gave me a bag of GUARDEX Multi Shock, some algaecide, up, and down, some test strips,and said this is all I would ever need to keep my tub fresh. He said that the Multi Shock was a NON CHLORINE substitute. I have always just used GUARDEX or OMNI with 58% Dichlor in the tub. I have never used any straight Chlorine at all. I have always noticed in motel pools that the chlorine has a horrible odor and dries my skin badly so I was very happy not to use it in my own spa. (I realize some over chlorinate) I went back to my dealer to get more of the Guardex (a long time ago) and told him about my "film canister" method of shocking my tub and he thought it was a great idea. I have never experienced any problems at all and the water is always nice and clear. We use our tub almost daily for anywhere from 15 minutes to more than an hour. We keep it at around 101 in the summer and 103 in the Northern Michigan winter. We have City water which is not hard and very well balanced. We refill every 3 months. Only test every couple weeks. Very seldom do my test strips show the tub very far out of balance at all. (More times low than high) A little baking soda and good to go again. I clean the filter every week and a half. Filters last me a year or more without any great loss of suction. I read your posts and see that the Spa place probably wasn't exactly correct ? I thought the Dichlor was the answer to all my prayers because it made taking care of the spa seem so simple, and the tub was always clean. I can't stand the thought of straight bleach in the water as much as we use the tub. What is all the extra Cya going to do to me ? By the way in answer to your qestion, the pail I have now is GUARDEX CRYSTAL CLEAR MULTI SHOCK 58.2% which of course is the same as the OMNI you mentioned. So then would the amount of available chlorine probably be closer to 25% ? So is the stuff I just bought actually double the strength of the Guardex ? Arrrggggggh.......Until today I was not confused (about this topic anyway)! Thanks for your help.

This may have been explained previously, but in my searching forums I could not find this exact question answered. I have had my Hot Tub for quite some time. After use I have been putting a 35mm film canister (about 3/4 oz) of Multi Shock in it. This has been working great. The water stays nice and clear. Once in awhile I will super-chlorinate by putting a couple of them in. Then Baking Soda or Spa Down as needed. The price on this shock is now over $5.00 a pound. (24 lbs is around $120 - it used to be $75 for a 25# pail of it.) The Multi shock ingredients are SODIUM DICHLORO-S-TRIAZINETRIONE 58.2% with OTHER INGREDIENTS listed as 41.8%. Available Chlorine is 58% (Treat and swim as soon as 15 minutes.) I now have found a product at my local Sam's Club which is HALF the cost. It is a box of 24 one pound bags for $57.34 ! BUT, the percentages and ingredients are drastically different. Sam's "Quick Dissolving" shock ingredients are SODIUM DICHLORO-S-TRIAZINETRIONE "HYDRATED" 99% with OTHER INGREDIENTS listed at 1%. Available Chlorine is 55.5% (NO mention of being able to swim as soon as 15 minutes on this product) My question is : What is going to change for me if I choose this new product ? I don't understand the added word "Hydrated", or less "Other Ingredients", but I do see the available Chlorine is still pretty even. Thanks for any help I can get on this. (I'm a newbie here at the forum)