B0Darc

Thanks that makes it much clearer. One of the reasons I posted those links is that one was focused on metal staining, saying that silver staining was the worst and couldn't be removed. Obviously all of this chemistry is specifically about concentrations and buffered solutions, I'm just trying to get granular clarity on how much is good and at what point it's bad. Silver being just one element in the mix, and something allegedly being added to my spa by a mineral type filter (I'm sure in a small amount). Adding colloidal silver as mentioned in that old post from here sounds like a way to get silver staining unless you were very careful... and had sophisticated water testing equipment to test precise metal (silver) concentrations. I think we're all safe with our little mineral add-on type filters as we are adding by "erosion" or what will casually dissolve from our mineral filter ...as opposed to pre-dissolved colloidal silver which I don't think anyone is recommending. ..still an interesting topic on it's own! I'll give the iron problem a mention as that was the topic, and try to get that train back on the tracks. TinyB was questioning whether a sequestrant would block the good metals like silver. I would intuitively think that X-amount of sequestrant would work on X-amount of metal, but the silver is always being added by the mineral filter, so even if it was initially reduced it would also continue to be released as the add-on mineral filter did it's thing, so the advice from the manufacturer makes sense. Iron would only be added when water was added, so if Iron/manganese is a problem you should definitely add the metal sequestering chemicals... a very good reason to get your water analyzed. If your intentions were to have a more mineral based spa (EcoPur or Nature2?) and you did NOT have water with high amounts of metal, adding sequestrant would be unnecessary and perhaps even counter to the goal of having specific metals acting as anti-microbials ...but I'm no expert! Thanks for the expertise ChemDude!

The Stirring mixers are all great, they even have a very strong tiny ginger ale which is a little overpriced but top notch... she likes the little girlie sized (6 oz?) bottles. Yeah we had a little run of watermelon-tinis over the summer, with watermelon vodka and Stirrings watermelon, and sugar-free lemon-ade. See? I just add -tini to the end and it's a Martini (to me) Hhaha for me anything in a martini glass passes for a martini in the hut tub. Your mention of acrylic drinking glasses should also get repeated... best to keep glass away from the spa, especially when they're filled with "frosty beverages" That's an entire different thread "How do I get broken glass out of my spa?" "...with an ounce of prevention" I would answer. Seriously tho... Mañana-tinis are very very refreshing when you're getting all dehydrated in your spa ...very therapeutic even without the vodka. For all we have tried, we have somewhat fixated. Instead of buying expensive Mango extractions you can simply buy the cans of Mango juice in the Spanish foods aisle, that leaves more money to waste on overpriced ginger beer to add! ...I won't even start the Potato Vodka vs. thread wrong forum!

LOL! busted... well mango juice has lots of vitamins so it's countering all the bad effects of the vodka hhaha. That's what I keep telling myself. They're called Manana-tinis. I look forward to your posts on how to remove pimentos from your spa filter ... oh that's right, the dishwasher on rinse! Oh I forgot to ask are you using straight powder soap in there or the spot removing packets? Seriously... I read about cleaning them with dishwasher powder (plain old Cascade). Oh and be careful of not splashing spa water into your drink...9/10 vodka 1/10 spa water is not a dirty martini.. thats a Nastini The Thermospa box? ...makin' one!

Dave you may have a chemical incompatibility... I just read this and it says not to use Shock in high amounts with their product. Try to find more information about your product online... the label might be a little short on specifics... look about half way down this web page re: Shock MPS http://www.swimpool.com/products/salttreat.htm

Chloe, I'm not a Dr. (but I play one on the Internet <heh>) it sounds like hot tub rash (you mentioned bumps) However there are other causes like allergic reactions. Someone else mentioned an older post and it may help. You may want to switch from bromine to chlorine and you may want to investigate a mineral filter. Take a minute to look through this overly complex post realizing you are only interested in a portion. If you don't understand the different types of spa sanitizing, simply put there are several types and they are incompatible. You must start fresh and not change mid stream. http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.ph...pic=9956&st

Oh look I'm replying to my own posts! ...so lonely Thanks ChemHombre I looked and found the post I believe you mentioned...good stuff. Nothing beats a good statistical/chemical analysis... gets rid of all those "I think, I believe" http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.ph...pic=9956&st One complaint I have about this forum is that the same questions get repeated and the information/solution is the same. Some Moderators need to meet to collate some of the good information into a sticky FAQ Thanks tho I am learning alot! Bo

Thanks for all the answers... there were way too many questions pardon my flow. The quandary is that apparently I have a filtration system that works to deliver silver etc to the water with a promise to reduce the need for higher chlorine ( EcoPur says 1ppm instead of 3-5) Meanwhile metals are getting blamed for staining and cloudyness. Interesting. This is what I was trying to say with humor... someone is lying to me! ...or I need a clearer understanding. Silver is really getting the hard sell... products like Microban being in everything including kitchen coutertops (on the non-OEM replacement filter for my EcoPur). However the silver topic is fascinating. For the *real* truth (LOL!) let's go to the Silver Institute http://www.silverinstitute.org/news/4d1997.htm The magnet thing was a joke TinyBubs, but I bet you somebody is trying to sell that somewhere... Chem guy let's not debate the downside of dissolved neodymium in pool water This link below has some interesting information ...I mean marketing. TinyBubs if anything I'd listen to the advice from Nature2 regarding their product. IT seems to me the sequestrant would work once (glom the metal ions to a larger filterable molecule) and be removed by filtration, then any "mineral" filter would be unaffected downstream. Also with less other metals in solution you might be getting better concentrations of silver etc. (the good stuff?) http://www.swimpool.com/products/salttreat.htm And look at this guys products... seems there are more than a few (!) different metal treatments. Chem guy it looks more like they are trying to keep the metals dissolved (citric acid, oxalic acid) so they don't cause the cloudiness/staining than they are trying to remove them (sequestrate), perhaps I am mistaken. (I've never heard of this particular product but I'm certain they're all the same... just more or less confusing/expensive!) This at least looks color-coded *wink* http://www.maipool.com/JacksMagic.html Bo

May just be time to change your water again... next reasonably warm day. I'm sure the Chem experts will give you the details but it was my understanding the "Defender" stuff really just helps keep the calcium in solution in higher concentrations.... once you hit the magic number you have a calcium problem, because when it starts precipitating it can clog filters and crystallize on equipment etc. I recently just changed out half my water since I didn't want to heat up a whole new 500 gallons

Chem Geek has anyone done any real gas phase chromatography of water treated with the various "mineral" filters? I mean to see if they actually are depositing any dissolved silver, copper, aluminum etc? (per the Wiki for "mineral filter") I have a DownEast (Master Spa) with an EcoPur mineral filter. I want to be an optimist but my cynical heart prevails... after years of false promises [a single salty tear stains the forum posting here]. Me? I'd be an unscrupulous spa dealer and try to convince people they needed magnetic filtration to remove the iron and throw these very expensive magnets into the filter compartment <evil grin> They'd be on Aisle "B" of my store across from the aromatherapy clown noses. Would it be feasible to install some kind of slow add-on reverse osmosis filtration that could run something like a slow circ pump for start-up day. It seems obvious it might get clogged quickly if run all the time, just a thought it might be good on original fill. As a pool guy you could offer the additional service to super clean the virgin water going into a tub... I don't think anyone expects their tub water to be drinkable 24/7, but filling it initially with super clean water would probably be a great start, especially where they have alot of iron in the water. TinyB I lived in FLA for 18 years and the water is... well ...not always the softest. They really should make some type of spa post-filtration that would remove iron. As a "one-shot deal" you could then use your mineral filtration without residual sequestering agents in the water.

Umbrellas? Ever look at retractable awnings? It might be a little more difficult to get an exact price without someone coming out to your property but you would probably be happier and it would last longer than one or two seasons. Hot towels! Hmm you're already sitting in a source of heat... couldn't a spa manufacturer plumb in a towel heater into the existing water circuit... the majority of the year it could be bypassed but for winter, open a valve and hang your towels on the heated pipe/tubing inside a reasonably small cabinet? Or just make a cabinet for one of those oil based heated towel bar (electricity heats oil inside metal tubing) (hahha only $1,300), OH YEAH Check this out SANTA! $59! http://www.amazon.com/Plug-Heated-Towel-Po...s/dp/B000CB06KG Martinis? half Mango juice, half ginger ale, half vodka = Vitamin A+ Vitamin C + Vitamin Alc

First I must say DO NOT TAKE MY ADVICE. I am the Spa world equivalent to a shade tree mechanic, and this should be considered anecdotal evidence... however it did fix MY problem. I have a DownEast Exeter (MasterSpa) with EcoPur filtration system (mineral add-on filter). The water in the spa was about 2 1/2 months old and the calcium had crept up to ~about~ maximum (on test strip). I ran out of dichlor and had to go to the store to pick up some more... Ooops they were fresh out, so I went to alternative store B which sold HTH brand and only had the Calcium Hypochlorite type. Things went downhill quick. First it didn't seem like I could add enough of this stuff to get a chlorine reading on test strips, and the next thing I knew I had a "LF" warning... which turns off your heater. NOT a good time of year for that! I did some debugging like trying to clear the code and clean the filters. After cleaning the filters I could get like ONE more soaking session out of it and...add some more Cal-Hypo... "LF" code again. During the course of this multiple filter cleaning, I tried a couple products and looked at some of the chemistry tips on HERE. Basically the idea is your filters catch chunky stuff and precipitated organic ~stuff~ along with oils and anything else that'll stick/absorb. The over-the-counter cleaners worked reasonably well, especially the overnight soaking kind. I also theorized I was using the icy garden hose to spray off the chunky stuff was just setting in any oils/minerals... like trying to wash your dishes with ice water... you can add soap all day and they'll still be greasy. So for the 3-4 times I soaked them ( for this problem) I brought them inside and used hot tap water and the Alkali-based cleaner concentrate (bucket method). In the end one of the best products was the milky spray-on stuff. However these all failed to deliver permanent results. It became clear it was time to drain the tub, so I drained half and refilled. I wanted it to be extra clear before I ran it with no filters overnight so it could heat and test the theory that it was indeed the filters. Plus I had bought some enzyme flush that required the tub be up to temperature (98 degrees) in order to function... total draining was next step if test failed. Now you may say that new filters would have likely solved my problem but it was a little difficult to locate filters that looked like the ones currently on my tub! Plus the filters looked nice and clean and white (!) they should be fine... not. I read on here that you could could soak your filters in a 20:1 dilution of Muriatic acid until the bubbling stopped to decalcify but I was a little leary about buying/transporting/storing concentrated pool acid at the house, just to clean filters. So I go to the pool supply and buy some enzyme flush (and Di-Chlor!) and it strikes me maybe I can buy a small amount of muriatic acid. When I tell the guy what it's for (to decalcify paper filters) he says "why don't you just use some C.L.R. (Calcium Lime Rust?)?" Doh! Now hopefully the chemistry/spa tech gurus can say yeay or neay, but it totally worked! I went to the nearby SuperMart and they had LimeAway in a spray or gel. I chose spray because I did NOT want ANY chemical residue in my filters after rinsing... gel seemed like it's be better able to cling, but that also made me think it might cling too well. The spray was perfect. It did not list on the label what the chemical was but from my own recollection the active ingredient is phosphoric acid. REMEMBER I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TO ANYONE> READ YOUR MANUAL, READ AND FOLLOW THE BOTTLE FOR MANUFACTURER DIRECTIONS, AND CONSULT YOUR DEALER> DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET. The filters had been out drying for about 12 hours so had drained pretty well. They were VERY clean from multiple soakings, nice and white. One is a pleated paper filter and one is a dense/coarse fibrous filter wrapped around PVC drilled for water flow (inner filter). I also must mention every time I soaked them the bucket (for this problem) would be disgusting and filled with totally cloudy gray water... even when the filters looked clean. I put on some chemical rated (blue) gloves and sprayed the mostly-dry filters with the LimeAway, then I put them back in the dry bucket to soak/stew. I checked on the tub which was up to temp and not showing any codes with NO filters. Now it was either time to flush it or have it be fixed with the new decalcified filters. It had been about 10-15 minutes and I took the filters and sprayed them out in the kitchen sink with the hottest tap water... hmm they were no longer bright white but more transparent. I filled the bucket with hot water and soaked them for a few minutes to remove any residual LimeAway <SWiShSwIsH> Just before putting them back in... one more shot with the powerful garden hose. It's funny how noticeably not-white they were... I mean they were both white, but they no longer looked like they were painted white (with calcium!) like before. Put them back in place and added the third EcoPur mineral filter (Only clean with water) and adjust the pH. BOOM! fixed! It's been about 3-4 days and it's working like new. The flow from the heater and the ozonator are restored and noticeably more water is coming through. I'm sure it'll be time soon enough to change my water 100% and I'm surely going to keep an eye on the Calcium Hardness. Also looks like I'm sticking with di-chlor, and maybe switching to straight bleach. The muriatic recommendation sounds like it would work just as well and it is surely the cheapest alternative for pool/spa guys who drive around with five gallon jugs on the back of their truck , but $2.50 worth of LimeAway and I think I just saved myself a house call! Conclusion: Doing the regular chemical cleaning of your filters should probably include some hot water. I could have likely just soaked my filters a couple more times in the regular filter cleaner as I was dumping dirty/cloudy water each time. Another recommendation was have an extra set of filters so you can allow one set to soak and not have it interfere with YOU SOAKING. Once your calcium hardness gets to the maximum you may be getting dangerously close to a large amount coming out of solution with say just some evaporation. The only solution is dilution... change your water, or as in my case half change it (Remember I was trying to get it up to temp for a total enzyme flush) BE SURE TO READ SOME REAL ADVICE BELOW FROM GUYS WHO DO THIS FOR A LIVING BEFORE ATTEMPTING. I'll keep ya posted if I go out there and my paper filters have disintegrated etc.!

The difference is between cotton and poly fleece. Good to remember if you're buying anyone a robe for the hottub for Xmas. Cotton is very absorbent and *holds* water and a significant amount of additives used in your detergent. Added to the looser weave of terry (even heavy terry cloth) these help conduct the heat away, plus it was likely the terry cloth was storing the cold (hanging outside near the hottub?) The poly/cotton fleece is very wind resistant and less absorbent, plus it doesn't get so measurably cold all on it's own hanging outdoors. Wash your cotton terry robe in "Free" detergent, and don't use dryer sheets and you will be able to feel the reduction in weight after a couple wash/dry cycles. Might not be as soft but might be more absorbent and warm... and remember FLEECE for Christmas! Of course deepchillie gets the prise for ingenuity here!

You would think plastic would be a cheap alternative to *real* steps, but actually I rather enjoy mine. The grooves clean junk from the bottom of your feet before you get in, and they aren't affected by all the splashing water... just hose 'em off and it's a go. Sturdy too. If you have an online source for longer ones than the ones shown (about half as long form Costco) post up the link.

I'm sure a real technician will have more to say but priming is simply getting the air out of the pump. If I understood correctly this is a "used" tub... a 5-6 year old circ pump might likely need replaced. Also remember it has to "pull" water. If that's through paper filters... they could be glogged. Mine looked clean but were loaded with calcium and had same problem. That means you may have shiny white new looking (although used because they came with tub?) filters that are totally clogged. If the impeller is worn it might spin but not pump. Can you simply hook it up to 110 and a hose into a bucket of water? ...spinning not necessarily = pumping. Of course keep the 110V and the H2O separate for God's sake... I mean, so as to not meet him in person. Bo

OH SNAP! I am stealing that one. tooo funny. DavidW... whenever the wifey and I stay at a hotel/motel/B&B it MUSt have a hottub/garden tub/jetted tub. I have no problem with draining and refilling a two person tub, and it would certainly have everything to do with how often you use it. Without re-reading it sounds like it's inside (?) and some of them look like they are just made to drain and refill... as in they have a permanent tub-like drain. So to each his own... we also came very close to buying a two person replacement for our master Suite tub. Did you read the Epsom Salt thread? ...that was interesting. Sounds like exactly the kind of thing that could work for a smaller tub. My only point was you might get in it more if it was always ready. http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/about_bett...ugh_soaking.htm http://www.physician-nutrition.com/newslet...sletter0904.htm

TinyBubbles, what kind of liquid do you buy? I love the smell of plumerias, so I'd like to find what you use! Thanks! Now I was just kidding about putting perfumed cotton balls into clown noses, but the concept is actually sound. Scents are often delivered on volatile chemicals that will melt your plastic tub shell, and I'm NOT talking about scents made FOR hottubs. I mean scents you might find at a health food store or cosmetic store... scents NOT made for hottubs. Most of the ones we have tried that were FOR hottubs just smelled like a particular brand of soap or shampoo. Basically adding a scent to the water isn't really necessary although nice. Everyone has a favorite scent, but there are really too many to make that would be nice and OK for the water and the acrylic shell of your tub, and that is likely the reason the scents available smell so familiar (shampoo/soap). Non-hottub scents delivered by some oil or solvent (evaporates easily to carry the scent) may not only hurt your plastics but clog your filtration... over time. So finding something compatable to actually put IN your hottub is very limiting for any sophisticated scents. What I was trying to say was you can find other ways to scent the air around your hottub if you get creative, just realise some of the hazards... like electrocution from your electric potpourri simmerer falling in the tub. See? so not all ideas are workable... but a metal bowl of nice fresh Plumeria scented potpourri could work... or simple candles. Just remember to protect YOU first (broken glass, fire, electric shock) and the hottub second. This task might be more easily accomnplished if we stopped focusing on ways to scent the water itself... somehow I am guessing companies have already spent small fortunes investigating that one. Let us know if you come up with something brilliant! hey I've already invented aromatherapy clown noses and shower caps... [puts on cape and leaves the stage] Bo

Interesting... you might just try an experiment. The testing basis would be similar to the understanding that you aren't saving any gas if you shut off your car at red lights because it uses extra gas to restart the car ...but please let's not debate that. Follow everyone else's advice and also leave your spa warmed up. Don't drain it and learn more about the chemistry of maintaining it. I bet it's cheaper, and I bet you'll be happier. How many times have you had the impulse to jump in for a few minutes but had to say "no" because it wasn't ready? ...kinda removes the spontaneity a bit, eh? Think of the MILLIONS of people soaking in their own 3-month old biological stew and feeling great... ok ok maybe it's better if you don't ever think that again Mr. IVisualizeStuffLikeThis. I am familiar with the two person tubs and it sounds like it makes sense to just drain and fill, but realize how perfect you could make that well water with the proper conditioning. haha then start jumping in there every morning and every night! Even water out of the tap was previously undrinkable before they did similar treatment. ...and TinyB you need to get some new friends I mean that's a deal-breaker for me. If you and I go to a 4 star steakhouse and you order your 24oz porterhouse "well-done" ...it is very likely the last restaurant meal you and I will share. I'm easy to get along with but there are a few things... well... never changing your hottub water completely is just... it's cheap that's what

Quite brilliant Tiny ...the idea that the filter is supposed to capture all that junk ...or more precisely trap it, so it cannot get back into the spa. White stockings... so as to avoid any dye being leeched by the chemicals... nothing more disheartening than a BROWN spa! Tank you are on to something, but I think you could only see a *real* time/effort savings with something you could throw away, otherwise you're just adding another thing to clean (sock whatever). Might be better to come up with better equipment to ease the cleaning of the pleated filter. I have a great hose nozzle with a super single jet that wails on my filters, but I'm feeling your pain. When my spa went green I found a dead frog in the filter compartment (AcK!) ...he'd been in there for awhile. Paper works in your tub because it's neutral and non-reactive, so nylon stocking sounds like an OK material... for example metal screen would be bad. I just bought some wine at the store and they put this plastic expanded mesh stuff over the bottles so they wouldn't clink together and break. Something like that might work to keep out the helicopters and not restrict the flow and NOT require any cleaning. Ok went googling and found some ideas... laundry/diaper bag. Sort of like a fine fishnet stocking, cheap and easily purchased. Mrs.Tank is going to start looking at your funny if you start having charges on your credit card for fishnet/stockings etc If anyone wants to go commercial... I found this

too funny... can't stop picturing it! ...then I imagine my own final fifteen minutes of fame ...found dead in the hottub ...used the rubber band off the brocolli ...definately too small ...cut off the (obviously already too weak) bloodflow to my brain ...catch the crime scene on YouTube. hahah how about an aromatherapy clown noses? ...they don't sell them yet so make your own (withDoc's cotton ball) ...very sexy, check 'em out http://www.justclownnoses.com/

<bowing to the Dr.> Good Stuff! [chuckle] Remember adding small incremental amounts of bath salts is only a plan if they are being used to deliver your aromatherapy. What the Chem Geek was saying is that there is validity to a salt-water soak, but realize they are using Epsom salt for these products only because are cheap, harmless, give the product some visible volume/presence, and combine the coloring and scent agents into a homogeneous glom they can whip up in a commercial mixer for packaging. There is no therapeutic strategy which would require you add regular small amounts of Epsom salt alone... although the obvious idea being a "chicken soup" thing for the purposes of aromatherapy delivery... couldn't hurt.

I think this is another "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" situation. See? Men prefer a cigar and a snifter of Remy whilst the women prefer lilac and peppermint. Hmmm so lets devise some of our own solutions... since were broke from spending so much money on an outdoor bathtub. I think we can mostly agree that aroma therapy works on a pleasure level via the olfactory sense... uh your nose. Delivering scent to your nose should be simple enough, candles seen like an obvious winner... but the question is how to get YOUR favorite scent or range of scents to your nose while in the tub? ...and not damage or reduce the functioning of the tub? Adding stuff to the water also seems obvious, but you can feel the resistance (!) Also the prohibitive costs of over-the-counter solutions begs for a solution. Let's try some stuff! Most scents can be purchased in concentrated form... what about just good old fashioned perfume? I would have to guess the solvents in these WILL melt acrylic and we certainly would not want that. So a delivery system to make our own aromatherapy solution for the hottub? Using custom scents or perfumes? Don't want it in the water or ON the plastic shell of the hottub? Can't be breakable (no glass) Personally non-toxic, and otherwise safe (oops fell on the ground and the puppy found it first!) hehehe just occurred to me the driest place in the spa is my wife's head... so like a shower cap with a little spongy thing on top you could put a few drops of concentrated scent on? So aromatherapy shower caps? <patent pending!~> hmm just some kinda absorbent spongy thing that is totally protected from the bottom (affect the plastic shell) but allows scent to ~waft? See how this works? I'll let you guys give it a shot. The basics of aromatherapy aren't too voodoo and someone above has laid it out in good basic terms... like peppermint is wakeful and lavender is relaxing etc. You should be able to get these in concentrated form locally... type in "peppermint oil" and your city's name into google... you know the drill. I bet a some may even be available at your drug store. I say avoid the artificial scents which are not from the original source as these will also likely be the most chemically corrosive if they somehow got spilled/contacted your hottub's acrylic shell. Most of the over the counter scents we didn't like anyway as they just smelled like a certain brand of soap. Ladies for your husband you might try using a small amount of HIS favorite perfume on our as-yet-to-be-perfected safe spa aromatherapy delivery system. Hey could be as simple as a paper towel in a coffee cup, but hopefully I have inspired someone enough to share their own good idea... as opposed to thinking they could start their own whole new business selling aromatherapy shower caps (don't make me hunt you down!) Hey I can't do the whole thing I'd have to charge ya Oh and for the MEN... just go grab ya a nice Maduro and a Glenfiddich and call it a day. [standard disclaimer] Never follow any of my advice. While I may be my brother's keeper I am NOT the keeper of his hottub. If you damage your hottub because you spilled that Hi Karate you bought at that yard sale back in '82 all over the cover and it instantly melted... don't have your people try and contact my people... I don't have any "people" ... just good smelling ASCII hugs {{{Bo}}}

hahha cplarsen says... [paraphrased] "Skipping [...] swimsuits, helps a lot." Now there's some hottubing advice! Is there an existing thread re: "foaming due to residual laundry detergents in swimsuits" on here? I feel a bumper sticker coming on... [universal spa symbol displays as simple rounded box icon with two full circles (heads) on top] "Soak Neked!" will someone in the graphics dept get on that right away? thaaaanks

Go up (back?) one level in this forum and read through the "Chemical" related posts <click here>. The chemistry seems complicated, but it makes sense once you understand some of the basic concepts... like "Starting up". You really should be able to listen to your dealer, and I'm not the person to give you advice. Once you become more involved in the actual condition of your water it won't feel like a chore because it's so rewarding. At the same time I believe it's one of the major things that ends up making people stop using their hottub. This forum can help! Your hottub provides alot of benefits, like removing toxins (via sweat) and exfoliating your skin. Not to be too graphic but it's key to understand that the chemicals help deal with what ~remains~ in your tub when you get out. The "start up" is key in getting the water balanced so it feels good on your skin (not itchy) and so the time between complete water changes is longer... for example is you have a water softener it's important (if possible) to switch the byapss valve on while filling your hottub, so you're not filling it with "softened" water. Don't wait for the hottub guys to mail you a test kit, you will find yourself in the chemical aisle of the pool/spa supplies soon enough If your spa dealer has a local storefront I'm sure he'd appreciate the business but major hardware/lumber superstores also have a pool spa supply section. Now your obvious question... yeah so what do I buy and how/when do I use it? well that's a good reason to go to a real pool/spa dealership... for some Customer Service. Or you could just spend some time on here and get the same advice. Remember you already have a "kit" supplied by your spa dealer so that's a good place to start as most water maintenance strategies are NOT compatible with others... translation, there's more than one way to keep your spa fresh and they don't play nice with each other! If you begin using the chemicals/brand supplied try and stick with it (frog thingy). Simply put, do what works for you, is easy to understand, and maintain. If you feel uncomfortable with all the chemistry, your dealer can offer more $ervices I am sure... like testing your water. If your spa dealer does not have a local store in town you should be able to find a pool supply easily... or you could be like me and do it for less $$ and more study right here on the poolspaforum Cheers!

They do make fragrances for the hottub but many we have tried were.... disappointing. DuPont makes a very enjoyable one... comes in an eight oz bottle for around $10 at my local Lowes megahardware store, so it lasts a long time. You can google online for the health benefits of spas, and you can likely search HERE... maybe just use the word "health" or "benefit", but most simply put the increase in circulation is beneficial for obvious reasons. I don't know if you would actually get less benefits from ~only~ soaking with no jets. Of course it's YOUR hottub, so.... I like to get in first thing in the morning, even before coffee. The stimulation from the jets makes me more awake in 20 minutes than two cups of coffee... that doesn't mean I skip the coffee however ;-) Then I like to end the day the same way, and soaking (no jets) is required to close that session... it's not good to get all !awake! at bedtime. So same here, wifey likes to turn off the jets after awhile. If we're going to marathon it we cut the temp back to 100-101 degrees ...depending on the weather. Last weekend we sat in there for three hours with some friends (!) until the Mañana-tinis ran out ...not possible at 104 degrees!

Doh! I missed that one... sorry No, if she was ~that~ Bo, I'd have a much nicer spa... or several much nicer spas.