panthergirl08

Chas, you might have a point. I'll give it a try (even if it means being spa-less for a day or so) The ph was all over the board the first 2 weeks, as I struggled to get it just right. And the water out of our spiggot is pretty soft, as we live diagonal from the local well and it's softened right there. Chas, you are so right. A new tub is sometimes a pain in the *** the first month. All the oils that come off the new plastics ect. Other reasons of foam are...high PH, soft water, and sweat/body oil(each person swaets about a pint per 30 min. spa use)

Chas, you are so right. A new tub is sometimes a pain in the *** the first month. All the oils that come off the new plastics ect. Other reasons of foam are...high PH, soft water, and sweat/body oil(each person swaets about a pint per 30 min. spa use)

What about laundry detergent in your suits? As unsanitary as it might come out sounding... I'm not a huge suit washer... For gosh sakes, they go in sanitized water every night! If you buy foam down dillute it in a spray bottle and just mist over the foam. The foam is not hurting your tub. What kind of sanitizer are you using? I've been using dichlor since it's a master spa with the Eco pur filter, and they recommend it over bromine.

So, I've read that foamy water is a result of lotions, deodorants, skin oil, etc. I'm not a huge "product user"... I wear deodorant and use a moisturizer on my face and that's it. But my 3 week old spa is getting pretty foamy when the jets are on, and I have a Scum Bug floating around. I've given the filters (Eco Pur) a good rinsing and maybe it's time for another . Should I just accept the foam as a fact of life? Or buy the de-foamer chemical at the spa store? The foam doesn't really bother me.... is it damaging my tub? thanks for your help! Teresa

Can any of my above ground pool chemicals be reused for the spa? I know the trichlor cannot; but what about ph up and down? What about those mysterious "clarifiers"- they worked great in the pool! Teresa

Ok, please don't anyone start a huge fight... I'm new to the care and feeding of a spa (don't have it yet) but until I decide which road I'm going, (leaning towards bromine but it looks like the dealer carries only chlorine products, so not sure if there's a reason for that) I was wondering if it's possible to switch between chlorine and bromine systems once you've decided on one. Do you need to drain the water out? Teresa

Has anyone ever tried the Dirty Duck: http://www.rhtubs.com/store/maint.htm#duck I was just wondering if it works! Thanks, Teresa

I've read alot of backposts on people questioning whether they should get a permit for their spa/electrical install if they are in an area that requires one. I'm at this point myself, and I'm tempted to go ahead with a permit, for the simple facts that I know next to nothing about electrical work (and so I would feel safer) and also because I live on a corner and my house seems to cry out for attention (tho that's probably in my head) and feel if anyone's going to "get caught" it would be me, as Murphy's Law is like my middle name. Here's my concern: I suspect the previous owners finished the basement themselves. This would have been about 10 years ago now. Do you think an inspector coming in for inspection on the hot tub electrical would think to themselves "hm, this or that is not up to par." as they walked through the basement to get to the electrical panel they were actually there to inspect. I mean, we had the home inspected prior to buying it, but we all know that most home inspectors work in kahootz with the realtor, and so I truly don't know what is up to code or not. I also have a hunch the hot water heater we had installed a few years ago required a permit (which we never got one for). I'm not quite sure what the punishment for this all would be but a lot of fines... Yet at the same time my next door neighbor (all in one summer) put in a spa, a gazebo and a huge pond, all (proudly in fact!) without a permit. Any thoughts? Teresa

These are all great suggestions... thanks! I really like the double planter/bench/lattice thing, I even found some plans to build your own online: http://www.ronhazelton.com/howto/planter_b...workingplan.com You would just have to modify it by adding on the lattice. Teresa

Hi everyone! Spa newbie here... We have just purchased a MasterSpa, but won't be getting it until electrical work's been done and even before that, 'til the ground unfreezes (live 40 miles north of Chicago- and it is seemingly the longest winter ever). Is there anything I'm missing, anything you slapped yourself on the head that you didn't think of before hand... we plan on putting it onto big square patio tiles, having a licensed electrician do the work, getting a permit from the village, etc. And then, do I buy a "spa opening kit" or wing it? (We previously had an above ground pool for 7 years, so I know about pool water care, is spa water a large difference?). I haven't quite made the chlorine or bromine decision yet, but it seems like I could start with chlorine and switch to bromine if I wanted? And the ph upper/downer powdered chemicals from the pool... can they be used in the spa? Do you buy your chems online or in stores? I used to buy pool stuff from the catalogs, with an occassional run to the local pool store. And finally, looking ahead, I'm trying to figure out some kind of privacy lattice thing, because the spot where the spa will be is kind of "out in the open" but I don't really want to be digging holes and pouring concrete... are there any free standing privacy type fences that work? My main concern with those is wind knocking them down. I also don't want a gazebo around it, because I love to look at the stars, so trying to find a happy medium. Thanks for your help! Teresa