Mr. Miserable

I think there is definitely a learning curve to keeping the tub healthy, but it is confusing to have all the chemicals in balance and still break out with the itch. I think I'm willing to try the natural hot tub system and if it don't work, or even seems like the water isn't healthy, I will continue looking. After reading the testimonials and calling the company, the product is a suppliment because you still need to shock, test for ph and ak balances and don't forget probably the most important step of cleaning your filter at least once a week depending on useage. So, the sytem is still a system in that you care for it almost daily. The difference being that your eliminating the chemicals that are causing the skin irritations. I have always enjoyed hot tubs and so to purchase a new tub and not be able to enjoy it......is so dissapointing. I envisioned being able to sit in it often and enjoy the benefit of my deck and the view....but now I'm scared of the tub and that is not what I had expected. This site talks alot about going to bleach....to eliminate the chemicals....which is probably cheaper. But for the simple ease and benefit of the clean, clear water that the enzymes produce....this system is much simpler. Has anyone on this board used an enzyme product and still had the itch? I would like to know....if that is the case. From what I understand....it is close to 100% of a cure. Here is the system I'm looking at..... http://www.rhtubs.com/natural-hot-tub.htm

I would like to know more about this product as well. Do any of you use it? It seems like it would be a great alternative to chemicals and if it works.....why not use it?

After reading that thread, I like my temp to be around 103. I'm wondering if it is a reaction to the water temp! I will drop it and see if that has any effect on the symptoms. What does the mineral stick do and does it work?

Update! Drained 3/4 of the water over the weekend. Refilled. Did not add any chemicals. TA and PH are just a tad high, but far from off of the chart. I sat in it for 10 min by myself Monday night and my wife joined me for 10 min on Tues night. We both have a slight break out of the itchy rash, but not bad. I think it would be much worse had we stayed in longer. But, here is the interesting part. My nipples and scrotum are THE WORST! There is a noticeable redness to the nipples...no so much on the latter. Oh, it takes about 4 hours for the itching to start and about three days to go away. So, overall, not a bad break out with the pimple stuff, just the sensitive type of skin that seems to really be affected. Have you heard of this? Do you think I'm just having an allergic reaction? Should I switch to bromine? I would not have expected this because we were basically sitting in tap water! Help!

Thanks again so much....I will do all that and pay close attention to the shocking. My test strips just show free chlorine. I will look into getting a better strip. I'm sure that by doing all this, I will be fine. I'm just starting to feel better! That stuff is miserable! I will be doing this maint stuff this weekend. Thanks again!

Thanks, I will do that, add in the soft water. I did look at the MPS and I have been putting only one tablespoon per week to shock the tub. Whould that cause me to itch?

I will read the instructions on the shock stuff and if it is three tablespoons, than I have not put enough in. I have never added hardness increaser and yes we have hard water. I do have a water softner in the house, would it make sense to add soft water every time I add water to the tub instead of using the tap water?

Thanks so much for the advice. The strips I use do test for Chlorine. It is always in the low end of normal, but I have been adding chlorine even on days that we don't use it. I guess that is ok because as I understand it, bacteria will grow and take over when the chlorine is no longer present. When I took a water sample into the dealer the ph and ta levels were just fine. The Chlorine was slightly high even after having three soak last night, so it could have been quite high before we soaked. But, even if it was high, there was no smell and it wasn't high enough to cause the irritation. I will take this advice and let you know. I really appreciate the help!

Ok, I test the water and add a tablespoon of chlorine generally every day. The spa is 340 gallons. I shock it once a week on Thursdays with 1 tblspoon of MPS. Since we have been itching, we have used the tub way less. We sat in it last Thursday night, we were gone the weekend and then we sat in it last night. We broke out last Thursday after sitting in it and again last night. Prior to breaking out, we sat in it daily. There is usually three to four of us that sit in it. We sat in it about 12-15 min per session. I check the chlorine at lunch and we sit in it in the evening. Around 9:00 p.m. As far as the testing measure I use test stips and the strip shows a reading between 7.2-7.4 for ph etc. I hope that helps you. One other thought. Weekly I add the stain and scale stuff and I have notice a harness reading a little above normal. So, I added two extra ounces of stain and scale to help bring that down a bit. Shouldn't be a problem. I talked again to the dealer and he wants me to super shock the system, 11 tblspoons of cholorine, run the tub for 45 min with the top off and then don't sit in it for three days. Once that is done, he said to sit in it and see if I break out again. At that point it should be just water. Does that sound correct to you? What kind of chlorine? What is the CYA level? Are you using any "spa scents?" I would be a bit concerned since you all are rashy. Usually it may be one person that is sensitive to something. You should drain you tub after the first month anyway, it is suggested by several people on the forum. This will get all the risdual from the new plastics ect out of the water. I use spa essentials chlorine. No spa scents at all. I am concerned because it was all three of us in the tub. How do you test for CYA and what does that stand for? If you are using test strips, some have CYA on them. Test kits have a test in them for CYA. It stands for cyanic acid which is a stabilizer. It is in the spa essentials product you are using. The higher your level of CYA gets, the less effective the chlorine is and high levels of CYA also cause some people to itch. Usually, unless you have been adding a large amount of the chlorine, the CYA stays ok for about 3 months, which is when you need to dump the tub anyway. I would start with the CYA test and do the water change anyway since most of us suggest it after your first month. Maybe you are reacting to the oils from the new plastics. If you itch with fresh water fill, you all may have an issue with chlorine, but I find that hard to beleive. Also, check the expiration on the test strips, if they are old ore exspired they will not read correctly.

What kind of chlorine? What is the CYA level? Are you using any "spa scents?" I would be a bit concerned since you all are rashy. Usually it may be one person that is sensitive to something. You should drain you tub after the first month anyway, it is suggested by several people on the forum. This will get all the risdual from the new plastics ect out of the water. I use spa essentials chlorine. No spa scents at all. I am concerned because it was all three of us in the tub. How do you test for CYA and what does that stand for?

I forgot to add that I shock weekly with MPS.

Seems to be a reacurring topic here. If you can give me some hope, I think I can get through this! Brand new tub. Three weeks old. Bad case of itchy rash. I use chlorine and I check it faithfully everyday. The tub took a full bottle of spa down to get the ph in the normal level of the test trip. The ph seemed to settle there under the normal range. Everything looked fine but then the ITCH came on so we let that heal before sitting in it again (about 4 days). I have sat in it twice in the last week. Anyway, in trying to figure out why the itch, I noticed that the ph was fine, but the TA was a little low, so I added alkilinity increaser and that is now normal...and my ph reads ok, maybe just a tad on the high side (so by adding the increaser it did raise the ph level). So overall, the hardness is good, the ta is fine, the ph is fine but I'm scared to death to sit in it! There is a little foam when the jets are on high, which goes right away when you turn it to low speed. I love the tub and I have sat in tubs for a long time and have never had an allergic reaction. Last night when I felt everything was in balance, we sat in it for about 12 min. Well, today is the worst case I have had yet. My wife is covered and my son is who sat in it with us. I'm wondering if dumping the tub, sanitizing it and starting over is a good option. Swithing to bromine is an option....I just don't know what it would be. My thinking is that it can't be bacterial because I use plenty of chlorine...that is, I add everyday and it is always in the range it should be. It has to be a chemical reaction to the products in the tub. Any help or suggestions would help. The dealer seems optomistic yet unconcerned...and that is dissapointing to me. This thing has been a dream of mine and it wasn't cheap! It is a smaller tub...340 gallon Jacuzzi. Anyway....thanks!