I have reviewed other topics relating to rashes on this formum prior to posting this. They contained a great deal of useful info, so my thanks to all that posted. I feel my situation is a bit different and I was wondering if there was anyone out there that could help me out.
We got our hot tub in mid October. It has an ozinator and is sanitized with lithium. We used it for a few months, with numerous people in it and a few times as well as for long periods of time without incident. I purchased new filters (so we would have set to rotate) and swapped them in around mid November. The weather warmed up in December for a few days so I did a drain and fill replacing the water and the filters with the ones we purchased with the tub. Around the end of December after a few nights of usage I noticed a red bumpy rash on the inside of my arms. I didn't think much of it so I continued usage of the hot tub sometimes for two hours at a time up to the end of December. The rash spread and got itchy but not unbearable. We used the tub periodically through January but due to the cold weather probably only about once per week. Pretty much after each time I noticed the rash was back but nowhere near the extent that it was in late December. We had six people over in the first week of February and we were in the tub for a few hours. The next day I had red bumps on my sides, stomach and what appeared to be scabs (sorry for the graphic nature) on my skin. I even had some red bumps on the side of my face. I decided it was time to do a drain and a refill with a change of the filters and I did that the next week. My wife and I used the tub last night and this morning I woke extremely itchy around mid day today was when the rash peaked (bumps and scabbing). Currently it appears to be subsiding.
A few things to note:
- I am pretty good at ensuring the CL, PH and TA are within the proper range
- I add Lithium to the water every few days and shock it once per week
- The water has been crystal clear over the past few periods since I have cleaned it
- I have been using a cartridge cleaner on the filters (SpaBoss)
- I used an organic cleaner on the top (not on the inside) of the shell
- The last time I drained and refilled the tub I did not flush the system
The cartridge cleaner and the organic cleaner are the only variables in the pre/post rash usage. I clean the filers with a pressure attachement and then I clean out in between each pleat in the filter. I let the filters soak in the cartridge cleaner in line with the directions on the bottle and then rinse each pleat of the filter again.
So my questions are (1) is the cartridge cleaner necessary? If it is is there another alternative I can try? (2) Is there anyone out there with a similar situation? (3) Any and I mean any suggestions (besides turing it into a 250 gallon bird bath)?
Again sorry for being graphic and sorry for the long post I just wanted to get as much info in as possible.
Please note this is our first hot tub and it was a great experience while it lasted.
Thanks.