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soakmyfeet

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  1. Thanks for your reply! If that is the situation, is there any harm in filling and heating? Could I try running the jets once filled to see what happens, and turn them off if it starts siphoning the water again? Where would I see the water going/coming out if it is the check valve?
  2. Thanks for your reply! If that is the situation, is there any harm in filling and heating? Could I try running the jets once filled to see what happens, and turn them off if it starts siphoning the water again? Where would I see the water going/coming out if it is the check valve?
  3. I have a Jacuzzi 345, 8 months old. Last night I used the tub (everything totally normal), then added chlorine when I got out. I left the cover open as usual but when I went out 20 minutes later to shut the cover, 2/3 of the water in the tub was GONE! The water level was at the second row of jets up from the bottom in the therapy seat, so it is still above the level of the seats and the foot well intake, but probably below the filter intakes. There was water on the ground on the left side of and behind the tub. The jet pumps were off but the circ pump and heater were running, and the temp read 95 instead of the 103 that it was 15 min earlier. I powered off the tub because the circ pump motor sounded funny and of course I didn't want the jets to come on when it wasn't full. This morning my husband took the cabinets off and found NO evidence of any water anywhere inside the cabinet. The drain plug was still on tight. The manufacturing dust was still evenly coating the floor of the cabinet. I'm sure it could be hard to find a slow leak, but this was CATASTROPHIC, with hundred of gallons disappearing in minutes. Does anyone have any idea what could have happened? It was like the water was rapidly pumped out and dumped on the ground while I wasn't looking. I called our dealer and they said the service tech would "get back to me within 24 hours" I'm worried that any water in the hoses will freeze since it will be around 20 degrees tonight, and sitting there unheated for over 24 hours. I'm also worried that the circ pump and heater may have been damaged since they were running while the water was so low, and sounded funny. Is there any harm in me filling the tub (with cold tap water of course), and turning it on to try to heat it before it freezes tonight? My only theory is that while the jets were on, some air got sucked into the system and caused some of the jets to spout water out of the tub like a hose, and maybe as the level got lower, more jets started sucking air and spouting out of the tub, and it quickly emptied the tub. I've never seen anything like that happen in the 240 times I have used the tub. Any suggestions??? Thanks!
  4. I use Nature 2/MPS to sanitize and 2/week add dichlor to oxidize. I am 1 month into this fill, and I have been heavily using my tub (2hr daily at 103F) so have gotten behind with oxidizing. I have had to shock up to 13 ppm twice this week to keep the water clear and clean. My CYA is up to 60, so I can't continue with dichlor at this rate. I'm going to start using unscented bleach, but haven't done that before. I use the pool calculator, so I know how much to add. I've read all the pinned posts from nitro and chem geek about the dichlor/bleach method, but don't recall any instructions on how to actually add the bleach. Do I just pour the desired amount into a measuring cup and dump it into the tub, or does it need to be diluted first? Do I put it in when the jets are running (I'm worried it would splash onto tub surface or me), or just while the circ pump is on? Also, how long after I add it should I check the FC to determine if it was the correct amount? Is it 5 min? Thanks!
  5. You may be right, but I hope it's not MPS sensitivity since I have been happy with the nature 2/MPS system for sanitizing. So far I have been adding it before I get in since that's what the dealer told me to do, so I'm going to try adding it when I get out (as long as it isn't zero when I get in in) to see if that helps. Whether it is MPS sensitivity or just dry skin from soaking too long every day, I'll still need moisturizer so I don't go nuts from itchiness. Any tips on moisturizer ingredients that are particularly bad for the tub? Are petroleum products (e.g petrolatum) worse for the tub than "natural oils" like shea butter? Thanks
  6. I use my 3 mo old hot tub daily for 1.5 hours to relieve muscle pain (yes I know it's excessive), on top of daily swimming in a very warm commercial pool and showering in between. I live in warm water! My skin is taking a beating- very dry and irritated and itchy. (BTW I use Nat 2/MPS and I am obsessive about keeping the MPS at the "OK" range on the test strips, so I don't think my itchiness is folliculits). I need to slather on cream in order to not be itchy. I try to rinse off the cream in the shower before getting in the tub, but I'm sure it doesn't all come off, and not sure I want it to since my skin would be even drier. The water is very clear with no foaming, but the problem is we see build up of a waxy film on the walls of the tub at the water line and pearls of goo that looks like white cream behind the filter cover. I'm concerned it may be building up in the plumbing or may eventually interfere with the sanitizers. We use Nature 2/MPS with 2-3x/week dichlor to oxidize. After the chlorine doses, the film on the sides diminishes but the pearls of goo need to be wiped away. I don't think I can live without a moisturizer, so my question is....are there any moisturizer ingredients that are better or worse than others as far as the tub is concerned? Eg, petrolatum (vaseline jelly) vs. shea butter or an oil instead of a cream? Has anyone been able to use a certain product with less adverse effect than others on the tub? The cream I like the best for my dry skin is eucerin, which is mostly petrolatum, mineral oil, mineral wax and lanolin alcohol with no fragrances or dyes. But it looks a lot like the white pearls on the filter cover! Thanks for your help!
  7. If you can get away with it, keep the cover half open while only 1-2 people are in it, which minimizes heat loss from evaporation off the surface of half the tub. I also keep the temp down to 101 or 102 when not in it, then turn up to 103 when I get in. At 35-40 degress, it takes my J 345 7 ft tub about 15 min to heat up 2 degrees with cover open. Also helps to lower the temp a few degrees (just so heater doesn't come on) while you have the cover open adding/gassing off chemicals, and to only open 1/2 the cover for chemical additions. If you do use your tub in the cold weather, get yoursef a very thick, long turkish terry bathrobe (Lands End sells them). It is my favorite thing I own except for the hot tub. I put it in the dryer for 5 min while I rinse off before going out to the tub. When I put it on, it is toasty warm and snuggly to go out in the cold, and covers to the top of my feet. When I get out of the tub, it is cooled off, but I am so hot it is fine to put a cool robe on. It dries me off and shleters me from the wind better than a towel would, and frees my arms to close the cover and open the door to the house quickly so that I can skidaddle back inside where it's warm. Just wish I had a way to keep my feet warm going to and from the tub in cold weather...but that's why we're considering putting the tub in a sunroom. I hate cold feet! Amanda
  8. We are planning to put on a sunroom and bring our hot tub inside so it can be used year round (we live in MA and don't want to use it or maintain it outside when it's below freezing) We know ventillation is important, both to control miosture and ventillate chemical gasses. The question is How MUCH ventillation, and what type? The room will be an 11 x 16 mostly glass room with sliding windows on 3 sides. The 4th wall, the wall adjoining the house has a picture window and glass exterior door, so the room will be thermally isolated from the house and have a separate heat source. The tub is 7x7, and used for 1-2 hours/every day (i.e lots of steam!). We likely will keep the windows to the outside open in the summer, but will not want to when it is cold out. We were told by an HVAC sales person (not the sunroom vendor) that a rule of thumb for ventillating hot tubs is: 10 cubic feet/min for every square foot of tub surface. For our 7 ft tub (49 sq ft), that would mean a fan that puts out 490 cu/ft/min is necessary. Does anyone have knowledge or experience to confirm this? We are concerned that the "rule of thumb" is for average hot tub use and not taking into account the heavy use it gets. This is the humidistatic fan the sunroom vendor usually installs for hot tubs, and customers I have talked to say it takes care of all the excess moisture- granted they only use their tubs 20 min/day, not 1-2 hrs: http://www.tamtech.c...ite,Product.asp Another concern with the humidistatic fan is that it also will be sucking heat out of the room. Great in the summer, not so great when it is 10 degrees out and we are trying to heat the room. We are considering using a heat conserving unit (basically a heat exchanger that takes the moisture out of the air and puts the heat back in.) Does anyone have experience with these? Any advice or suggestions for units to check out? Thanks for your input!
  9. Where can I find the guide written by Nitro on lowering TA in hot tubs that waterbear referred to at the beginning of this thread? Could someone post a link? Thanks!
  10. We have a 3 month old Jacuzzi 345. Just did first water change. After draining, there was still quite a bit of water in the foot well that was below the drain intake. We had to bail the residual out, then after cleaning the inside with vinegar, we hosed it down and had to bail it out again. It was a time consuming and messy process that we are not looking forward to when it is below freezing out and have to stand in the water (we live in MA). There must be a better way to get the residual out...any suggestions on a small submersible pump or other tips to speed up the process? Thanks!
  11. Thanks for the advice. We will check out D1 this weekend. Has anyone wet tested or bought a jacuzzi 415? Thanks
  12. Thanks for your advice. Youa re right that we will mostly be trying to overcome the cold weather. We actually don't have HVAC (in our climate, most people don't need AC more than a few days a year, and the winter is so cold that the indoor air is very dry, making hot air heating undesirable). We use a hot water radiator sytem for heat, but when we build the sunroom, we plan to just heat with electric since it will only be heated when used. When we do build it, we will take into account the things you suggested, like the gable fan, and not letting the air exhaust into the house.
  13. Thank you for the helpful info. As far as humidity, I have heard that a hot tub with the cover on except for 15 min 1-2x/day produces about as much humidity as a hot shower for that amount of time, and therefore a room with a hot tub should be handled as a bathroom. Does this sound accurate? Our plan is to build the sunroom attached to the house, but the only opening to the house would be an exterior door that would remain closed (unless you're going in or out from the hot-tub). There will be a bathroom-type exhaust fan to the outside that can be turned on when the hot-tub is in use, several large vinyl windows that can open when it is warm out, a ceiling fan, and a venting skylight. The floor will be tile, the walls and ceiling painted with mildew-resistant bathroom paint. The heat to the room will be electric, so there will be no air ducts connecting to the rest of the house. We will not put an AC in there since in north-central Massachusetts, there are only several days a year that we would need it. We could put a free-standing dehumidifier in there if we need it. Our climate generally is humid and warm (80's) in the summer, but cold (20's) and dry (we actually need to humidify our house) in the winter. It seems to me like there shouldn't be much air entry from the sunroom/spa room into the house, but I am not an expert and only have experience with bathrooms. Does our plan sould like it would adequately deal with the moisture when the hot tub is used 1-2x/day for 15 min? As far as the chlorine, I understand that a salt system uses NaCl to make chlorine, but isn't it true that this method releases fewer chloramines into the water and air than using strictly chlorine? This website makes the point (under watercare research) that salt systems are less irritating to chlorine-sensitive people, and it seems like pools and hot tubs I have been in that use salt systems smelled less like chlorine. I also understand that salt systems still need to be shocked with chlorine. I understand that bromine also makes volatile by-products, but from what I have read/heard, it may off-gas less than chlorine does in spa-temperature hot water. I guess what I'm getting at is...given that my hot tub will be inside, which type of system will have the LEAST impact on indoor air quality as far as chlorine, bromine, ozone, etc.? I noticed waterbear mentioned in this thread as well as others that ozone needs to be implemented properly to be of any benefit. Can you (or anyone else) recommend a brand that does implement it properly? What questions should I ask a dealer in order to determine if it is implemented properly? Thanks everyone for your help!
  14. I am looking for a small or medium sized hot tub (under 7 ft, preferably 2-3 person) that will give me an excellant massage, particularly in the hamstring and calf areas. There are few hot tubs out there with jets in the hamstrings, and most I've seen are larger hot tubs. It seems most small hot tubs have only a few jets for the back, foot, and maybe a couple weak jets on the calf. They seem to be marketed for lower budgets. I like the features on the new jacuzzi 415, but the dealers do not have it in their showroom and I will not but a hot tub I cannot wet test. Does anyone else make a really high quality tub that is small?
  15. I am planning on buying a hot-tub for hydrotherapy purposes (will probably use 1-2x/day for 15-20 min). We are considering putting it in a sunroom attached to the house, but separated by a door, since we live in New England and I am intolerant of cold, even for brief exposures. An electrician told us that every house he ever worked in with an indoor hot-tub smelled like chlorine throughout the entire house, even when the hot tub was in a closed-off room. What is other people's exeprience with this? Would a salt system prevent the chlorine smell or diminish it significantly? Along the same lines, will an ozonator affect the air quality in the house? What precautions need to be made/designed into the sunroom as far as air quality? Thank you!
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