ItchyandFrustrated

We keep our tub at 99 so the 7ppm was definitely overkill for us. I haven’t checked it yet today, but if it’s not down, i understand that I can use hydrogen peroxide to lower it? Would you happen to know the amount to use to lower it 1ppm FC? Our well water was at 20 CH but the TA was through the roof. It took me hours to get it down but I’m happy to say, I got there. The chlorine does seem at bit pungent right now so good to know that will settle down. Good luck with your water change!

Thanks for the info. We did manage to change out the water on Friday. We decided to use our well water with a filter on the hose but boy was the water far from balanced. It took hours and hours, but I’m proud to say, I ended up with a perfectly balanced and sanitized hot tub thanks to you and everyone else on this forum. We were able to use it last night for the first time and the water was wonderful and so far, no skin issues! I had 3 people in the tub for an hour last night so I added the 7ppm FC per person/per hour as instructed. My FC is still high today at 14.5 so I might have over shot that a bit. I did test my CD for this first 24 hrs and it was 81% so I think I definitely got rid of all the “bugs” causing our problems. I really appreciate this vacation info as we are leaving the 6-11 of April and now that I have a perfect system after struggling for 4 months, I was so worried about what we would come back to as far as the water was concerned. Appreciate the help so much! thank you!

The way I understand this, after initial set up, you only add dichlor (then bleach after CYA reaches 30) - AFTER soaking and calculating the dosage depending on per bather/per length of soak. What do you do if you don't use the tub for a few days - do you add anything? We will be leaving for a 6 day vacation next month - no one will be using the tub during this time. What do we do to prepare the tub for the time we are away? Is it ok to not be adding any sanitizer for that length of time if there are no bathers? I'm going to be dumping, decontaminated and refilling my tub this weekend and starting this method. Just want to make sure I have a full understanding so I get this right. Thanks!

Thank you Waterbear. I've been fighting this since we got the tub and have been mislead by 3 separate Hot Tub retailers in our area. Not to mention the money I've spent that was completely unnecessary. It's a shame the salespeople are so dishonest (or unknowledgeable) about what it takes to properly maintain a hot tub. I'm so grateful I found this forum or we'd be in the process of selling our tub. We will be draining and refilling and sticking strictly to the dichlor/bleach method. Thanks again for taking the time to review my situation.

Here’s my test results using the K-2006 pH 7.4 TA 70 FC 11 CC 8 CH 110 CYA is 100+ (the lines only go to 100 and mine as slightly below that when the dot disappears I did intentionally increase the FC this morning using bleach. We aren’t using the tub right now (last soak was Sunday) while we wait for our skin to clear up so I thought I’d run the FC a little high in case we are dealing with bacteria and maybe it would wipe it out. What do you think? I will try anything you recommend to be able to get back to enjoy our hot tub. For reference, water is crystal clear, no foam and only a slight chlorine smell. Thanks for any and all help!!!

I will post a full set of results as soon as I get home (1.5 hours) so that I’m sure I’m giving you the most accurate information possible. I just had our spa service company decontaminate, flush the lines and refill our tub 2 weeks ago. After what I learned on this forum and with a ton of help from dashmer, I started the dichlor/bleach method (with the omission of the borates since I was unaware) and my water has never looked for felt better. I’ve been checking twice a day with a Taylor k-2006 test kit and everything seems perfectly balanced. We finally returned to using the tub this weekend, and after 3 soaks, eve rash is back. It is so disappointing! Stay tuned for the test results. I appreciate any help I can get. We have only been hot tub owners for 4 months and absolutely love it. I’m determined to correct this so we can get back to enjoying it!

I’ve been using the Dichlor/bleach method for about a week. I was unaware of borax addition to the water. We have need experiencing some rashes after the last few soaks so I definitely want to get this into the water asap. I say the mention of ProTeam Gentle Spa in place of the borax since it’s boric acid, but I see it as both a liquid and a powder in line. Which one do I want to buy? Then how much should I add (410 gal tub) and how often should I repeat it? thank you!

I think I’m catching onto all this! Thanks again for being so hopeful. I will continue to report my findings and have no doubt I will need your help again. Forever grateful and hopefully much less itchy 😁

Thanks again for the great information. Two questions: 1. If using liquid chlorine and not the chlorine granules, do you get the build up of CYA? And if that's the case, do you ever switch from the liquid chlorine to straight bleach? 2. Once CYA reaches 30ppm and I switch to bleach (which sounds like it would be about a week), do I then just use bleach exclusively until my next drain/refill (which I think would be about 4 months)?

Thanks again. It’s amazing how little guidance we were given when we purchased this. I maintain a 30,000 gallon in-ground swimming pool all summer and I expected the hot tub to be easier but it is, in fact, the opposite. Obviously, our sanitizer (or lack there of) is the issue. I will lower the pH and start checking the chlorine daily before we enter the pool. What level do I you keep your chlorine. The test strips say 1-3 but I’m now being told to keep the chlorine much higher around 5-10. Also, I know you said you add 10-15ppm of chlorine after each use but what does that translate to in a unit of measurement (say a tablespoon). I will review the stickies and I’m sure they explain the bleach but when do you add that on top of the chlorine? I’ve included a photo of the chlorine I have. If there’s something different/better that I need, please let me know. I’d buy/pay anything to be able to get back to soaking! I can’t thank you enough for your willingness to help.

Thank you for the reply. I will do my best to give you some numbers but I am just working with just test strips although after being on this forum, I realize I need to invest in a liquid test kit. My free chlorine was down to 1 when I checked tonight so I added chlorine. I talked to dealer that sold me the spa today and he suggested I try to keep chlorine high between 5-10 for a while to try to get this bacteria that maybe be in there. The TA was 120, pH was 8.2 and hardness was a little hard to get since two different brands of strips gave me different readings but if I average maybe 100. I can try to take water to my pool place tomorrow for more accurate readings. The water was still crystal clear and no odor at all. I have not tested before we get in the tub for chlorine but I will certain start to make this the process. Before the rash, our average usage was 2 bathers/one hour soak daily. I didn’t always add chlorine after each use as I didn’t know to do this. I hired a spa service company to do the disinfecting and line flush and I also hired a water company to come refill it with water that came perfectly balanced (pH, TA and hardness). I can’t say their exact process but the chemical he used was serum total clean water are product. I know it was added to the water and the jet were ran for quite a while before the emptied it and disinfected and flushed the lines. No one has been in the tub since Sunday night after our skin broke back out. I’m being told to keep chlorine at 5-10 and even re-enter the tub once skin is clear and see if reoccurrence of the rash happens. Assuming it doesn’t, I’m still not exactly sure what I should adding on a daily/usage basis. And, if we do break back out, I have no idea what to do next. Appreciate any advice! We loved the hot tub before this and it’s torture to have invested 17k and not be able to enjoy it.

Here's the back story: New Caldera hot tub mid-november. Was sold Clear Choice enzymes and told it was all we needed to add to water. Water was instantly cloudy and smelly so we switched to chlorine. Water would still tend to get cloudy occasionally. By January, I was starting to notice small rashes on areas of my body. By end of January, I was covered in a rash. It was determined by doctors that is was a contact or irritant dermatitis. I managed to get it cleared up about 80% by not using the tub. Went back in, rash came back. My husband and daughter also had breakouts of the rash. Out of frustration, I finally had the tub drained, disinfected and the lines cleaned 1 week ago and started using the Frog @ease system. Water is clear and pristine and everything checks out perfectly on the test strips, but after using the tub twice, the rash is back again. I am considering trying bromine as maybe we are reacting to the chlorine but it's beyond frustrating not being able to use the tub or know what to do next. I'd appreciate any suggestions! We are new hot tub owners.