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Hot tub specs: 1 1/2 year old Clarity Spas Balance 7, 390 gallons of water measured with a flow/gallon meter at end of hose along with a carbon pre-filter attached. Currently converted to Salt water using a ContolOmatic Smarter Spa SWG. We have been using this system off and on for the last year with Morton Professional Pool salt in between testing other sanitizing systems. We use a SWG in our 4500 gallon above ground pool and the wife has NO issues with rashes. Water Chemistry measured with a Taylor K2006 test kit. Water Temp: 100 pH: usually runs between 7.8 & 8ppm with the SWG system with little to no drift keeping the Alk at 60 ppm Alk: 60ppm. If I raise the Alk then the pH wants to drift higher at a quicker rate. CH: 100 Salinity: 1600ppm CYA: 0 Cl: 2ppm, we turn on the SWG boost button either while in tub or right after we get out. (Have tested this trying both ways) There is NO bacteria in hot tub water! I have changed the water at least 10 times in the last year and a half since getting the tub brand new and have been using Ahhsome Spa purge each water change. There is NO scum or scuzz of any color in the foam. Foam shows bright white after each purge and I purge the tub for at least 30-60 minutes along with raising the chlorine level to 20ppm before draining, refilling and running a thorough rinse cycle, draining again, wiping interior of tub and cover with vinegar water before the final fill. There is no way there is any type of bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Which, btw, does not present or look the same as the rash that she develops in various places on her body. We have tried EVERY sanitizer system...liquid sodium hypochlorite (HTH brand liquid chlorine 10%), Bromine, Nature 2 with low level sodium hypo, the frog system both chlorine AND Bromine, standard floater with bromine tabs and sodium bromide bank with no luck. I have done EVERY step to the letter of what has been listed in this forum as far as the different methods of utilizing bromine and chlorine systems. I have tried using the ozonator and unplugging it with different refills with NO difference as to her developing a rash. I use standard baking soda and muriatic acid to maintain the pH and Alk. My tub is as simple as I can get it as far as what's in the water...Arm & Hammer baking soda, muriatic acid, and salt (this refill) which is the same as what we use in our pool. On the occasions that I have shocked the tub it has been with liquid sodium hypochlorite waiting for the chlorine levels to drop back down to 2-3 ppm before getting into the tub. Filter gets cleaned and rotated out every 2 weeks. We ALWAYS shower before getting into tub and when it's just the two of us we do not wear bathing suits. We do not use MPS non chlorine shock as we KNOW that she is allergic/sensitive to that. No one else (which has been maybe 4 people over the course of the last 1 1/2 years) that has been in our tub has had any problems with rash or skin issues. I'm in it WAY more than her and have NEVER had or have a rash. On this last purge and refill (2/13/2024) I intentionally did nothing to the water after refilling as far as Alk and pH (I kept it as it is straight out of the tap because she never breaks out from showering in it this way). Those readings were pH 10+, Alk 40ppm which is what our city water is straight out of the tap which was confirmed with the Taylor test kit and what is listed on our city water department website. I let the SWG get the Cl up to 2ppm with out adding any liquid sodium hypo to jump start it and the ozonator turned off. Basically the ONLY thing I added to the water after the fill was 9 cups of salt which I know from experience brings the salinity level to 1600ppm and this was confirmed by the Taylor salinity test. From the time of re-fill to us getting in the tub for the first time on this fill was roughly 36 hours. We sat in the tub for an hour the following evening on 2/14. The water felt silky smooth and Wife was perfectly fine the next morning with NO rash anywhere! I left the tub as it was, only checking on the Alk, pH and CL which were the exact same the next time we got into the tub for an hour on 2/16 (last night) pH 10+, Alk 40ppm and Cl 2ppm. This morning she has several spots of rash that came up after being in the tub last night. Yes she has tried showering after being in the hot tub and that has NEVER made a difference as to whether or not she breaks out. I/we are at a total loss at this point. It seems she is fine or has very minimal rash the first 1 to 3 times of use after a purge and fill no matter what sanitizer system we have tried. After the first few days to weeks after a purge/refill she starts to develop the rash and it progressively gets worse after each use the further past the fill date we get. I have tried keeping the sanitizer at various levels in what is considered the "RECOMMENDED" levels for each system we have tried to no avail. We use a SWG system in our above ground 4500 gallon pool every summer and she has been fine with that up until last summer when half way thru the season I added pure boric acid to both the pool and hot tub for water clarity and pH drift. She started developing an even worse rash and it took some detective work to figure out that was the culprit. So we quit using boric acid in both the pool and hot tub. MY QUESTIONS ARE: Could something (chemical) from what the inside of the cover or piping is made of be "leaching" into the water over time? Is there something else that I can use to flush the tub to make sure it has no chemical residues left over in the pipes that could possibly be causing her skin issues? If it is a case of her not being able to soak in hot water (aquagenic urticaria, which presents differently than the rash she is experiencing) then wouldn't that occur from the very first time being in the tub and not several soaks (days or weeks) into a fresh fill? What does muriatic acid turn into after added to the water to bring the pH down? What does the baking soda turn into after added to the water for bringing the Alk up?

[Edit: My wife told me her Dr. said she had a skin ‘sensitivity’ to Bromine, not an ‘allergic reaction’. I have changed my references to ‘allergy/allergic’ to ‘skin sensitivity’. The link says that ‘skin sensitivity’ (irritant contact dermatitis) shows a reaction, rash, in 1–2 hours (which she had), whereas ‘allergic contact dermatitis’ is an immune system reaction that takes from 24 to 48 hours to show symptoms. The ‘skin sensitivity reaction’ was quite severe for her, so it is still a significant issue. This article talks about testing patches of skin on your arm, like a dermatologist would do. I’ll have her ask her Dr. if he/she can recommend a chlorine % solution to apply to her arm as a chlorine sensitivity test, rather than dunking her whole body in a bathtub of chlorinated water!] Before we go through the hassle of draining the tub and restarting with Chlorine as the sanitizer instead of Bromine, to see if Chlorine causes my wife no skin rashes, we want to fill the bathtub with hot water and simulate the chlorine water conditions that would be the same as if we convert the hot tub to chlorine. So here are our questions: 1) Is it common for some people to have a skin sensitivity reaction to Bromine, but NOT to Chlorine? What are the odds of this? (I’ll have her ask her Dr. about this too.) 2)How do I create a bathtub chlorine environment to match a hot tub's? [We may hold off for a possible arm skin patch test for chlorine if that is an option.] a) Would I need to reduce our tap water's 370 ppm TA (Total Alkalinity) down below 70 ppm (our hot tub's current TA is 40 ppm), then get the PH adjusted between 7.4- 7.7 before adding Chlorine to make the test valid as close as possible to apples to apples to the actual hot tub? b) How much of 7.5% chlorine to initially add to say ≈ 30 gallons of bath water to get an in-range chlorine level? c) I only have a Taylor K-2106 'Bromine' test kit. Is there a workaround test that will tell me the effective Chlorine level I need to measure? If I can't do that with my K-2106 kit/reagents, what reagents would I need to buy to perform a proper Chlorine level test for our experimental bathtub test? 3) Are people with similar Bromine sensitivity able to completely avoid skin irritant sensitivity reactions of rashes and bumps by simply taking Antihistamines like: 25mg Benadryl or 10mg Cetirizine HCI (Zyrtec or Amazon Generic), 10 mg Loratadine (Claritin or Amazon Generic)? If so, what doses and how long before and after? The Background: We purchased a brand-new Bullfrog A6L (310 gals) Hot tub with the only time it was filled was at OEM water test at the time of manufacture, three months prior. The tub was purged, water balanced, Bromine Reserve added, Chlorine Shock done, PH & Bromine levels have been kept in range. It causes my wife extreme rash and bumps, but I have no skin reactions at all. Our initial soak (103º F, PH 7.6, Ttl. Bromine 6ppm, TA 30 ppm) caused her an extreme skin irritation reaction where she had a rash and bumps on her trunk, arms and legs. I am using a Taylor K-2106 'Complete (FAS-DPD bromine)' test kit. She said the pain and itching for a week was worse than her prior bout of Covid. It kept her awake all night. A week and a half later we let the Total Bromine drop to zero, PH ≈7.6, TA 40ppm. The water temp was only at 93º F. The skin irritation reaction was nowhere near as strong, but she still felt it coming on 1–2 hours after her soak. She took one Zyrtec 10mg Cetirizine HCI Antihistamine at that time and for two days following and the rash dissipated. I have had no skin irritation reactions at all. Installation, thorough Purge and refill process: Three weeks ago, after the brand new hot tub was installed, I filled it (310 gals) and did a purge using AHH!some. Ran jets on high w/ air for 30-minutes, wiped away the green sludge from the shell above the water line and scooped a few small patches from the water. I then removed the four Bullfrog JetPaks and cleaned the green from them that was at the waterline. As an extra precaution, I then ran the jets on high for a second 30-minute period. There was only a small amount of green residue to wipe away this time. I then sprayed ≈ 50 gallons of water into the tub via each jet to rinse any lingering residue of green biofilm and AHH!some purge. I siphoned out then used a shop vac to completely drain the foot well as well as vacuuming each JetPak supply pipe and all the lowest fixed jets. I have rinsed the filter once per week. I am pretty sure we can rule out ‘hot tub folliculitis’. Thank you, Dave

Some people will experience a rash when exposed to hot water. It is a form of hives or heat rash and if it only affecting your wife is one of the most likely explanations, the other being hot tub itch (which seems more lkely since you said it only starts occiring on "older' spa water. However, a few other things jump out at me.: Chlorine can be more aggressive with no CYA present, even though it is not a known sensitizer. (Bromine, on the other hand, is.) Try running the CYA at 20-30 ppm and FC at 3 - 5 ppm. If your CC is below .5 ppm you do not need to shock. It is rare that a properly runnign salt water system will need shocking or When do you shock shock to 12-15 ppm with sodium hypochlorite and wait unti the FC is below 10ppm before yon enter the tub. You can go as lot as 40 ppm if ph rise is too fast. Adding 30-50 ppm borate will also help stabilize pH for a longer period of time. I recommend boric acid over borax since ti had a smaller effect on pH and does not require the addition of acid at the same time. Boric acid and borax are used in vaginal supositories, bath salts and bath bombs, btw. and, while the powder is an irrirant because of it's low pH, it is not a known sensitizer. How do you know this? Have you has a bacteriological water analysis done? One word of caution, You MUST do a complete drain and refill (possbily more than one to account for water left in the plumbing) if you want to go back to chlorine after using any form of bromine or you will still have a bromine spa. possible but whether it can cause a rash is doubtful or the would be several cases documented. Hot tub flushes are chemicals designed to break up biofilm. Some contain enzymes. Some are detergent based. You can do several drains and refills with plain water after to help flush out the plumbing. Usually. If the rash only starts occurring after the water hah "aged" I would look to bacterial or protozoal causes such as pseudomonas (hot tub itch) , which some people are more sensitive to than others Chloride ions, Muiatic acid is HCL and when it neutralized something akaline it does so by donating the hydrogen ion to the OH ions in the water creating basically water and salt. When baking soda is dissolved it forms sodium ions and bicarbonate ions, which, depending on pH reach an equilibrium between bicarbonate ions and carbonic acid, which is basically carbon dioxide dissolved in water (seltzer). This post explains it a bit more: https://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28846-lowering-total-alkalinity-howto/

Thanks for the input!! Much appreciated! We live in Missouri, and we were just questioning if it is due to a larger difference between outside temperature and hot tub water temp. It was upper 40's the night of the 14th when she had no problems but had dropped back down into the 20's last night. We keep our temp low (100) because we like to sit in there for longer periods of time than most people. Your rash sounds the same as hers as well. Thanks again for the reply!

Hey Tinkers. I have the same issue (me not my wife). I've tried just about everything to help but I've come around to the fact that my skin is sensitive to hot water and it seems to be cumulative. We mostly use our hot tub on Weekends. On Friday I'm fine, on Saturday I start getting itchy and by Sunday I start seeing a rash. I get red bumps and sometimes they get bad enough to weep. My wife has never had any adverse reaction. I have found keeping my PH on the lower side helps a bit. Showering after doesn't seem to have a significant difference. I think my skin is just super sensitive. I'm not sure where you are from a climate standpoint, but in the Winter in the Northeast it's the worst. I think because my skin is dry and compromised to begin with. We don't really use the tub in the Summer so I can't tell if my skin would do better when it's healthier to begin with. I know this probably doesn't help much but your situation isn't unique. -Rob

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.

This has been an ongoing problem since December. I will try to lay it out chronologically. The rash is worst at my under arms on both my arms and chest, but I also get it on my belly. Long story short: Tub got nasty Was cold so brought water back to clear until dumping Purged 3 times and dumped with 50 ppm sanitizer still rash Ran mulitple days keeping sanitizer at 20-30 ppm to try and help knock out any colonies(did not use tub at this time) Purged 2 times with the second purge sitting overnight, sanitizer at 30 ppm. Drain and fill, same problem. Hot tub is a bromine tub, Target numbers are PH <7.8, TA 50, Bromine 8ppm. Tested with taylor reagent. Sodium bromide to build reserve, 1" bromine floaters to help maintain. Only use muriatic acid when lowering ph/ta. Baking soda to raise if ever needed. Bleach when shocking. Mid December we had a gathering and the hot tub took a beating for about 4-5 hours of use. I only added extra sanitizer towards the end. I am sure it was 0 for quite a while. Life took over and I forgot to give the tub any attention for about a week. It was a murky foul smelling mess. It was also 0 degrees outside and was going to be like that for a while. I figured I will try to bring it back(knowing that as soon as I could I was going to dump it). I started shocking with bleach, maybe 20 ppm bromine or so. I also changed the filters(I have two sets). Over the next few days I brought it back clear. It looked perfect, levels were good, I decided I would try soaking in it. That night I had a rash under my arm pits on my arms and chest side. This caused me to stop using the tub until I could change the water. Jump forwards 2 weeks and it's just warm enough for a drain and fill. I bumped the sanitizer up to 50 ppm and ran 1 Tbs of Ahh-Some through the tub. It was the same as I've seen in the past, some yellow slime on the walls but nothing drastic. I had enough to do it two more times, I did not drain the tub, just re added when the bubbles would die down(about 30 minutes). Not much stuff at all came out on the last ahhsome. I then drained the tub but since it was still below freezing I didnt vacuum out the jets or wipe down. I refilled the tub, balanced the water out to my goal numbers above using only sodium bromide, bleach, muriatic acid. Used the hot tub with 8 ppm bromine, got the rash again. Funny thing, other people had used it and had not gotten any rashes from it. My wife had used it twice. In between I ran the sanitizer up to 30 and let it coast down to 20 for 3 days(knowing this is hard on the tub). Just in case I had some colonies somewhere that were depleting the sanitizer when the pumps werent running. We didnt use the tub at these levels. I decided there must still be stuff hiding in there. I bought more ahhsome and treated. First Tbs application, some muck came out but not much. I then bumped sanitizer up to 30 and added a second application. I ran the jets long enough to get it to disperse and shut tub off. I came out ever hour or so and ran it for a few minutes. At bed time I let it sit off overnight. I ran it the next evening to stir up anything(did not see anything) and drained tub. This time I vacuumed out the water and wiped the tub down. Filters were also swapped to my other set. Tub was refilled and water was balance with same procedure. I STILL get a rash, but the family has no rash. Last night the sanitizer was a little high, I read 10 PPM. I decided it would be fine and would drop fast since we didnt shower or or anything before. When we got out of the tub sanitizer was still 3 PPM. My sanitizer demand is pretty low to me. The floater sits at 3-4 on the number thing. I am using the same chemicals I have been using for over a year. Any idea what might be going on? I know I need to see a doctor about it for real medical advice but nothing has changed with my tub and I feel like I've adequately purged it.

Thank you for the reply. The tub is extremely clean. I have done numerous (6) Ahhsome purges and is just 1 year old. No gunk of any color or kind is coming out of the tub. I started putting boric acid in the tub last October and that is when the "poison ivy" looking rash started to appear. I put boric acid in our pool for the first time 1 month after opening it for the season this summer. She was staying out of the tub and getting into the pool only and the rash was not clearing up. Drained, purged, emptied, filled and rinsed, emptied again then refilled tub. No boric acid this time. Went with the 3 step bromine set up. We do not use MPS because we know she is sensitive to that from a previous use of it last fall. Shock only with sodium hypochlorite. She got in it 3 nights ago after the drain and refil. Chlorine was showing 2 ppm and bromine 4-5 ppm. Alk 50 ppm, ph 7.6, and she broke out again but it was different in that it looked like a sunburn but was better in 24 hours. Got into tub last night (alk 50, ph 7.6, Cl .5, Br not registering) for an hour and she was fine this morning with no rash. She is sensitive and allergic to EVERYTHING which makes it tough. Were you meaning to say Bromine is a known SENSITIZER and chlorine is not?

Folks, I might need some really deep chemistry knowledge from you guys. I got a hot springs salt water spa this year, and used it without issue for 3 months about 4 times a week for 45 minutes at a time. We test our water with the Taylor tester kits and it's damn near perfectly balanced. Then, out of no where I started getting feverishly itchy rash mostly on my legs and back (usually never where my swimsuit touches), raised and blotchy. I got a skin biopsy, and it came back allergic contact dermititis. Not super helpful. I did patch testing, a few positives came back but nothing relating to what's in my hot tub. I cut out as many possible chemicals in my life (detergent, shampoo, makeup, etc) thinking it was something unrelated that worsens in the tub. I don't believe this is the case. It's 100% definitive at this point that it occurs within 5-24 hours after I use my spa. I've taken 3-4 weeks off no contact, and tried again. I'm the only one who has used it and has this reaction. We've decontaminated it and drained it out of precaution, but that didn't help. I've taken every chemical we use in the spa and figured out the ratio and added it to my bath tub one chemical per bath session to try and figure out which chemical is causing this. At this point, I've tested all of them listed below and not had a reaction. I tried to keep time in the water and temperature roughly the same. I even tried the hot tub with no jets, but still get the problem. I'm assuming there's a bunch of chemical reactions that occur in the hot tub that are not happening in my bath tub... Due to combinations etc. Can anyone please help me tease this apart?? I suffer aches and pains from Lyme disease and this tub had helped me so much, and I'm very sad I cannot use it very often now. I will be forever grateful. It's a 350 gallon tub, List of items we use: -Sodium bisulfate at refill as needed -Sodium carbonate at refill as needed -Liquid chlorine as needed when salt system is overloaded -MPS for shock once a week -Add CYA at time of fill -PH lock (leisure time PH balance) at time of fill -Metal gone at time of fill -Pure pool salt for chlorine generator 'Freshwater system' -We have an ozonator Thank you all so much in advance, Cassie

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921763/ I got the rash from treating my Hot tub with potassium monopersulfate. .. also known as Shock... you can find some articles on the net... for some reason it is more common in men

I would like to continue this tread with a similar problem. I have a spa with an in clear salt system that converts to bromine. When we bought the spa six months ago, we were in it 24/7 and had no problems. After about 3 months my wife developed a rash that was very itchy. I however had none. Changed the water, all the levels were right, same problem. She took a month break and tried again, then it was better, but came again shortly after with regular bathing. Changed the water again, and tested without salt one time. No problems. Added salt and got the right bromine levels, same rash came back again. Now i was considering changing to clorine because even last week i started to get irritation aswell. I have ordered a product called spa marvel which apparently reduces the level of clorine / bromine needed. My first question is has anyone else experience from spa marvel and how it works? I am concerned if i change from salt to clorine that i will damage the inclear system but cant find any information on it. Does anyone have the inclear system and also has problems with bromine rashes? Should i use some kind of shock treatment to clean the system again? I have no experience of shock treatments so if someone can explain what this actually does i would be grateful too! 🙂

We moved into a house recently that has a hot tub in the basement. This is our first time owning a hot tub and I had no idea what to do. The previous owner left some chemicals behind, so after a little research I bought some test strips (after a lot of research I realize this is a no no) and attempted to balance the water. We used the tub for about 6 weeks, water is clear, doesn't smell, filter has been rinsed and is very clean since it's indoors. The tub has a bromine floater and I've been shocking 1-2x/wk. All was well, although it was very difficult to tell with the test strips if the pH was correct (so maybe it was off?)...until last week when I got a nasty rash that just keeps spreading even though I haven't been in the hot tub since. I did notice not too long ago that there was some yucky stuff building up on the seam of inside of the cover so I just wiped it away with a Lysol wipe (bad idea?). So...I've read Nitro's decontamination method, figure that's the best place to start from here. Questions: 1. Do you leave the cover on or off while going through all the steps? 2. How often am I supposed to clean the inside of the cover? Can I just use regular cleaning products, or what do you recommend? How often should this be done? 3. I've read some posts that say 'brush the spa'? Is there a specific brush you need, or anything soft-ish will do? 4. I have a water softener. Some things I've read say to use the hard(er) water, pre-softener, to refill, others say a mix of softened and not. Thoughts? 5. Draining...because it's indoors, there is a hose connected underneath that goes into a drain. I have to assume this is going to my septic system. From what I've read, people who have this issue suggest cooling the water and draining it bit by bit over a week so it doesn't flood the septic. I assume this will begin a bacteria breeding process again and ruin my decontamination. Ideas? 6. Testing -- I have read here that the Taylor kits are the way to go. I can't find a 2006 bromine kit in Canada. Someone suggested a 2005 and doing some calculations. I found it on amazon for $158 which seems pretty steep given it isn't even what I need. Any other kits available in Canada that will do the job? I also have a saltwater pool and will need a kit for that, so if there is something that could do both that would be amazing! Sorry, a lot of questions. But I have read A LOT and still feel so lost. And I really don't want anyone else in my family to experience this nasty rash that I am dealing with. Thank you in advance!!

@ItchyandFrustrated I'm not a spa expert like Waterbear and others on here, but this is my experience, it may help you: We got our hot tub 2 years ago, newbies. Followed the instructions from the spa dealer, fine for a few weeks, but often had cloudy water, dealer was hopeless, said it was fine etc. Then I started itching, skin rash (just me, not my wife or kids), I would go in once and then spend 4 or 5 days getting rid of the rash/itching. Finally came across this site/post and switched to the Dichlor/Bleach method after purging etc, which fixed the water, but I still had the skin problem! By a process of elimination I found that I had a reaction to CYA. So I completely removed Dichlor and anything that may have CYA from my process and then had zero problems after that. My skin is fine and the water is clear. So my process now is that I do a water change every 6 months, balance the water to get the PH and Alkalinity right (using the method on this forum), then I add concentrated bleach with no additives as santiser. I'm in the UK and I just order Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) 15% (sold as patio cleaner) from Amazon. Every time we come out of the tub I add the right amount of bleach and then every now and again (2-3 days) I add a bit more (50ml) if no-one is using the tub. For my tub (Jacuzzi J-375 - 445 gals / 1685 litres) I find that I need to add 70ml of 15% bleach per person-hour of bathing. If I ever get it wrong and it goes a bit cloudy I dump 2-300ml of bleach in there and it clears it up overnight. The tub has a UV lamp in the system which cuts down any excess chlorine. I don't know if this is the best way, but it's the only way I've found to stop my terrible skin irritation which would have meant selling the hot tub! And the water is crystal clear 99% of the time. I don't use any other additives of any sort. Hope this helps.

Hi & help? We just bought a new hot tub and my daughter has developed a case of hot tub rash. What should we do to prevent it? Thank you in advance for any advice you can share.

we have had a 2001 sundance altamar since spring I used bromine since we got it chem levels are correct the bromine gives my wife a rash if she stays out of tub rash goes away so we know its the tub she is the only one with maybe 20 different people being in it over the summer total so what else can I use? what do you guys recommend? we go in hot tubs when we travel and its never a problem pools have never bothered her

your tub is overstabilzed which means the chlorine is not working since it's bound chemically to the CYA and that means your tub is undersanitized. 8 ppm CC indicates that something is probably growing in the tub. CC should never be higher than .5 to 1 ppm and ideally 0 ppm. If you are doing dichlor/bleach properly your CYA would not be that high so you are doing something wrong My guess is that the rash is from pseudomonas which can grow readily in undersanitized hot water, which is what you have. You need to drain and refill and STOP using dichlor and switch to bleach when the cya hits 30 ppm. You need to get your water balanced and learn how to maintain it.

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!

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.

Hi Bill. I originally posted this on a different thread, but didn't know if you would see it unless I started a new topic and copied and pasted.... I have a question about how long we need to super-chlorinate in case of Pseudomonas growth, since I got what looks like hot tub folliculitis. I'm pretty sure it was an infection instead of a reaction to the chemicals, since the free chlorine level was down to almost zero possibly for WEEKS before I got the rash. Being newbies, having had our tub for only about two months, we got the kind of test strips that tested ONLY for "total chlorine" instead of testing for both total and free chlorine. It wasn't until I got the rash that I bought more detailed test strips and saw that the free chlorine was practically zero. First, we tried shocking the tub, but that didn't work (even with correct pH), so plan B was to drain the tub and then superchlorinate. Back to my question about how long to super-chlorinate.......The Spa Marvel website says to add 5Tbs of granular Dichlor per 100 gallons of water and then leave it in the hot tub for 3 days. But, that's a LOT more granular chlorine than others suggest using. Moreover, pretty soon after adding all that chlorine, I noticed that the pH went down a lot. Since an acidic pH is bad for the plumbing, it seems like three days is a long time to superchlorinate. I also read elsewhere that you need to superchlorinate for only 24 hours to kill algae, which seems like the toughest thing to kill. So, I'm considering keeping the chlorine at this high level for maybe only a day and a half instead of three days, to make sure the toughest microorganism (algae) is dead. Beyond that seems like overkill. Spa Marvel's instructions are to add their CLEANSE agent after 3 days of superchlorinating, and then to leave the cleanser in there for another 24 hours, meaning the super-high chlorine levels would stay in there for four days, at least, before flushing all those chemicals out and refilling. What do you guys think about all this?

Hi Bill. I have a question about how long we need to super-chlorinate in case of Pseudomonas growth, since I got what looks like hot tub folliculitis. I'm pretty sure it was an infection instead of a reaction to the chemicals, since the free chlorine level was down to almost zero possibly for WEEKS before I got the rash. Being newbies, having had our tub for only about two months, we got the kind of test strips that tested ONLY for "total chlorine" instead of testing for both total and free chlorine. It wasn't until I got the rash that I bought more detailed test strips and saw that the free chlorine was practically zero. First, we tried shocking the tub, but that didn't work (even with correct pH), so plan B was to drain the tub and then superchlorinate. Back to my question about how long to super-chlorinate.......The Spa Marvel website says to add 5Tbs of granular Dichlor per 100 gallons of water and then leave it in the hot tub for 3 days. But, that's a LOT more granular chlorine than others suggest using. Moreover, pretty soon after adding all that chlorine, I noticed that the pH went down a lot. Since an acidic pH is bad for the plumbing, it seems like three days is a long time to superchlorinate. I also read elsewhere that you need to superchlorinate for only 24 hours to kill algae, which seems like the toughest thing to kill. So, I'm considering keeping the chlorine at this high level for maybe only a day and a half instead of three days, to make sure the toughest microorganism (algae) is dead. Beyond that seems like overkill. Spa Marvel's instructions are to add their CLEANSE agent after 3 days of superchlorinating, and then to leave the cleanser in there for another 24 hours, meaning the super-high chlorine levels would stay in there for four days, at least, before flushing all those chemicals out and refilling. What do you guys think about all this? Thanks

Hi fellow members, I have been on a journey through the posts to decipher a proper maintenance routine for wood hot tubs. I have been through many tub makers manuals, and spoken with the maker of my tub. It was good fortune that I landed here on the forum! Thank you contributors for a good grasp on water chemistry and especially for the Dichlor/Bleach method. Here is what I have found. There is no good consensus on how to maintain wood tubs. Many have posted that their new tubs are being turned to pulp by ozone/chlorine/Bromine etc. Dr. Spa on this forum recommends very low dose Dichlor method below 3 ppm FC coupled with ionizer, same with Roberts Hot Tub recommendations, yet is this enough to safely deal with Bather load. Other tub makers are proponents on ozonation and mps, but is there sufficient sanitation with this approach. Roberts Hot Tub told me I would only need 1/2 tsp of Dichlor 2-3x/week. Also Dr. Spa has warned against the use of ozone, Bromime, and mps as hazards to wood tub life expectancy. The last 2 years I was using this very low ppm approach with Dichlor, until my wife got the rash and the tub tested positive for pseudomonas. There was poor smelling water. I have been very leery of super chlorinating the spa due to posts where users encounter wood fiber disintegration. I recently performed a modified decontamination using a fresh fill with Ahh Some, purged then drained. Then a fresh fill to rim balancing and adding higher levels of Dichlor in stages 10 ppm, next day 10 ppm, then over next few days bringing level up to 5ppm. Following morning I have grater than .5 ppm. Here is my question, because wood is organic will the CD always remain high? I have begun soaking once again and adding 3 ppm Dichlor after soaks, next day testing to .5 ppm FC. So far the wood seems in great shape with no visible degradation. I can see that I need to add higher levels after soaking to achieve 1 ppm FC prior to next soak. My concern is that these low amounts suggested by many of the wood tub suppliers will not manage bather load. I plan on another 10-20 ppm FC addition just prior to next refill. I found several posts here where sanitizing methods where degrading the wood, or others had sustained rashes, others afraid to use bleach. There appears to be a lot of confusion. Are there any long term cedar tub users who could help put together a safe maintenance routine for wood tubs. Perhaps even a decontamination guide. I for one would feel at ease knowing I was operating within reasonable guidelines and not putting bathers at risk. Nitro, I have been reading through your post on Chlorine Demand. My demand is over 75%. Is this to be expected with wood tubs? Will the Chlorine always go after the wood until the FC is close to zero. Is there any guidance so we can keep our soakers safe and our tubs intact? Could there be a go to category for wood tubs that could adapt/modify all of the good science and successes found on this forum towards the wooden spa family. Best regards, Michael 500 gal Red Cedar Roberts Hot Tub Pentair intelliflo pump, Mastertemp 125 heater, Clean and Clear filter. Sunshine pool ionizer, Multiwave controller Bleach/Dichlor method, Proteam Gentle Spa

Hi, i live in Northern Ontario, we have used H202 for the last 3 years. I, like many others got a rash when using Chlorine or Bromine. it was to the point where i could not use our hot tub, so in researching an alternative Hydrogen Peroxide came up. We have had very good luck with this system, no rashes or itching. I use the test strips and add HP as needed, i also add a product weekly called ZAP, it is an oxidizing and clarifying treatment. Although i have good luck with this system i often read articles and one article said that if using HP you also NEED to use a sanitizer, Chlorine or Bromine, then another article says that Chlorine and Bromine should never be used with HP. I find it very confusing. Has anyone ever used Chlorine or Bromine with HP ? I know i should just leave well enough alone as this system works for us and the water remains clear, but i do get concerned when i read up and it says a sanitizer "NEEDS" to be used.

I don't use Biguanide in my hot tub. Instead I use a much more simple (and less harsh on internal components) care routine in which I sanitize the water after each use with a large dose of chlorine, and let my ozonator (paired with a circ pump) burn off the excess free chlorine before my next soak. A Nature2 Silver mineral cartridge helps me reduce my chlorine needs so my care routine is very easy and streamlined. Essentially every night I'm soaking in chlorine free water (literally my bathtub has more chlorine with a fresh fill of tap water), but my care routine ONLY works because of the extra accessories in my tub (Ozonator hooked to circulation pump running 24/7, and the nature2 silver mineral cartridge). From your description of a rash and recurring irritation, I'm wondering if you have a bacterial infection called hottub folliculitis ("hottub rash") - this can be caused by improper water chemistry (likely with your experiences using the inflatable tub as a novice user - it happens to many people). The thing about this bacterial infection is that it *will* take hold in your spa and is very difficult to eliminate (chlorine and other sanitizers won't easily kill it). If you still have a folliculitis infection, you are re-contaminating the water every time you use the hot tub - chlorine and other sanitizers won't kill this bacteria easily. If you had an infection with your inflatable tub and tried to move to a hardshell tub, you likely introduced the bacteria to your new tub's water the first time you used it. Here's my advice: See your dermatologist and specifically have them test the rash to see if it is a bacterial infection. If he confirms you have hottub folliculitis, he will need to prescribe you medication. Follow the directions and use this medication. *DO NOT USE THE HOT TUB UNTIL THE INFECTION HAS FULLY CLEARED UP!!!*. Next before you use the hot tub again you need to fully decontaminate the hot tub - AhhSome Purge, then use a strong bleach solution to wash/clean/decontaminate every surface above the water line (including the cover). Again, if you have a bacterial infection nothing you do with water care routines will help until you get medication to treat the issue completely and only then decontaminate the spa and use it. As you're learning, water care is no joke - water borne illnesses can be serious stuff. Just last year a viral news feed went around the internet with a story about a young teen girl who entered a poorly-maintained hot tub at a friend's party with a small open cut on her foot. She caught a nasty infection and ended up passing out a few days later, only to wake up in the hospital missing a foot - doctors had to amputate to save her life. I could be completely wrong and you're highly allergic to chlorine or some other chemical in your care routine, but it really sounds like hottub rash to me.

We installed an Swim spa, about 16 months ago. I swim about 40 minutes, 6 days a week. Several months ago, I started getting just one or two spots (red bumps) that will itch like crazy. I have been since two dermatologist with no help. The itching is on going, it's not a rash. Tested water and all levels are correct. This week, I have stopped using the swim spa and I plan to start swim three days a week to see if it helps. I really would like to swim 6 days a week. Has anyone had this issue and how did you resolve it? Thank you

We just took delivery two weeks ago of a brand new Bullfrog R8 to replace our 16 year old Hot Springs Prodigy that died last year (yes, it took a year to get the new tub!). We ran bromine in the Prodigy for the first 3 years with no issues when I suddenly developed an itch on my legs after using the tub. No one else in the family had any issues. There was no rash or redness associated with it - just a nasty itch that would begin about 2 hours after I would get done with a soak and would last for a day or so. After consulting with my dealer and a year of trying a bunch of things, we finally settled on a switch to Baqua Spa. While it solved my itch problem, I hate the product. It has a rather unpleasant smell and if breathed while the jets are on, it burns your lungs. Nevertheless, I was a (somewhat) happy soaker for the remainder of my Prodigy’s life. When we bought the Bullfrog, I told the dealer of my bromine concerns. They said that the Bullfrog’s special chlorine cartridge system was way gentler on the skin and that I shouldn’t have any issues. And for the first two weeks, this was true. However, now my itch is back and with a vengeance. This time, my legs were fine, just the area between the legs (if you know what I mean). Woke me up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I took a water sample to my dealer and they said my chlorine levels were low and to add some granular chlorine. I did that, tested the water and the balance and chlorine levels looked fine. Waited 24 hours just in case. Took a 30 minute soak and came out feeling fine. Woke up at 2am with my entire body itching - back, legs, and between the legs, which was even worse than before. I’ve been reading many posts here of itch issues, but many seem to also result in some form of rash - I don’t get that. Also, as mentioned, I’m the only one of six in the family that seems to be having this issue. I can swim in chlorinated pools, even public pools that reek of chlorine, with no problem, which makes me think it’s something local to me. I really would like to avoid going back to Baqua Spa if I can avoid it. While I’m sure the issue could be anything, I have one other thing that may make my situation unique. I’m on a well and our water is nasty. I can’t use the water direct from the well - I have to use my softened water and add calcium when the tub is full. My TDS with a fresh fill STARTS at 1500 so I have to change water often. Is it possible that the chlorine is reacting with something in my water? I’m looking into having water delivered but don’t want to spend the money if it won’t make a difference. Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks, Nizman