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Do you have an Ozonator? Use a Monopersulfate or a nonchlorine shock, Natural spa purifier and a Chlorine shock (Seachlor). If you change that cartrige every 4 months like you are supposed to and keep on with your sanitation given you have an Ozone she will not have a rash. Also, use something like SpaMetalX for your mineral and scale prevention in the spa.

It sounds like the bacteria in your spa have gotten ahead of and the rash your wife has is common in spas that arent sanitized properly. Some people are more suseptible to the bacteria than others so she make break out and you may not. she will probably want to go to a doctor to get something to help clear it up and stay out of the spa until it clears up. Even with the vision cartridge in the spa you need to maintain a chlorine residual and that sounds like the problem.

About a month ago we bought a Sundance Bahia, based on preference and what some you had to say about the brand, options and so forth. Here's some feedback for people shopping for a hot tub. What we like about the 2005 Sundance Bahia: -Good size and shape for a family, not too small -Easy to move from one seat to the next -Seems to be of good quality, no issues with performance -Price $5600, good bang for the buck What we'll get on our next tub: -1 pump is 2 speed, the other only has 1 (high) speed. I'd rather both pumps were 2 speed. -No air pump. It would be nice to have just air at times without water pumps being on. -I'm adding an ozonator to this tub, can't hurt. -Lighted keys on the controller. It's hard to see where the buttons are at night. -Deeper. I'm 6'1" and only 1 seat is really deep enough to sit with water up to my neck. (selfish request) Other observations Electrical connection - Opted for GFI in the main panel and disconnect outside, rather than a "Hot tub" disconnect. The HT disconnect has a GFI breaker and the disconnect swith in one unit. It's in a nema 3r rainproof box, which is fine if it is somewhat protected. Blowing rain can penetrate the box and cause nuisannce tripping. My cost was $1k for the hook up, more than I expected. The other option is cheaper. Home Depot sells a 50amp hot tub disconnect but not the 60amp (in my area). Buy it yourself if you can. Get a quote for the electrical work first. Chlorine and Bromine (dichlor) are working pretty good. I got in the second week with the water a little cloudy. Don't do that!!! I got a rash. Chemicals are your friend. No problems since. Dichlor after every use (1 Tbsp) and Chlorine every 2 days (2 Tbsp) seems to be maintaining the levels correctly. I also shock with Clorine every week (6 Tbsp). I try to do this late at night so it can sit for at least a day. I think is different for every tub so you'll have to find your own pattern. We added SpaZaz. Don't do that. The smell lasts for about 1 day and the tub gets foamy. It does soften the water though, which was nice. You can get the foam out with your hands and that seems to help. Hope it isn't messing up my deck. Hope this helps somebody.

Hi Rika, Many of our customers ask the same question. So, to answer your question quickly, DON'T USE POOL CHEMICALS IN SPAS OR SPA CHEMICALS IN POOLS! To be perfectly honest, the chemicals themselves may indeed be the identical product, but it's the labeling. And the labeling makes it a question of legality. The question of legality makes it a discussion of whether YOU want to be sued if another friend of yours gets a rash or "illness" because of using YOUR spa. I'll be as brief as possible. Here's the scenario: you need to add "shock" to your water. You're out of it. The weather's bad so you go to your local pool discount store (you normally don't shop there, but it's convenient), go to the pool chemical isle (they don't carry spa chemicals & the store person is not knowledgeable) & pick up a bottle of pool shock; shock is shock (NOT). You bring the shock home & use it according to YOUR dosage of what you remember. A couple of days later a friend comes over for a soak. A couple of days later your friend calls to tell you about a rash that she's got under her arms, across her chest & back. She goes to the doctor, doctor tells her it's a good (bad) case of psuedomonas (PA). She spends lots in medical bills & presciptions. She wants to be reimbursed. An investigation finds that you are treating the spa with pool chemicals. The labeling says NOTHING about spas or hot tubs. YOU are negligible and therfore liable. You can also bring the store into this be casting some blame on them (not knowing better, should have told you, etc). You've lost a friend. BUT, you saved a couple of bucks on the shock! That's why. Pool dosages & spa dosages are significantly different for obvious reasons. Another thing to keep in mind is that the way they are used is also much different. If you want some honest answers, you can visit our site at cheaphottubchemicals.com . BUT PLEASE, only use spa chemicals in your spa; NEVER use pool chemicals. In the long run it's not cheaper. Enjoy your spa! Chris

I'm sorry that is happening . Nature 2 is one of my favorite ways to take care of spa water. I've found that it helps with high usage (more than 2 people 2-3 times a week, 20 minutes) to put a tsp of Chlorine/ 250 gallons in the water 1x/wk instead of the recommended tsp/ 250 gallons when spa H2o is hazy. More often than not the rash is associated with bacterial infection in the skin. You are much more susceptable to an infection when sitting in hot water since your pores open more with the heat. You can have 5 people using your spa and only one person be affected so it's difficult to diagnose. You can get a lotion from the doctor to help recover faster from the infection. Please clean your spa thouroughly and pay attention to the seams in your hardcover, you may want to consider getting a new filter or cleaning that one very well. Superchlorination gets rid of any festering bacteria. If you use your spa a lot, you may find using chlorine alone to be more helpful. And the ph can be the cause of the eyes burning. Testing weekly is definately recommended when learning how to use chemicals in a new spa. Everybody is a little different in the way you use your spa so your chemical care should reflect this. Best of luck and hope you get rid of all those no-see-ums!

I am also having the dreaded rash with Nature2 and MPS. Is ECO One the way to go? Is it that good? Don't you also have to use sanitizer with it? I do have an ozonator. Pete

It could very well be caused by lack of sanitizer. When there isn't enough sanitizer available to kill bacteria, it could possibly get into your pores causing an irritation or a rash. I'm not really familiar with EZ Spa, but I do believe that the only sanitizer/oxidizer that it contains is MPS. MPS is not a stand alone sanitizer/oxidizer...it should be used in conjunction with some type of halogen such as chlorine or bromine. Being that you have no ill effects with chlorine, consider going to a chlorine based system. Whether you use it strictly by itself or along with MPS, it will definitely be more effective at controlling bacteria.

David or rash man please describe the rash you have gotten and how bad it is and how long it took to break out. please respond as soon as possible. thanks. rob

Yes Brian you are right it's not EPA Registered Sanitizer product! But and I say But. I have used this product myself for 9 year with out chlorine and bromine or any other chemical like them, I started with them until I found Spa Magic. Their is other thing in the world that work. Spa magic is good for three months and you just do have all the test like the other chemicals. and If you have problem with rash and other skin problem it help and you don't have the toxic fumes like the chlorine and bromine they are not good for you. Scott if you want to try useing a good product try Spa magic once. I get it from abm-solutions.net they are realy nice people their. good luck.

There are several factors that may be causing your rash. First check the balance of your water... if your PH and alkalinity are too low the water can be irritating to the skin and eyes. I would then suggest incorporating a dichlor product into your regular maintenance. The reason for this is because mps has no ability to kill bacteria. It is a great oxidizer, but not a sanitizer. Your tub may be overloaded with bacteria and the nature 2 stick may not be able to handle it by itself. When bacteria is present in the water it can get into your pores and cause a rash. By using a dichlor in conjunction with nature 2 and mps you will now have two ways to kill bacteria and two ways to oxidize waste. Don't forget that your nature 2 stick is only effective for 4 months so if you are beyond that period of time then drain, refill and add a new nature 2 stick.

Skin rashes should not be taken lightly. The published data coming from a variety of sources shows that the overwhelming cause is a combination of "poor" maintenance & not showering before entering the spa or hot tub (especially true with the condition know as Hot Tub Lung). Following the basics of spa & hot tub water care make all the difference. 1. Keep it sanitizer levels where they should be. 2. Maintain good water balance, pH, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness 3. Keep the spa clean. Regularly drain & clean the tub. Especially true of the waterline & top edge of the spa. That's why everyone complaining of a rash notes that it is mainly on their arms & upper torso. 4. Regularly chemically clean the filter cartridge to remove accumulating grease & oil. 5. Make sure the filter is operating 4 - 6 hours daily. 6. Test the water regularly. 7. Shower before entering the spa. Showering removes excess body oils, make up, deodorant that accumulate at the waterline & set up a nice area for bacteria to grow. 8. Our customers have had great success using products such as Spa System Flush or SpaBoss Whirlpool Rinse to clean out the plumbing lines when the spa is being drained & refilled. 9. Shock the spa or hot tub regularly to oxidize unfilterables such as body oils, make up, etc. that can render the sanitizer useless. A little bit of work (no more than 15 to 30 minutes weekly) is all it takes & goes a long way to preventing skin rashes, odor problems & other hot water issues.

My rash and itch are finally gone and the spa is so much easier to care for now. What a difference! Thank you for the comments on this board. Without them i might have never known about Eco One. Glad i didn't go the Baqua route. Jeff if you are still reading this board, thank you for all the help. I had my doubts, but it has done everything that you said. You're awesome!