What's The Story On Ionizers?

[zoetman]

I have an ionizer because I told the spa guy I didn't want to use chemicals. But I found out I still have to use chemicals. Is there any system out there that would use the least amount of chemicals - I hate the smell or chlorine as well as bromine. My spa is indoors, not in the sun.

[waterbear]

I have an ionizer because I told the spa guy I didn't want to use chemicals. But I found out I still have to use chemicals. Is there any system out there that would use the least amount of chemicals - I hate the smell or chlorine as well as bromine. My spa is indoors, not in the sun.

There is NO SUCH THING as a chemical free pool or spa! Even your ionizer is adding chemicals to the water, most likely copper and silver. Bottom line is this, there are only three EPA approved sanitizers--chlorine, bromine, and biguanide. Everything else is a secondary santizier that MUST be used with a compatible EPA approved sanitizer residual. Some are useful, others are basically snake oil! If you would like to read up on the different sanitizers and on 'chemical free' systems then check out this and this and this.

They are some primers that I wrote for newbies.

Bromine does have a distinct chemical smell and is a known sensitizer, chlorine when properly done actually has very little smell but is more difficult to maintain than bromine if you don't check on your spa daily. Biguanide (SoftSoak, BaquaSpa, Revacil, etc.) has a lot of problems associated with its use ranging from degredation of plastic parts in the spa (jets and light covers, etc) to water problems like pink slime and white water mold so I would only recommend it as a last resort for someone who is truely allergic to both bromine and chlorine (rare but it does happen). BTW, dealers like biguanide systems because the profit level is very high!

For an indoor spa bromine is my santiizer of choice. The reasons get rather technical so I won't go into them here but have a lot to do with the indoor air quality.

[zoetman]

I have an ionizer because I told the spa guy I didn't want to use chemicals. But I found out I still have to use chemicals. Is there any system out there that would use the least amount of chemicals - I hate the smell or chlorine as well as bromine. My spa is indoors, not in the sun.

[zoetman]

I have an ionizer because I told the spa guy I didn't want to use chemicals. But I found out I still have to use chemicals. Is there any system out there that would use the least amount of chemicals - I hate the smell or chlorine as well as bromine. My spa is indoors, not in the sun.

There is NO SUCH THING as a chemical free pool or spa! Even your ionizer is adding chemicals to the water, most likely copper and silver. Bottom line is this, there are only three EPA approved sanitizers--chlorine, bromine, and biguanide. Everything else is a secondary santizier that MUST be used with a compatible EPA approved sanitizer residual. Some are useful, others are basically snake oil! If you would like to read up on the different sanitizers and on 'chemical free' systems then check out this and this and this.

They are some primers that I wrote for newbies.

Bromine does have a distinct chemical smell and is a known sensitizer, chlorine when properly done actually has very little smell but is more difficult to maintain than bromine if you don't check on your spa daily. Biguanide (SoftSoak, BaquaSpa, Revacil, etc.) has a lot of problems associated with its use ranging from degredation of plastic parts in the spa (jets and light covers, etc) to water problems like pink slime and white water mold so I would only recommend it as a last resort for someone who is truely allergic to both bromine and chlorine (rare but it does happen). BTW, dealers like biguanide systems because the profit level is very high!

For an indoor spa bromine is my santiizer of choice. The reasons get rather technical so I won't go into them here but have a lot to do with the indoor air quality.

Thank you. Ok. i read the parts about using Borax and Baking Soda which appeals to me only how much do you need to use each time. Say for example my ph is down. How much of which product do I use to get it up? I'm a newbie so I appreciate your patience.

[waterbear]

The ONLY way to know how much of a chemical to add to change the water balance is by proper testing and then computing how much is needed to change that test result the desired amount for the amount of water in your tub.

Proper testing means using a GOOD test kit. I would recommend using a Taylor K-2006 for a chlorine system or a Taylor K-2106 for a bromine system. If you decide on biguanide then you will need a test kit for biguanide and peroxide in addition to a test kit that will allow you to test for pH, TA and CH such as one of the Taylor kits above. There are many charts and calculators available to computer how much of a chemical you need to make a change in a given volume of water once you know where you are by testing. The site that I linked you to before has such calculators available.

There is nothing special about usuing borax or baking soda. Baking soda is the common name for sodium bicarbonate, sometimes called sodium hydrogen carbonate. This is what EVERYONE sells as alkalinity increaser for a lot more money than you can buy it for at the grocery! Borax is sodium tetreaborate. You can buy this as a spa additive for a LOT of money as Proteam Gentle Spa (mixed with a fragrance and dry acid to help balance the pH) or you can use 20 mule team borax and some pH decreaser to do exactly the same thing. You just won't have the fragrance!