sc5.4 Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Are the little packs of water perfume OK to use at times? Reason is, sometimes the water has a bromine smell and my wife and kids like to add the little packs of liquid fragrance to the water. They make it smell OK and the package says its safe to use. Are they going cause any chem problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pup Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 I am interested to know this too...as I have never used any fragrance products because I continously strive for perfect water and I do not want to add something that would be counter to my objective of crystal clear non-smelling water. Regarding Bromine smell, I have been keeping my ozone-equipped spa at 0.5-1.0ppm with no ill effects (no scum, crystal clear water and very little to no smell). My Bromine demand is minimal and I usually use 0.75oz of MPS (38%) after each soak or 2oz if I leave home on business for the workweek. My wife and I usually soak for 20-50 minutes 3-5 times per week at 100F. I use a Spa Frog (Bromine and Mineral cartridges) with the Bromine opening set to "3" in a 420 gallon (as filled) spa. My filtration is set on Economy Mode at 1 hour every 12 hours (although the minimum recommended is 2 hours per 12 hours). I have been watching my water quality closely for the better part of the year and the water has been very near perfect (my last refill was over 4 months ago but the water is still very nice [not sluggish]). The largest drop in temperature in the winter (mid-20F lows) was 2-3F (for which the spa heats up quickly on demand). This minimal approach might be risky for some (especially for a family load with small urinating-prone children)...but for my wife and I, we are very satisfied while using very little in the way of chemicals. My monthly energy costs are relatively low (4-7kw per day with a 3kw Titanium heating element). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonR6702 Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Are the little packs of water perfume OK to use at times? Reason is, sometimes the water has a bromine smell and my wife and kids like to add the little packs of liquid fragrance to the water. They make it smell OK and the package says its safe to use. Are they going cause any chem problems? I use them occasionally because the odor of chlorine bothers my wife (personally, I like the odor of chlorine in low concentrations). I haven't noticed any problems due to the use of liquid spa fragrances except a slight increase in chlorine demand. The brand I use lists the ingredients on the bottle, and all ingredients are relatively innocuous organic liquids. Some of the liquid fragrance labels I have looked at claim that the products inside make the water "silky" or "smooth", or some other similar adjective. Those labels imply that the products contain oils, surfactants, softenes or some combination of these. I steer away from those products. Some of the crystalline spa fragrances, on the other hand, contain mineral salts like magnesium sulfate (epsom salt), which will increase the total dissolved solids, and in the case of magnesium salts, they will increase the hardness too. Depending on the hardness test method you use, magnesium may not show up as total hardness. It does show up as total hardness with the EDTA titration test employed in some of the Taylor kits. Hardness due to magnesium does not tend to form waterline deposits easily since magnesium carbonate is significantly more soluble in water than calcium carbonate, but the contribution of magnesium to buldup of scale around your heater will be quite significant at high concentrations. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidly Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I've tried 3 different brands of liquid scents and they all created foam. I use crystals once in a while and they seem to be much better, although they don't have as good of scent choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I've tried a few different scents before, all of which caused slightly cloudy water, and raised Chlorine Demand. However, I've learned that if you keep your water balanced, and you use enough sanitizer/oxidizer, the water will smell fresh and scents aren't needed. Bottom line: everything you put in your tub (bather waste, chemicals etc) will remain in your tub until you change the water. In other words, less is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc5.4 Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Thanks for the comments. I have only used them a couple times and haven't noticed anything like foam yet. All of them probably claim to be OK to use in hot tubs or baths. I just worry about throwing off the chemicals and causing murky water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James141 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I have tried 2 types: Spazzaz Crystals - good but works out expensive as you have to put a lot in 2-4 heaped cap fulls but it didnt seem to effect my water in any way Liquid based - I cant remember the name, this was very good as you only needed a little bit and you got lots of aroma but it did clog my filters up a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc5.4 Posted June 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 The liquid packs that we have tried were HTH brand that they have at Walmart. It's a variety pack type thing with about 5 different fragrances. I just hope they dont get the filter slimey or worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.