Chlorine Vs. Bromine

[markley]

What are the advantages/disadvantages for using Bromine? I am leaning towards going with bromine. Does one work better than the other?

Thanks

[Roger]

What are the advantages/disadvantages for using Bromine? I am leaning towards going with bromine. Does one work better than the other? uhanks

If your using bromine thru a floater I disslike that method. It always smells and puts bromine in your water when it doesn't need it. Granuler bromine is better. Dichlor is the simplest to me, add a little after use and shock once in a while and your generaly not soaking in sanitizer. Personal preference I guess.

[Dnepr Dave]

From what I've read on this forum, Bromine is what you'd want if you leave your hot tub for long periods, say at a weekend cabin. Chlorine would be better for a tub at your home where you can tend to the chemicals more frequently.

I use Nitro's Dichlor/Bleach method of sanitizing my spa and use it everyday. I have left it alone for four days with no problems, I just added extra bleach to the water before my trip.

My tub has very little to no chlorine odor, it definitely doesn't smell like a public swimming pool. The chlorine odor is a function of how much bleach is added, keep your chlorine low, (around 1 or 2 ppm) and there will be no chlorine odor.

Bromine is also more expensive and I'm all about cheap.

Dave

[shovelhd]

I am allergic to chlorine, although the trace amounts in the bromine tabs don't bother my skin. So Nitro's method will never work for me. Bromine takes a while to get right, but once you have it right, it's fairly easy to keep it right. The biggest concern with the floater is not having too much bromine, it's the pH drop that the tabs cause. pH does vary a lot with bromine and you have to stay on top of it. I test every day.

[chem geek]

Sorry to hear that you are allergic (sensitive) to chlorine. The chlorine in BCDMH tabs doesn't last very long since it converts bromide ions into bromine within an hour (converting the chlorine to chloride salt). Given how slowly it dissolves relative to this process, the amount of chlorine exposure is quite low.

[JerimiahR]

I am allergic to chlorine, although the trace amounts in the bromine tabs don't bother my skin. So Nitro's method will never work for me. Bromine takes a while to get right, but once you have it right, it's fairly easy to keep it right. The biggest concern with the floater is not having too much bromine, it's the pH drop that the tabs cause. pH does vary a lot with bromine and you have to stay on top of it. I test every day.

This is something I hear pretty commonly. The vast majority of the time however, it's not really an actual reaction to the Chlorine, but a possible lack there of. Bacterial problems in the hot tub can cause a rash, which looks a lot like someone breaking out from an allergic reaction.

Bromine Tablets as Chem Geek suggested, dissolve very slowly so you're not talking about much Chlorine being present. However with granular bromine, as much as 82.5% of the granular bromine is actually Sodium Dichlor (hot tub Chlorine). I'm by no means trying to tell you that you are not actually allergic. However, I have many customers who think they are, and are very likely not, considering they routinely shock with granular bromine without problems.

I often wonder about actual chlorine allergies though, considering almost all municipal water systems use Chlorine to sanitize drinking water. You're almost certain to have at least trace amounts of chlorine in your tap water by the time you drink it. I'd imagine there would be some kind of reaction to chlorinated drinking water in folks who were allergic, yes?

[chem geek]

These are good points, especially about the chlorinated tap water. If one is truly sensitive to the chlorine, then one would be expected to have problems in a shower unless a carbon filter is used in the shower head (or a whole house filter). Some municipalities use Free Chlorine (FC) (i.e. hypochlorous acid) and the residual at the tap is often 0.5 - 1 ppm without any CYA to moderate its strength. Other municipalities use Combined Chlorine (CC), specifically monochloramine, since it persists longer in the pipes and usually comes out at the tap at 1 ppm or so.

shovelhd, you should test your tap water for FC and CC. If you measure FC and you shower or bathe in this water, then it is very unlikely that you are allergic to chlorine. As was stated, the chlorinated pools/spas you were in may not have been properly sanitized. With too little chlorine, one can get bacterial infections. With too much chlorine without CYA, one can get more irritating nitrogen trichloride. The Dichlor-then-bleach method attempts to achieve consistent chlorine disinfection. For people who want to avoid chlorine smell, they start soaking at lower chlorine levels (say, 1 ppm FC) and then add chlorine right after the soak. Though technically not as sanitary as having the chlorine be higher during a soak (especially for person-to-person transmission which isn't usually an issue in a residential spa), it's not that bad and probably what most people do. The key is to use enough chlorine after the soak to oxidize all the bather waste and have a residual of chlorine still left by the next time you soak.

[shovelhd]

You all make good points, and I'll agree with you that skin irritation can be caused by other things like bugs and not chlorine. I may be the exception and not the rule, but I am very sure that I am allergic to chlorine. I have other allergies, and I've tested positive for it. We live in the country and have well water. The first thing I did before I put a drop of water in this tub was test it. There is zero chlorine in my tap water according to the test kit. I'm sure there's some microscopically minute amount but that doesn't show up, and it doesn't bother me.

I actually tried the Nitro/chemgeek method for the first two weeks I had this tub, after decon. I am convinced there was nothing living inside the tub after that procedure, except me. I balanced the water, and used dichlor to start. I went in with 4ppm and was itchy the next day. I let it drop down just to see where the threshold was. 1-2ppm didn't bother me much for a day but after 2-3 days, it did. I kept trying it along with the rest of the family. Nobody had an issue except me, so I dumped it and switched to bromine/MPS/tabs. It took a few days for the bromine to drop after the residual chlorine activated the bromine but it's been pretty stable so far. I soak every night at between 2-6ppm bromine and have no issues at all.

[Peteyboy]

I'm sure I'm wrong because you said it was all balanced. But, you mentioned being itchy. High pH and / or Calcium hardness can cause itchiness.

Just a thought.

[shovelhd]

I'm sure I'm wrong because you said it was all balanced. But, you mentioned being itchy. High pH and / or Calcium hardness can cause itchiness.

Just a thought.

I appreciate all of your thoughts. I'd be willing to try chlorine again, but I'd really need to know how best to manage it at low levels so it doesn't affect my skin. I already know how to manage bromine, and I don't have a problem with it. I don't have a lot of experince with chlorine in a spa.

[waterbear]

I would stick with the bromine. It is a bit more forgiving of water chemisry variations than chlorine is in a spa if you are not giving it daily attention (and the fact that it does not bother your skin). Be careful witht he MPS. It is a known sensitizer. If you have created a bromine reserve in the water by adding sodium bromide on filling then you can use liquid chlorine or bleach to 'activate' the 'bromine bank'.

As chemgeek noted above, the chlorine is quickly converted to chloride ions and does not stick around!

[waterbear]

I would stick with the bromine. It is a bit more forgiving of water chemisry variations than chlorine is in a spa if you are not giving it daily attention (and the fact that it does not bother your skin). Be careful witht he MPS. It is a known sensitizer. If you have created a bromine reserve in the water by adding sodium bromide on filling then you can use liquid chlorine or bleach to 'activate' the 'bromine bank'.

As chemgeek noted above, the chlorine is quickly converted to chloride ions and does not stick around!

[shovelhd]

I test the water daily. So far the MPS hasn't bothered me at all. I use bromine starter on a fresh fill and a Pentair floater set on "3". I shock when the level drops below 2ppm with MPS. I could try bleach instead for fun. How much would I use as a shock/oxidizer/bromine reactivator in a 336 gallon tub?

[ilovesilverchair]

We are going with Bromine when we get our tub. You definetly want to keep your chemicals straight. I know all too well about the "Hot tub rash" I got one from my friends, who used chlorine, and had to go on antibiotics and had bumps everywhere for 2 weeks. Fun times

[shovelhd]

I am going to give the Nitro method a try as I'm changing the water this morning. I know it will be tough to go back to bromine if it doesn't work well for me but I'll never know until I try.

[shovelhd]

I am going to give the Nitro method a try as I'm changing the water this morning. I know it will be tough to go back to bromine if it doesn't work well for me but I'll never know until I try.

It's been a week now of daily soaks using dichlor and I have had no skin reactions whatsoever. None. I don't know why I am allergic to chlorine in some pools and spas. Maybe they use cal-hypo or trichlor and I'm allergic to that, I don't know. All I know is that I can use the Nitro method without issues. With a week of dichlor use I should be close to the ~30 CYA level and I plan on switching to bleach.

I was waiting to purchase a K-2006 kit until I knew for sure that I could use chlorine successfully. I'll order one this weekend.

Thanks everyone!