Peroxysan - White Floaters After Refill

[cramp11]

We've had our hot tub for 76 days. Our dealer got us to try Peroxysan. I have bad eczema so I figured why not give it a whirl. Sounded good.

Just over a month into have the tub, we saw some white floaty things in the tub. We spiked the Peroxysan (as per the dealer's advice) but it just kind of make them go into a ball and float. We'd clean them up and they'd come back.

After a month of trying to fight it (and a whole lot of Peroxysan) we decided to drain the tub. Before we did, we bought a chlorine shock and spiked the ppm to ???. (strip only goes to 10 ppm and it was very black)

We ran the jets on high for about 60 min alternating the air on/off.

We drained the tub and hosed the sides down multiple times.

We sprayed the inside of the tub and cover with 5:1 ratio Peroxysan.

We shocked both filters with a high ppm of chlorine as well and rinsed them both multiple times.

We filled the tub again with just hose water this time (nothing from the hot water tank) and added 12 cups of Peroxysan. (our tub is about 1100L)

We checked the tub today and we had balls of white crud floating around in the tub. I'm guessing it was in the pipes. Our dealer advised us to pour in another 12 cups of h2o2. (that's $50 worth )

I changed the filter and am hoping that the floaters are just dead remains from the pipes. (that's what the dealer says anyways)

Our h2o2 ppm is about 400 right now. We're supposed to keep it at 100 ppm. We haven't even used the tub since the refill. (yesterday)

If we still have these things by the end of the week, we're going to take back what we have left of the Peroxysan and switch to bromine. As much as I love not smelling the chemicals, I can't bath in a pool of snot.

Any ideas of why the tub still has stuff in it? I don't understand why the chlorine didn't fry it. Maybe it is dead stuff just breaking loose from the pipes.

If I switch to bromine, do I have to drain and start all over again?

I have 8 L of Peroxysan left. At $133 for 16L, I want this to work, but from what I've seen on here about it... I'm doomed.

[mcw53]

76 days ... that's about the length of my baqua nightmare. Use Nitro's Decontamination Procedure and Approach To Water Maintenance. You'll spend about $2/month on bleach. If done right, you will have sparkling water for many months with absolutely no chlorine odor.

[cramp11]

Interesting articles. I pretty much did the decontamination process except I didn't use a cleaner for the pipes and I used a shock chlorine instead of bleach. Maybe that's why I have crap floating around. If it's all dead crap, the filter will eventually get it all, but I need to know if it's dead. I guess if new stuff shows up, it didn't work.

I don't know why my spa dealer didn't suggest a cleaner since they knew we had crud in the tub.

I'll def pass the article about bleach to my wife to read. Thanks for the response.

[quantumchromodynamics]

Forget about the peroxide and follow Nitro's decontamination procedure and then his water maintenance system.

Drain the tub, wash the filters, refill, decontaminate, drain, refill and then begin the dichlor and then bleach method.

[cramp11]

Well it's def not old dead stuff floating around... 2 weeks into a fresh fill and we have white fluffy things floating in the water again. Not much, but when we put the jets on high with the air for 3-4 min and then turn it off... we see 4-5 of them. I use a little strainer to get them, but there are fresh ones daily.

Not a happy camper. My wife is just as pissed off. We're embarressed to invite anyone over. Debating about draining it and shutting it off for the winter. Maybe a few months of negative degree weather will kill everything in the tub and we'll start fresh in the spring.

I want to switch to something else, but I still have 12 L of Peroxysan and a 5 gallon pail of 35% peroxide. I don't want to just throw it out.

Is there anything I can do to shock the water to kill the fluffy stuff without empying the tub? I read a site that someone just poured a crap load of bleach into the tub, killed everything and then went back to using peroxide once the bleach dissapated Is this an option? How much peroxide would I need to kill this stuff? I poured 6L into the tub when we started fresh.

A few sites say that the white fluffy stuff is harmless and just a pain in the butt. I still don't feel like trying to say that to people when we have them over. "ignore the snot looking stuff... it's harmless..."

[bart6453]

Well it's def not old dead stuff floating around... 2 weeks into a fresh fill and we have white fluffy things floating in the water again. Not much, but when we put the jets on high with the air for 3-4 min and then turn it off... we see 4-5 of them. I use a little strainer to get them, but there are fresh ones daily.

Not a happy camper. My wife is just as pissed off. We're embarressed to invite anyone over. Debating about draining it and shutting it off for the winter. Maybe a few months of negative degree weather will kill everything in the tub and we'll start fresh in the spring.

I want to switch to something else, but I still have 12 L of Peroxysan and a 5 gallon pail of 35% peroxide. I don't want to just throw it out.

Is there anything I can do to shock the water to kill the fluffy stuff without empying the tub? I read a site that someone just poured a crap load of bleach into the tub, killed everything and then went back to using peroxide once the bleach dissapated Is this an option? How much peroxide would I need to kill this stuff? I poured 6L into the tub when we started fresh.

A few sites say that the white fluffy stuff is harmless and just a pain in the butt. I still don't feel like trying to say that to people when we have them over. "ignore the snot looking stuff... it's harmless..."

Here is some advice for you...

I can understand not wanting to waste the chemicals that you already have...but...you already spent the money. That cash is gone, you will never get it back whether you use the chemicals or not.

You can successfully sanitize you hot tub for about a month on one gallon of clorox bleach, which costs about $3.50 You will also need a small supply of Di-chlor to get your CYA up to 20-30ppm as prescribed by Nitro.

So you are looking at realistically spending about $20.00 to change to chlorine. I know you really should drain and refill and use chlorine...but I know from experience that you can switch from peroxide to chlorine on the fly. My friend had a huge pool that was peroxide sanitized and got out of control. We couldnt drain it due to the volume, so we switched to chlorine. It did use more bleach than if we had started fresh, but it still worked.

Really what it comes down to is being stubborn. Don't be stubborn, don't cut your nose off to spite your face.

Just switch, and be done...you will reduce your stress level by 1000% in about a half an hour.

good luck.

[mcw53]

I agree with Bart; it's all sunk cost. Your problems will continue until you do something different ... like switch to an EPA approved sanitation method. I recommend you take the advice previously suggested by several in this thread: Use Nitro's Decontamination Procedure and Approach To Water Maintenance. Believe me, I know exactly how you (and your wife) are feeling. I went though the same ordeal with BaquaSpa. I was really close to calling my dealer to have them take the hot tub back. But now, I coudn't be happier.

[bart6453]

I agree with Bart; it's all sunk cost. Your problems will continue until you do something different ... like switch to an EPA approved sanitation method. I recommend you take the advice previously suggested by several in this thread: Use Nitro's Decontamination Procedure and Approach To Water Maintenance. Believe me, I know exactly how you (and your wife) are feeling. I went though the same ordeal with BaquaSpa. I was really close to calling my dealer to have them take the hot tub back. But now, I coudn't be happier.

God I hate that bug!

[mcw53]

God I hate that bug!

Bart,

I just did Nitro's Decontamination Procedure on my signature ... the bug is gone!! That Nitro guy really knows his stuff!!!

[bart6453]

God I hate that bug!

Bart,

I just did Nitro's Decontamination Procedure on my signature ... the bug is gone!! That Nitro guy really knows his stuff!!!

That's funny...I wouldn't take that bug off for anything....by far the best signature I have ever seen!

[quantumchromodynamics]

Sell the hydrogen peroxide on eBay. There are many people who use it for many things. Taxidermists use it to clean the meat off skeletons.

Switch to Nitro's method.

[cramp11]

I printed off the Approach to Water Maintenance. Gotta learn all of this stuff and get a kit since I'm just using peroxide strips. Our dealer said you don't have to worry about balancing anything else since it doesn't effect the peroxide. I'm starting to think that's not good advice.

My wife wants to try this : http://www.centipedeindustries.com/35_percent2.html (Just the Hot Tub Shock part) before throwing in the towel. I want to balance the water before I do this though.

Worst case... it doesn't work and everyone on here gets to say, "I told ya so dummy."

Unfortunately I am stubborn, but I do appreciate the help/advice.

[Mikey_in_NY]

Just to echo Bart's and everyone else's comments I'd 100% recommend Nitro's Dichlor then Chlorox method. The last thing you want to do is further p*ss yourself and your wife off by continuing this comedy of errors using peroxysan. Just put the cost of your chemicals down to experience (or sell them), and move on with more traditional, and reliable sanitizers.

[mcw53]

I'll def pass the article about bleach to my wife to read.

My wife wants to try this : http://www.centipedeindustries.com/35_percent2.html (Just the Hot Tub Shock part) before throwing in the towel. Worst case... it doesn't work

Maybe we should be talking to your wife. Tell her that following the centipede shock instructions would be extremely hazardous to your health and to your hot tub. Fortunately your hot tub is less than 300 gallons, so you will only need to add 1 gallon of bleach to your tub. That is over 200 ppm free chlorine with 6% bleach! "Not working" is not the worst case scenario.

If your hot tub is not crystal clear, it is time to shock it. Add 1 gallon of bleach to main body of the tub of any unit 300 gallons or less, 2 gallons for tubs over 300 gallons. Turn on all jets, bubblers, etc. and let them run for about 5 minutes. PUT YOUR HOT TUB COVER ON IMMEDIATELY after starting the jets to avoid dangerous fumes. After running hot tub for 5 minutes, wait 48 hours until you next application of 35% FOOD GRADE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE and resume normal usage cycle. Also, wait 48 hours before using Hot tub.

They also have a sweet deal on hydrogen peroxide ... $20/quart + $20 DOT charges + $9 shipping

[cramp11]

You have to help me out a bit. How is this method hazardous to the tub and our health? Obviously the fumes are bad. Pour it in and get the heck away. We poured in bleach when we emptied the tub last time. Nitro's decontamination says to pour in bleach. What am I missing?

Over 200ppm free chlorine doesn't mean much to me. I guess that's really high. How high does it need to be to kill this white fungus/algae. I'm only 2 weeks into a fresh fill and I don't want to dump it and start over if I don't have to.

I know that peroxide will neutralize chlorine. Is that why this site is advising to add so much bleach? My peroxide levels are at about 200ppm right now.

All I'm trying to do it figure out how much bleach do I need to add to kill this stuff and not dump my water. Is that even possible?

The plan right now is to pour in X amount of bleach (right now a gallon), run the jets on high with the air open for the full 20 min cycle, then turn the air off and let it sit for 48 hours.

I'll see what crud floats up (or down), if any, and clean it up.

I'll just keep checking the chlorine levels until they are lower (2 days... 10 days... a month... whatever it takes) and then put in peroxide until my levels are over 100ppm again.

[mcw53]

Nitro's decontamination procedure recommends 50 ppm chlorine for an hour and then dump to prevent damage to your tub.

Generally, 3 to 5 ppm chlorine is considered safe for soaking.

[bart6453]

You have to help me out a bit. How is this method hazardous to the tub and our health? Obviously the fumes are bad. Pour it in and get the heck away. We poured in bleach when we emptied the tub last time. Nitro's decontamination says to pour in bleach. What am I missing?

Over 200ppm free chlorine doesn't mean much to me. I guess that's really high. How high does it need to be to kill this white fungus/algae. I'm only 2 weeks into a fresh fill and I don't want to dump it and start over if I don't have to.

I know that peroxide will neutralize chlorine. Is that why this site is advising to add so much bleach? My peroxide levels are at about 200ppm right now.

All I'm trying to do it figure out how much bleach do I need to add to kill this stuff and not dump my water. Is that even possible?

The plan right now is to pour in X amount of bleach (right now a gallon), run the jets on high with the air open for the full 20 min cycle, then turn the air off and let it sit for 48 hours.

I'll see what crud floats up (or down), if any, and clean it up.

I'll just keep checking the chlorine levels until they are lower (2 days... 10 days... a month... whatever it takes) and then put in peroxide until my levels are over 100ppm again.

You really need to pick a program and stick with it.

Why go through all the work of experimenting with this and that...when all you have to do is follow Nitro's instructions and you are done.

Go get a test kit, 2 gallons of bleach, and a pound of Di-chlor.

Add the bleach up to 50ppm, let sit for 30 minutes..check to make sure you actually maintained some higher level of FC. Then drain and add dichlor up to a total of 22-33ppm (depending on your desired CYA level 20 or 30).

After a week of adding dichlor, switch to bleach and you are golden..

Really in a nutshell...that's about all you need to do to switch.

If you are worried about the water usage...filling a spa is nearly nothing for actual water. In our town water is $3.13 per 100 cubic feet plus $3.19 per 100 cubic feet for disposal....100 cubic feet equals 750 gallons....so a fill on my tub costs about two dollars.

Make life easy..take the bull by the horns....and just switch.

[cramp11]

I can't sell my wife on using bleach in the tub as our 'main' chemical. Chlorine is chlorine, but she's not sold. I'd be willing to put gasoline in the tub if I knew it would kill this crap. She wants to take one more shot at peroxide after we kill this stuff. I'm starting to think this crap was in the tub when we got it. It was a second so it was laying around for ?? after being filled a few times and tested.

We called a few spa places today about the white goop. All 3 said we needed to use a cleaner to flush the crap out of the pipes. Spa Purge was the product at the store near my wife's work. Our dealer said Peroxysan has "a solution" that they are going to give us since we've had so many problems. It's 10L of ???. (I haven't got it yet) Sounds like Spa Purge (or simular). It's $50 normally which sounds like a big price hike, but we'll give it a whirl.

The spa place did a reading for us since she wanted a water sample from our tub.

pH : 8.2

TA: 230

Ca: 175 (calcium?)

TDS 200ppm (???)

We bought pH up/down/all around and some TA additive. It's a plus though so I can't see us ever using it since our levels are so high. $6 though... it can sit on the shelf and look pretty.

We're going to get this 'stuff' on Sat, pour it in, drain, clean, etc and start from scratch.

They say we don't need to refill, balance, bleach and emply a second time, but I think I'm going to just to be sure it's all gone and everything is dead.

The weird thing in our adventure is that every place was asking if our water was cloudy. Our water is crystal clear. You just see the odd flake after the jets have been on high.

I'm hoping a proper nuke of the tub will give us a fresh start.

I'm going to read the article again about decontamination because of the lid. I want to make sure ALL traces of this stuff is GONE!

[cramp11]

Forgot to add... I don't have a test kit to do everything you listed.

I was just looking at the Taylor Complete DPD Test Kit K-2006 vs Taylor Complete DPD Test Kit K-2006-C ($58 vs $102) since it was recommended.

This is all new to me so I have some figuring out to do. Wife wants it to be a Xmas gift, but I don't want to wait a month to balance my water properly.

[quantumchromodynamics]

I think that the company's advice to add a gallon of bleach is more than enough proof that the peroxide does not work. If the peroxide worked, there would be no need to shock the tub that hard.

[bart6453]

Forgot to add... I don't have a test kit to do everything you listed.

I was just looking at the Taylor Complete DPD Test Kit K-2006 vs Taylor Complete DPD Test Kit K-2006-C ($58 vs $102) since it was recommended.

This is all new to me so I have some figuring out to do. Wife wants it to be a Xmas gift, but I don't want to wait a month to balance my water properly.

first things first......peroxide is crap. look up my posts on the pain and anguish I had dealing with my friends pool who wouldnt listen to me to begin with and insisted that peroxide was the way to go.

If your wife does not like bleach, just go to the pool store and get some di-chlor and then when you get your CYA up to 20-30ppm, switch to unstabilized chlorine from the pool store. I don't use it, so I dont know much about it....but chem geek can kick in here to let you know more about it. I have seen it at my pool store, and the pool calculator gives you an option for using it in the calculation....you can also use the pool calculator on your iphone/ipod (super handy for spa side adjustments) Incidentally, my pool store sells clorox too...because that is what they use when for the pool service side of their business.

Anyways....if your wife still insists on using peroxide, search MRSA(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) on here....and if after reading about the horror stories does not change your mind....well then....you are making your own bed to lie in.

I know I am being a bit harsh...but I had to take care of a huge pool that was out of control and frankly dangerous because of peroxide.

good luck, Remember...if you don't like the advice that is given....WHY DID YOU ASK?

[bart6453]

.

[chem geek]

One could use Dichlor for about a week and then switch to lithium hypochlorite from the spa store. The latter will cost 5-6 times as much as Clorox Regular 6% bleach, but if that's what it takes for marital harmony, then so be it. Don't forget that if you go this route that the Total Alkalinity (TA) will need to be low to prevent the pH from rising too quickly.

[quantumchromodynamics]

I can't sell my wife on using bleach in the tub as our 'main' chemical.

Go to the pool store and buy "liquid chlorine". You can tell her that it's made specifically for water treatment.

[Vince22]

I can't sell my wife on using bleach in the tub as our 'main' chemical.

Go to the pool store and buy "liquid chlorine". You can tell her that it's made specifically for water treatment.

Or....you could ask her just how much research she's done on the topic--how many books, articles, posts has she read. When she looks sheepish and answers "none", tell her that until she does, you're the resident expert and she can fly a kite.

Worked for me. Now she leaves the spa maintenance to me, enjoys the money we're saving on chemicals, and has a great time using the tub. No fuss, no muss.