Boy Do I Feel Dumb!

[seabright_sc]

So I purchased a Taylor kit and read the directions meticulously, or so I thought! I was getting my chlorine readings using a 10 ml sample based on each drop counting as .2. I should have been using a 25 ml sample.

Essentially this means that my chlorine levels have been about 150% higher than what I thought for the past 3-4 weeks! We've been using the our spa with the free chlorine levels around 7-14 ppm!

Ugh. No harm no foul I hope! OUr skin hasn't been irritated or any other effects that we notice.

So the FC levels, now that I am measuring correctly, is about 12 ppm and it's been dropping only about .5ppm per day. We want to use our spa! Heck we've been using it with high levels, should we just go for it? Any harm to our water chemistry for keeping the levels so high for the past 3-4 weeks? Any way to quickly lower the levels?

Thanks!

[Mikey_in_NY]

Best way to drop the levels is open the cover and turn on all pumps with maximum aeration (all air valves fully open).

[BigDfromTN]

You could add hydrogen peroxide to lower it.

OR, just get in and use it. If its not hurt you yet, its not likely to now.

The level will subside on its on. .5ppm per day is very low. And thats a good thing.

[Parawood]

You could add hydrogen peroxide to lower it.

OR, just get in and use it. If its not hurt you yet, its not likely to now.

The level will subside on its on. .5ppm per day is very low. And thats a good thing.

The more you use it, the faster the FC should drop as it oxidizes the bather waste.

Parawood

[simonc]

So the FC levels, now that I am measuring correctly, is about 12 ppm and it's been dropping only about .5ppm per day. We want to use our spa! Heck we've been using it with high levels, should we just go for it? Any harm to our water chemistry for keeping the levels so high for the past 3-4 weeks? Any way to quickly lower the levels?

Thanks!

As others have noted, adding hydrogen peroxide (the kind you get at the supermarket or drug store) is the fastest way to drop the FC. I don't know the formula, but I think about 2 oz of the stuff brings my FC down about 5ppm. I'd try adding 2 oz, run the circulation pump/jets, wait an hour, and remeasure.

I have a couple of questions ...

1. Are you sure you are using the taylor kit correctly? It seems that your chlorine demand is only about 5%. That seems very very low to me. I don't have any experience with maintaining other people's tubs, but my impression from reading posts on this forum, anything under 20% is pretty good. Do you have something else besides FC killing things in your tub? Maybe a Nature2 (silver nitrate) cartridge???

2. What's your CYA level. If your CYA level is high (100+) having 12ppm is not so bad. If you've been adding diclor or triclor regularly, you can easily get to a CYA of 100ppm If it's very low (close to zero) then it can be destructive of tub components like covers and pillows. I can't speak to how it might effect people's skin if CYA=0 and the FC is 12ppm.

Good luck,

- Simon

[quantumchromodynamics]

2.05 fluid ounces of 3 % hydrogen peroxide in 1,000 gallons of water will neutralize 1 ppm of chlorine.

[seabright_sc]

Ok....

JUst went for a soak last night and said to hell with it.

Measured today.....

CC-0

FC 3ppm

alk110

ph7.3

CYA (measured for the first time) estimated at 120-150 using taylor kit. I know this is high, not sure if it's a concern.

Water isn't cloudy, but not crystal clear. has sort of a dull slight yellowish tint (not urine). Water is about a month and a half old.

Any ideas on next steps? This is all new to me. If at all possible I do not want to drain and refill.

oh ya... no ozone or Nature2

Help please!

[oldparr]

Ok....

JUst went for a soak last night and said to hell with it.

Measured today.....

CC-0

FC 3ppm

alk110

ph7.3

CYA (measured for the first time) estimated at 120-150 using taylor kit. I know this is high, not sure if it's a concern.

Water isn't cloudy, but not crystal clear. has sort of a dull slight yellowish tint (not urine). Water is about a month and a half old.

Any ideas on next steps? This is all new to me. If at all possible I do not want to drain and refill.

oh ya... no ozone or Nature2

Help please!

Your CYA is way to high. Try to dump at least half the water and refill, bringing the CYA to 60. And take a look on the Nitro approach to water maintenance. I'm using Dichlor than bleach method and my refill is 5 month old with no problems. Water is cristal clear.

[simonc]

Your CYA is way to high. Try to dump at least half the water and refill, bringing the CYA to 60. And take a look on the Nitro approach to water maintenance. I'm using Dichlor than bleach method and my refill is 5 month old with no problems. Water is cristal clear.

seabright_sc -

I would disagree with oldparr's suggestion that you dump 1/2 the water. I would dump the whole thing. The reason I say this is that you talk about the water having a "yellowish tint". I have no idea what might cause that, but it's probably not good. I would get rid of all the water and start over.

If this is an old or used tub, you might consider doing a decontamination. Because you Chlorine Demand (CD) was so low ... only dropping 0.5ppm a day, it's unlikely that you have something "growing" in your tub that requires decontamination. This is a link to how to decontaminate, if you feel it's necessary.

I agree with oldparr that you should consider switching to the diclor-then-bleach method. Your water will last longer, be safer, feel better, and it's probably cheaper than what you've been doing.

Your CYA level is probably so high because you've been using diclor (chlorine granules) or triclor (the pucks that are typically used with a floater). These chemicals contain a lot of CYA which, at high levels like yours, interferes with the sanitation process.

Lastly, I think you are just guessing at your CYA level (120-150). It could easily be over 200. Let me explain ... I think I have the same Taylor kit and it only measures CYA up to 100. If you look at the marks on the cylinder, you'll see that they get closer and closer together at they approach the bottom. It's a logarithmic scale. It's not linear and therefore it's almost impossible to "eye ball". You can get a more accurate measurement by diluting the test water and then multiplying. Anyway ... this is another reason to dump ALL the water in your tub. If your CYA is really 200, getting rid of only half of it will bring it down to 100 which is still too high.

Good luck,

- Simon

[timDIDit]

Your CYA level is probably so high because you've been using diclor (chlorine granules) or triclor (the pucks that are typically used with a floater). These chemicals contain a lot of CYA which, at high levels like yours, interferes with the sanitation process.

Lastly, I think you are just guessing at your CYA level (120-150). It could easily be over 200. Let me explain ... I think I have the same Taylor kit and it only measures CYA up to 100. If you look at the marks on the cylinder, you'll see that they get closer and closer together at they approach the bottom. It's a logarithmic scale. It's not linear and therefore it's almost impossible to "eye ball". You can get a more accurate measurement by diluting the test water and then multiplying. Anyway ... this is another reason to dump ALL the water in your tub. If your CYA is really 200, getting rid of only half of it will bring it down to 100 which is still too high.

Good luck,

- Simon

Personally, I would be itching like crazy if my CYA went that high! I can almost tell without testing when CYA levels pass thru 150 or so - I get a terrible case of "hot tub itch!" I have changed to a dichlor-then-bleach regimen, and it seems to be working fine.

[chem geek]

Just so you know, it is not a certainty that when the CYA gets higher and therefore the disinfection rates get lower that one will get hot tub itch. It's just that the probability for such bacterial growth increases. The actual correlation from hot tub itch/rash/lung reports is pretty weak, mostly because the sample size was so small -- there seemed to be a mild correlation after 1-2 months of Dichlor-only use. Nevertheless, the chemistry of chlorine/CYA predicts the lower disinfection rates as the FC/CYA ratio gets lower (so usually this is when the CYA gets higher since the FC is typically kept fairly constant).

I'm glad that the Dichlor-then-bleach method is working for you.