Change Water Once A Year....?

[kiamo]

Ok, so here's the story.

I'm in our "local" tub store the other day and I overhear the sales rep talking to potential customers.

Apparently, with their ozone system, after initial balancing and set-up, shocking the tub once a week with Lith Chlor ( which he very carefully referred to as "Lithium") and the appropriate amount of "Spa Perfect" (whatever that is. there's nothing listed on the label.) your water will be good for a full year before needing to be changed!

Amazing. I confirmed his story as I bought my filters.

And my water will be perfect for a garden when it's done!

To potential buyers...Beware!

Everything I've learned here at the forum, and experienced with my own tub, tells me this is a load of crap. (except the part about putting the used water on the garden, providing the water's not too contaminated!)

But, he "sounded like he knew what he was talking about".

Good Lord. Wonder if the manufacturer stands behind that.....

I should probably check.

[chem geek]

Natural Chemistry Spa Perfect is a product with enzymes so if it works reliably it should accelerate (catalyze) the break down of certain organics including possibly urea from sweat and urine. It's not an oxidizer so probably won't touch ammonia by itself and normally it should be used with chlorine. As to whether dissolved oxygen naturally in the water is enough to oxidize the bather waste -- that's an open question. The weekly shock with chlorine isn't very much chlorine and certainly there is no indication of the spa being sanitized between shocks.

[arnspa]

Not on your garden! I see you were skeptical about these claims, but there's other folks on the forum saying it's OK to drain to gardens. See my post on "Is Spa Water Really Safe for Gardens." I learned the hard way that you can readily kill sensitive plants and trees with the high salt content of spa water. I bought a TDS tester (Total Dissolved Solids, $20) and searched agriculture sites AFTER getting what was bum advice here. The drip lines I used spa water in to for lemon trees were showing salt residue and two new avocado died. The ag sites then told me that avocado and lemon were the most sensitive trees to salt. Palms less so. Natch! When in doubt, throw it out.

Maybe you can use it to flush your toilets?

[PaulR]

I've also seen a report where someone who started using borates then killed something sensitive on the next dump.

On the other hand, people doing pool water replacement under water restrictions have been using the pool water to irrigate their yards (and using the irrigation allowance to refill the pool) successfully. So, it depends on what exactly it is you are trying to irrigate.

--paulr