Folliculitus...yuck

[jdmacfam]

Hiya!

We're in Northeast Ohio and have had our (bought with our home) Coast Spa for 6 years now. Generally it is a nice time to be had. When we first got it we soon realized the previous owners didn't take good care of it as it was not very old and had many issues. About $2,000 later (new electrical board among other service visits and supplies) we have it running pretty good (except for a small leak).

Anyway, we had the tub open last weekend and took a few dips while enjoying the weather. My son and I have come down with a (now known) nasty case of hot tub folliculitus. At first I thought it was some sort of allergic reaction since the floater top came off and all the chlorine (?) came out into the tub at once but after checking the Internet I know what we have now. =(

My hubby takes care of the chemicals and such so I have no clue where we are with any of those but something needs done or I'm never getting back into that nasty thing again. BTW - He uses the test strips.

I've told him we have to drain the water. However, after reading some posts on here...I'm curious if we should do a super shock or anything like that in the process. As far as I'm concerned it can be drained and not refilled til next year. This rash is uncomfortable and I pretty much feel like crap. Supposedly it will go away on its own but I'm curious if any of you have had a bout with it and what you suggest for this as well.

One last bit of info. The other day we came out to find that its possible the hottub had been tampered with. The lid was not on properly and about a foot of the tub was exposed to the elements and what not. We aren't sure if one of our daughters used it to stand on to get into her window and scooted the top off or if they had been in it and not put the top back on properly.

So, to sum it up:

1. What should we do to clear up this problem as far as the drain and refill, shock, etc. I'm definitely interested in also clearing out the pipes and anything else that can be cleaned/flushed.

2. Have any of you had this infection and if so what did you do about it medically if anything =(

Thanks! Looking forward to chatting with all of you...I may have to take responsibility for the hot tub chemicals to put my mind at ease after going through this...

[pkillur]

Follow Nitro's Decon guide to the letter and you'll be good to go. One thing that I've had really good luck with that I can't remember if it's in there or not, is spaflush from spadepot.com.

I inherited the hot tub from my in-laws and my wife got something from it as well - not sure if it was foliculatis or what. Make sure you follow the instructions to the letter and you'll be good. And also make sure you have a really good dropper test kit. Most folks around here recommend the Taylor - I have one it's awesome. Search the site and you'll find various places to buy them. One person recommended Amato Industries and I purchased one there. The shipping was a touch slow but it was easily 10 bucks cheaper than anywhere else.

Nitro's Decon Guide

[pkillur]

Hiya!

We're in Northeast Ohio and have had our (bought with our home) Coast Spa for 6 years now. Generally it is a nice time to be had. When we first got it we soon realized the previous owners didn't take good care of it as it was not very old and had many issues. About $2,000 later (new electrical board among other service visits and supplies) we have it running pretty good (except for a small leak).

Anyway, we had the tub open last weekend and took a few dips while enjoying the weather. My son and I have come down with a (now known) nasty case of hot tub folliculitus. At first I thought it was some sort of allergic reaction since the floater top came off and all the chlorine (?) came out into the tub at once but after checking the Internet I know what we have now. =(

My hubby takes care of the chemicals and such so I have no clue where we are with any of those but something needs done or I'm never getting back into that nasty thing again. BTW - He uses the test strips.

I've told him we have to drain the water. However, after reading some posts on here...I'm curious if we should do a super shock or anything like that in the process. As far as I'm concerned it can be drained and not refilled til next year. This rash is uncomfortable and I pretty much feel like crap. Supposedly it will go away on its own but I'm curious if any of you have had a bout with it and what you suggest for this as well.

One last bit of info. The other day we came out to find that its possible the hottub had been tampered with. The lid was not on properly and about a foot of the tub was exposed to the elements and what not. We aren't sure if one of our daughters used it to stand on to get into her window and scooted the top off or if they had been in it and not put the top back on properly.

So, to sum it up:

1. What should we do to clear up this problem as far as the drain and refill, shock, etc. I'm definitely interested in also clearing out the pipes and anything else that can be cleaned/flushed.

2. Have any of you had this infection and if so what did you do about it medically if anything =(

Thanks! Looking forward to chatting with all of you...I may have to take responsibility for the hot tub chemicals to put my mind at ease after going through this...

Also - Make sure you clean your filter as well. Use TSP, you can get it from Home Depot or Lowes in the painting section. I perfer it to the non TSP cleaners when you decon stuff - I tried to use a happy enviro friendly one and nothing came out. I put it into a TSP solution and it got WAAAAAY cleaner. Make sure you rinse it out with your showerhead or a spray nozzle from your hose to get all the TSP out before you put it back into the water in your spa.

[hpt9]

Hiya!

We're in Northeast Ohio and have had our (bought with our home) Coast Spa for 6 years now. Generally it is a nice time to be had. When we first got it we soon realized the previous owners didn't take good care of it as it was not very old and had many issues. About $2,000 later (new electrical board among other service visits and supplies) we have it running pretty good (except for a small leak).

Anyway, we had the tub open last weekend and took a few dips while enjoying the weather. My son and I have come down with a (now known) nasty case of hot tub folliculitus. At first I thought it was some sort of allergic reaction since the floater top came off and all the chlorine (?) came out into the tub at once but after checking the Internet I know what we have now. =(

My hubby takes care of the chemicals and such so I have no clue where we are with any of those but something needs done or I'm never getting back into that nasty thing again. BTW - He uses the test strips.

I've told him we have to drain the water. However, after reading some posts on here...I'm curious if we should do a super shock or anything like that in the process. As far as I'm concerned it can be drained and not refilled til next year. This rash is uncomfortable and I pretty much feel like crap. Supposedly it will go away on its own but I'm curious if any of you have had a bout with it and what you suggest for this as well.

One last bit of info. The other day we came out to find that its possible the hottub had been tampered with. The lid was not on properly and about a foot of the tub was exposed to the elements and what not. We aren't sure if one of our daughters used it to stand on to get into her window and scooted the top off or if they had been in it and not put the top back on properly.

So, to sum it up:

1. What should we do to clear up this problem as far as the drain and refill, shock, etc. I'm definitely interested in also clearing out the pipes and anything else that can be cleaned/flushed.

2. Have any of you had this infection and if so what did you do about it medically if anything =(

Thanks! Looking forward to chatting with all of you...I may have to take responsibility for the hot tub chemicals to put my mind at ease after going through this...

Also - Make sure you clean your filter as well. Use TSP, you can get it from Home Depot or Lowes in the painting section. I perfer it to the non TSP cleaners when you decon stuff - I tried to use a happy enviro friendly one and nothing came out. I put it into a TSP solution and it got WAAAAAY cleaner. Make sure you rinse it out with your showerhead or a spray nozzle from your hose to get all the TSP out before you put it back into the water in your spa.

I use my pressure washer to clean my spa, and pool, filters periodically. This makes them look brand new again. This practice is frowned upon, but if you're careful and use a wide tip spray nozzle you should be okay.

[jdmacfam]

So hubby was convinced by Litehouse that son and I had a reaction to the chemicals since our water test came back showing an 8.5 PH (super high). I didn't believe that as all our symptoms pointed to the folliculitis (sp?) and I even called Litehouse to ask them about it to which the "salesman" still said it was likely a reaction to our chemicals since the test came back showing super high PH. Fine...I wasn't up for an argument...

Anyway...hubby decided to bypass the decon method and simply try to change the water. The Litehouse guy ought to know what he's talking about, right? WRONG!

That was done about 2.5 or 3 weeks ago. At first the water readings came back fine but I told him I wasn't really ready to get in and wanted to wait it out to see what happens. Now the PH is up around 8.5 again. The only thing that has been added to the water is the bromine dispenser/floater and then PH decreaser when the PH starting creeping up. Now that the PH decreaser has been added the alkalinity has decreased significantly and the PH hasn't budged. Is this a positive indicator that bacteria is present?

Obviously it looks like we're going to have to do a decon (((he should have believed me! ;-P))). However, we just don't comprehend why the PH is skyrocketing. Is it because the bacteria is eating up the clorine/bromine and sending the PH up? I'd just like a little more understanding of what's happening.

We're also considering changing to the bleach method. But, the current method has worked very well for us for 6 years so anyone who wishes to share the pros/cons of the bleach method vs. the bromine method, please feel free.

In the meantime, off to the store for SpaFlush we'll go. You'd think they'd have some sort of super chemical to kill this crap so we wouldn't have to waste so much water. ERrrruuuuggghhhhh!

Thanks all!

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

So hubby was convinced by Litehouse that son and I had a reaction to the chemicals since our water test came back showing an 8.5 PH (super high). I didn't believe that as all our symptoms pointed to the folliculitis (sp?) and I even called Litehouse to ask them about it to which the "salesman" still said it was likely a reaction to our chemicals since the test came back showing super high PH. Fine...I wasn't up for an argument...

Anyway...hubby decided to bypass the decon method and simply try to change the water. The Litehouse guy ought to know what he's talking about, right? WRONG!

That was done about 2.5 or 3 weeks ago. At first the water readings came back fine but I told him I wasn't really ready to get in and wanted to wait it out to see what happens. Now the PH is up around 8.5 again. The only thing that has been added to the water is the bromine dispenser/floater and then PH decreaser when the PH starting creeping up. Now that the PH decreaser has been added the alkalinity has decreased significantly and the PH hasn't budged. Is this a positive indicator that bacteria is present?

Obviously it looks like we're going to have to do a decon (((he should have believed me! ;-P))). However, we just don't comprehend why the PH is skyrocketing. Is it because the bacteria is eating up the clorine/bromine and sending the PH up? I'd just like a little more understanding of what's happening.

We're also considering changing to the bleach method. But, the current method has worked very well for us for 6 years so anyone who wishes to share the pros/cons of the bleach method vs. the bromine method, please feel free.

In the meantime, off to the store for SpaFlush we'll go. You'd think they'd have some sort of super chemical to kill this crap so we wouldn't have to waste so much water. ERrrruuuuggghhhhh!

Thanks all!

The PH could be giving you a false high reading if the sanitizer level is high. Ph can creep with bromine, specially if you have ozone and air controls and no one is using the tub. Ph is not and indicator of if there are germs/bugs in the tub, your chlorine/bromine demand is. Your PH will go very high with the bleach method also if you do not follow the directions. You did not mention, what is your calcium hardness reading. Is it high?