Cloudy Water, Added Bleach, Changed Filter...question Though

[TomC]

Hi All,

We started with salt, then moved to chlorine, then to bromine, and now finally to Hydrogen Peroxide. This jumping about has been spurred on by an itch that I developed from our hot tub. As it turns out, I am now thinking that it may not even be tub related - but that is another story. The jury is out on Hydrogen Peroxide but we do have to admit that it is non-odour, it appears less toxic, and we were just getting overwhelemed with other santizing regimes - but again I digress.

We went out of town a few weeks ago and upon our return we noticed that the water was going a bit cloudy, with some foam. We dumped in a bunch of bleach, cleaned off the filter, and bingo, the water is back crystal clear.

In the past, we used to just dump the water when it got foamy and cloudy. Seeing how easily we revived this water (mind you the water was not that old anyway), we are wondering if we can extend our fill-ups every time the water looks less than pristine. Can get just dump in bleach and freshen up the filters if the water is looking dodgy, if after 3-4 months for example?

Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks...Tom

PS...sorry, we initially added this post to the "above ground pool" forum. Noticed it shouldn't be there so we added it to this forum as well. Moderators, feel free to kill the thread from that forum...thanks

[waterbear]

Hi All,

We started with salt, then moved to chlorine, then to bromine, and now finally to Hydrogen Peroxide.

Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks...Tom

Salt is either chlorine or bromine, depending on the type of unit you have. so you did either chlorine or bromine twice. Hydrogen peroxide by itself is not an EPA recognized Sanitizer in the US so I do not know where you are located. It is an oxidizer and to have a high enough residual level to maintain sanitized water would lead to bather discomfort to say the least. It is usually used as an oxidizer in conjunction with a biguanide (PHMB) sanitizer regime like Revacil, BaquaSpa, or SoftSoak. If you are using one of thest type of sanitizers in conjucntion with peroxide be aware that you CANNOT use chlorine or bromine with PHMB or you will have a mess in your tub and ruin your filters.

Also, be aware that chlorine kills peroxide and vice versa so using both is counterproductive.

Finally, are you using straight hydrogen peroxide or Peroxysan? Peroxysan is not hydrogen peroxide but rather a mixture of peroxide and Peroxyacetic acid, which is a more potent sanitizer and oxidizer than chlorine! Hydrogen peroxide by itself is NOT a primary sanitizer!

[simonc]

Hi All,

We went out of town a few weeks ago and upon our return we noticed that the water was going a bit cloudy, with some foam. We dumped in a bunch of bleach, cleaned off the filter, and bingo, the water is back crystal clear.

Tom -

Usually ... cloudy water means that you have "something" growing in your water ... bacteria/algae. That's not good because that "something" could make you sick or give you a rash. Most likely, when you added chlorine you killed that "something" and the water became clear again.

Because your water is getting cloudy, I don't think the hydrogen peroxide is doing a good job as a sanitizer. As the other poster said, in the USA, hydrogen peroxide is not an "approved" sanitizer. Also, as that person said, hydrogen peroxide destroys chlorine and vice versa. Using both together to maintain your tub does not make any sense. (Note: I use chlorine as a sanitizer. If my chlorine level is too high (>5ppm) and I want to get into the tub, I'll add an ounce or two of hydrogen peroxide to bring the chlorine level down so I can use the tub by only waiting a few minutes for the chlorine to drop.)

Good luck,

- Simon