13gsc13 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 After 2 years with absolutely no problems with my Jacuzzi tub we've started to develop water problems Jacuzzi, along with my dealer, has been very helpful and have discovered what they feel is the problem Jacuzzi got back to us with test results they ran in California at a lab that has better capabilities and used to dealing with this type of thing. Through their test they have determined that it is an aggressive form of bacteria & protozoa that has taken hold in the tub. Their testing shows it is protozoa and Pseudomons Aeruginosa As a result to solve the problem Jacuzzi is willing to provide us, at no charge, one of the new Clear Ray UV-C systems that kill 99.9% of water borne virus and bacteria ALONG with an APG ozone system to ensure water sanitation. I hope this helps sort out our problems I am very impressed with our dealer here in Saskatoon, Sask and also very impressed with Jacuzzi main office for what they have done so far Once these systems are in place I will let you know how it has worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Psuedomonas aeruginosa is a bacteria that is very common in the environment and is the bacteria most commonly associated with "hot tub itch". If you were consistently maintaining appropriate levels of chlorine sanitizer, you could have prevented bacterial growth before biofilms could form. If you were to use Dichlor-only as your method of sanitiation, then the buildup of Cyanuric Acid (CYA) would lower chlorine's effectiveness. As for protozoa, did they find protozoan oocysts and if so was it Giardia lamblia or was it Cryptosporidium parvum? Both only come from someone sick using the spa, usually with diarrhea or otherwise shedding fecal material. Protozoan oocysts do not multiply (grow) outside a host. Anyway, it's very nice of them to give you both an ozonator and a UV system, but that's probably overkill unless you don't think you can maintain sanitizer levels consistently. Even so, you should realize that NEITHER the ozonator nor the UV system will leave a residual sanitizer in the water and therefore the fecal bacteria you shed can still attach themselves to spa surfaces and form biofilms if you do not have a bulk-water sanitizer (e.g. chlorine or bromine or silver ion/MPS) in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13gsc13 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 The "hot tub itch" was not from maintaining proper chemical levels I have followed Jacuzzi's recommended chemical procedure for 2 years - by the book - and I have tested my water (by my dealer) every week for 2 years - has always been ok To help out with this problem my dealer took the tub to their service shop and super chlorinated the tub for 3 weeks - the problem showed up back within a week of us getting the tub back Apparantly the high level of chlorine did not kill the problem As for it coming from fecal matter - I totally disagree - this isn't a "party tub" it is used only by my wife and myself and occassionaly our 9 year old joins us I just hope that the procedures being done by my dealer cure the problem - they have been very helpful so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 The "hot tub itch" was not from maintaining proper chemical levels It is. Period! I have followed Jacuzzi's recommended chemical procedure for 2 years - by the book - and I have tested my water (by my dealer) every week for 2 years - has always been ok Means Nothing. Many dealers, manufactures, and others in the industry do not understand the relationship between chlorine and CYA To help out with this problem my dealer took the tub to their service shop and super chlorinated the tub for 3 weeks - the problem showed up back within a week of us getting the tub back If they sanitized the tub then the infection was reintroduced when you got it back! Apparantly the high level of chlorine did not kill the problem IF the dealer really did maintain a high level of chlorine IN THE ABSENSE OF CYA. If he did not it might not work. Also, as I said, it apprears that the protozoan was reintroduced when the tub was brought back to you. As for it coming from fecal matter - I totally disagree - this isn't a "party tub" it is used only by my wife and myself and occassionaly our 9 year old joins us EVERY person who enters a tub introduces sweat, urine and FECAL MATTER no matter how clean they THINK they are. Remember, you can get sick from your own fecal matter. You have two and sometimes 3 people introducing it into your tub. I just hope that the procedures being done by my dealer cure the problem - they have been very helpful so far Proper water maintenance, which starts with your own water testing done with a good test kit and not strips is the first step. Have you been using bromine, chlorine, Silver/MPS/high temperature or biguanide/peroxide as your santizer system? Adding UV and ozone as supplemental sanitizers MIGHT help but then again they might not. Ozone can actually work against you if you are using chlorine since it destroys chlorine and vice versa. Also realize that neither ozone or UV are residual santizers and you still need to maintain a fast acting sanitizer residual in the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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