jgreyber Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 We are going out of town for nearly 2 weeks. I am not sure what to do with our spa. We don't have a spa service. It's time to change our water anyway, but I am worried that if we drain the spa, any remaining water in the pipes will get moldy and gross. But we can't leave water in it without treatment for two weeks. Any suggestions on what to do while we are away? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 This is what I've been telling people, for over 25 years, and been quite successful with.Assuming there's NO POSSIBLE CHANCE of freezing conditions...Shock the spa with 1 Tablespoons di-chlor right before leaving. Close the cover tightly, and turn off power to the spa. When you return, turn on the power, shock the spa again, and you should be good to go....though in your case, since you're ready to do a water change any ways, upon returning shock the spa and change the water.The theory here is that the initial shock virtually sterilizes the water, leaving nothing in it to grow. Keeping the cover on tightly prevents any sunlight from getting in, so algae wont grow. It also keeps out most air circulation (air naturally has mold and mildew spore's, and bacteria particles). Shutting the power off allows the water to cool (cooler water is less supportive to any growth), and wont cause air borne particles to mix into the water, where they can begin growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 The cooler water also slows down all chemical and physical reactions including chlorine reacting with substances and chlorine outgassing. 1 Tablespoon of Dichlor in 350 gallons would be 6 ppm FC. At cooler temperatures, the FC may drop by only 15% or less per day. Over 14 days you'd still have 10% of the chlorine left. If the drop were only 10% per day, you'd have around 20% of the chlorine left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robquick Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 With the power being off is there a problem with the water not being filtered in any way ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 There shouldn't be since you aren't adding anything to the spa that would need additional filtering. The lack of circulation is OK if everything is thoroughly mixed before you turn off the power. So add your chemicals (chlorine) and let it circulate before you turn off power. Technically, having circulation would be better, but in a spa even the circulation pump heats up the water and that's worse than a lack of circulation. Colder water is a great thing to slow everything down and have the chlorine last longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farwellbooth Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Does this method also work for bromine? And to what level should I be shocking too? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Yes, the same method works for bromine. You raise the bromine level to 2.25 times the chlorine level -- this 2.25 factor is a unit of measure difference between chlorine and bromine. So that means the 1 tablespoon of Dichlor applies either way assuming you have a sufficient bromide bank in your bromine spa. 1 tablespoon of Dichlor in 350 gallons is 5.9 ppm FC or 13.3 ppm bromine. At cooler water temperatures of around 80ºF, the loss rate (with no ozonator or with it turned off if chlorine is used) is less than 15%. So the chlorine level over a week will be at least as high as follows: 5.9 ppm FC 5.0 ppm FC 4.3 ppm FC 3.6 ppm FC 3.1 ppm FC 2.6 ppm FC 2.2 ppm FC 1.9 ppm FC So there is still chlorine (or bromine) available after one week. This all assumes that you didn't get behind in oxidizing your bather waste. If you did, then the chlorine or bromine will get used up more quickly (at least some of it at first). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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