Newbie - Chemical Questions For New Spa Owner

[forrestranger]

Hi Everyone;

i recently bought a new Bullfrog spa (very happy with it), but... i can't seem to get the chemicals right or something.

i bought a water test kit (the kind you put drops in) and i "think" i have gotten it down.. just to be safe, i go to a pool center and have them test it and tell me exactly what i need.

my wife is SUPER sensitive to bacteria and got a rash... so i emptied the water out, cleaned the whole system, then wiped the spa out with white vinegar.

i filled up the spa with new water, went and had the water tested at Leslie's Pool Center, and they told me exactly how much of what to put in... i did... that night i was the only person to get in... i showered first to make sure i didn't have any sweat or oils on me etc.. i got in it that night for about 45 mins, and the next day i was shocked to see like scum marks around the edge of the water line (not every where, but in some places, too many places)... i had totally cleaned both filters the day before also...i don't get it, how does this happen? i'm just about OCD clean about my spa and being clean getting in, but it doesn't seem to matter.

any help would be appreciated...

[mattcole]

You can try somespa chemicals like the bromide or the chloride to keep your hot tubs clean.. Also some sanitizers or the algaecides can be used or the best thing is you must call the professionals to check for the solution..

[pandrich]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have had amazing results in adding vinegar to my hot tub to lower the PH. We have had our 650 gal spa for 2 years and have been struggling to find the right chemistry. Part of our problem is that we use well water. Our water is soft and clean. We tried many traditional chlorine and shock combinations, but always our PH was significantly high. We also tried PH reducers only to use the entire bottle to still have high PH. We were very frustrated with yellow, cloudy and dingy water. I read the posts on Vinegar and since we have tried just about everything, I thought I'd give it a try. After all, I know that vinegar is used for health and cleaning. I also know that it won't damage components of the tub since vinegar is often recommended to keep pipes clean and in good working order. I also know that vinegar is good for getting rid of dandruff and makes a great non-toxic house hold cleaner because it kills germs and bacteria. So, I tried 4 cups, tested the water & not enough...8 cups....barely budging PH....12 cups- started to worry not much improvement, 16 cups PERFECT!! For those of you worried about smell, the smell only lasted for the time I poured it in. When I got in, the tub smelled so fresh and clean it was amazing. We did add a mineral stick to the filter, and we clean the filter weekly. We are still using chlorine and shock to maintain it. After about 4 weeks the tub was cloudy and I was really worried. I checked the PH and it was sky high. So I added 8 cups of vinegar and brought it back into a "good" range and my water is crystal clear. So wow! I am truly amazed. If you are struggling with high PH I highly advise the use of vinegar!