Switching From Softsoak To Chlorine

[arn]

I just switched from softsoak to chlorine last week and am very happy with the results except now I am reading about "hot tub itch" and am wondering if that is the problem I am already having..what is the best way to test and manage my hot tub so as not to have this problem? Please excuse my basic questions..I am a new tub owner...I have a sundance maxxus...does this tub have any fancy features so that I don't ave to worry as mauch about using dichlor vs bleach and cya and all that other stuf..HELP>>>

[hottub.pool_boy]

Best to get your water tested locally for the first couple months or so since you've made a transition. If you have a local dealer to test water that's really helpful in the early stages. Just til you get a routine down. If none of the above are available, try this http://scarritt.com/spasanitizing.htm , to my monthly section, add the following.... Every third or fourth weekly treatment, take super-chlorinated water from the spa with a clean rag or sponge and wipe the topside of the spa(above the water line) and the underside of the cover with the superchlorinated water. This will eliminate any musty type smell from the spa experience.

Water balance is still important, and makes everything work(chlorine)better and feel better on your skin.

[chem geek]

If you have been using Dichlor powder as your chlorine source, then if you got the hot tub itch after about a month after using Dichlor (after a fresh fill of water), then you probably got the hot tub itch because your effective chlorine level was too low. Dichlor contains Cyanuric Acid (CYA) as well as chlorine, but though the chlorine breaks down or kills bacteria and then turns into chloride (as in salt), the CYA sticks around and just causes the chlorine to be less effective.

My suggestion is that you only use Dichlor long enough to bring the CYA level up to around 18-20 ppm which is equivalent to 20-22 ppm Free Chlorine, or about a week's worth of Dichlor (assuming you add about 3 ppm FC equivalent per day). Then, after using the Dichlor, switch to using bleach as your sole source of chlorine until the next time you drain and refill your hot tub at which point you start over with Dichlor again. Try and maintain a 4 ppm FC level of chlorine -- so you may need to go to 7-8 ppm and then over a day after use it will likely drop down to around 4 ppm.

If you either wait an hour after you add the chlorine before getting in the tub or you add the chlorine after you get out of the tub, then you'll have less chlorine smell. Also, if you open up your hot tub for 5 minutes before getting in, that will also help dissipate any smell.

Anyway, let us know if you have been using Dichlor and for how long until you got the itch.