Hot Tub Folliculitis

[Jonny5]

Hi new to the board. very cool place, but any way I work at a cabin company and we maintain about 155 hot tubs between 5 maintenace guys , and out of 5yrs I just had my 1st case of guest getting Hot Tub Folliculitis from a hot tub I did, so I was wordering how easy it is for guest to get folliculitis. They checked in on may 23 and out on the 27th I tested the hot tub before they got there the chlorine and ph tested good. if guest used the hot tub every night not showering before they get in and out is it possiable that they got it in the 4 nights? can a clean hot tub with proper levels get folliculitis that fast from neglect, basicaly

using the hot tub when the water started to smell or change colors by them not calling to have someone test for proper chemicals

Thanks

[chem geek]

Did you add chlorine every day while they were checked in? If not, then the chlorine could have been used up after one or two days and then the bacteria could have flourished. It only takes bacteria 15 minutes to an hour to double in population in ideal conditions so after a day or two there could be substantial numbers. The bacteria is common and introduced by bathers, but is only a problem when they grow to substantial enough numbers that then overwhelm the normal protective measures preventing skin infection. Even so, most people aren't irritated by it, but some are.

If you added chlorine every day, what type of chlorine are you using? Is it Dichlor? How often do you change the water in the tubs?

[Jonny5]

well the hot tubs are dumped almost every time the guest check out, but while guest are there if they do not call in to have hot tub clean or levels checked then it does not get done, so the day they checked in I just check the ph and chlorine. ph was a good 7.6 to 7.7 chlorine was about 1.3 we use a Non-chlorine Shock tho can't think of the name right off, but any way it look good when I was there, but acourse boss is saying I caused them to get it more less cause I didn't do the hot tub, So I just want to know how easy it is for folliculitis to form, I know the hot tub was fine when I was there but I feel that if they stayed from the 23rd to 27th and had no one clean it.. it was there fault. Cause I had to clean it on the 27th and the water was very dirty smelling like a$$$ and had like a slime feeling to it, Bromine floater laying on the ground I say neglect, But i just want my boss to know that using a hot tub just once can break the chems enough to cause problems like that and its not cause I'm not doing my job

[chem geek]

So now I'm confused because in the first post you said you checked chlorine levels but in this last post you said the chlorine was about 1.3, but you say there was a Bromine floater laying on the ground. Which are you using? Chlorine or Bromine for sanitation? Did you mean to say that you were checking bromine levels when you said you were checking chlorine levels?

You need to be VERY careful to make sure you always have some kind of sanitizer in the water at all times. Read this post for how you could cause serious health problems and be under serious liability if you don't. If you are using a bromine system via a floater, then you should have some clear instructions saying NOT to remove the floater from the tub or else the water will be unsanitary.

As for having unsanitary conditions, yes just using the tub once and having the sanitizer go to zero can do that, but you don't even have to use the tub at all for it to become unsanitary. If the sanitizer level gets close to zero, the tub can become unsanitary, period. If you were using chlorine, then I'd suggest Nature2 or similar ion system to at least help prevent uncontrolled bacteria growth, but in your commercial situation a bromine floater makes more sense since you can't expect your guests to be adding chlorine every day.

Richard

[Jonny5]

I use a non chlorine shock powder in hot tub and keep a bromine floater in hot tub guess always take the floater out most the time

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

I use a non chlorine shock powder in hot tub and keep a bromine floater in hot tub guess always take the floater out most the time

Your bromine level was way to low to start with for what is considered a "commercial" application. Renters tend to use tubs a lot and do not care how they treat them. You should have clear notes that feeder needs to remain intub at all times. In your situation, I would have individual packs of MPS for the renters with directions to add 1 pack after each use. You should also have posted what hot tub rules are and that they are used at own risk. This is what we do in our rental tubs we maintain. As chem geek said, we also have the addtional protection of the frog in bromine systems and N2 in chlorine systems. Ozone is also checked at every trip and filtration is set for 8-20 hours, adding yet another protection.

Rental homes with tubs are a bit tricky, that why there are so many laws on commercial units (all the added safty precations and auto feeders and why they cost so much more) that you find in hotels, resorts, gyms ect.