Is it okay to put bleach in a hottub for cleaning?

[squale]

I keep getting a rash on my arms after using the hottub, I am currently using bromine.  So my local spa place said to switch to dichlor and use the Nature2 Sundance cartridge that goes into the filter door where you normally put bromine tablets.  He told me that I should put a half gallon of bleach into the spa water right now and run the spa for about 20 minutes, THEN drain the spa, wipe down the shell and refill.  He said the bleach will KILL anything that is in the spa to rule out any bacterialy problems that may be causing my rash on my arms.

Now is it okay to add 1/2 gallon of bleach to a 385 gallon spa?  will the bleach ruin my rubber head cushions on or anything else inside the spa?  HOw about the plumbing, heater, motors, etc.. will the bleach hurt any of those components?  I'm assuming adding bleach will DRASTICALLY lower the PH and make the water very acidic.

Thanks

[SerjicalStrike]

If they are trying to totally wipe out bacteria, and you are going to drain it right after you add bleach to it, I would just use a whole bottle of bleach.  Leave the cover off until you drain it and you should be fine.  Just don't go longer than an hour with the bleach in the tub.

[tazman]

A whole gallon? You truly want him to burn his lungs permanantly dont you?
BEFORE USING BLEACH- make certain what material the spa is made of as certain brands may turn yellow if the bleach content is too high. For your personal safety please dont pour a whole gallon of bleach in your spa. Mr strike is certainly the wrong person to be giving spa advice. From reading his posts it seems he follows the teachings of Gruver science.

[squale]

I have a Sundance Altamar spa

[JeffB]

Two points. First, I used bromine for many years in a Sundance Optima I used to own. No rash problems. About a year and a half ago I bought an Artesian Captiva and used bromine for about a year. I began to develop a rash, particularly on my back because of the jet action. I switched to clorine (using roughly the "Vermonter" method) six months ago and no more rash. So a switch to clorine may do the trick. Second, I have used bleach to clean and sanitize both of my tubs before changing water upon the recommendation of my dealer. Two cups is the most I have ever used. I run the jets for twenty minutes and leave the water in the tub for at least 2 hours before draining. I have left it in overnight on some occasions. I will add that on my last water change, I used Leisure Time's Jet Clean instead of bleach and and my pipes must have been pristine as nothing visible came out of the jets with the Jet Clean process. Hope this helps.

[SerjicalStrike]

A whole gallon? You truly want him to burn his lungs permanantly dont you?
BEFORE USING BLEACH- make certain what material the spa is made of as certain brands may turn yellow if the bleach content is too high. For your personal safety please dont pour a whole gallon of bleach in your spa. Mr strike is certainly the wrong person to be giving spa advice. From reading his posts it seems he follows the teachings of Gruver science.

With 9 years experience with Sundance spas and working directly with another tech that has 20 years in the spa industry and has a degree in environmental science, I feel very confident telling the poster that as long as he drains the tub no more than an hour later, that bleach will not have any lasting affect on the user or the equipment.

And just how is he going to burn his lungs out if he is going to drain the spa and refill it and wait for it to heat up before using it?

[Dipstick]

With 9 years experience with Sundance spas and working directly with another tech that has 20 years in the spa industry and has a degree in environmental science, I feel very confident telling the poster that as long as he drains the tub no more than an hour later, that bleach will not have any lasting affect on the user or the equipment.

And just how is he going to burn his lungs out if he is going to drain the spa and refill it and wait for it to heat up before using it?

I agree, but this should only be done if the spa is outdoors. If inside make sure all the windows are open and leave the room. Also if you use the bleach with the lemon scent that helps with the odor a little.

[SerjicalStrike]

 Also if you use the bleach with the lemon scent that helps with the odor a little.

Good idea.

[Steve]

I respect our serjical friends opinion but I don't know if I'd recommend that. First thing I'd do is check the warranty as I would HATE to suggest something that "may" void a warranty.

The issue with liquid chlorine (bleach) is that it dissipates too quickly. You could well achieve what is being asked with granular chlorine and the result would be as good, if not better, by adding a couple cups.

The sanitizer is not causing the rash.

Your first step is to take a sample and get it tested for psunemosis (sp)( I can never spell that fricken word! ) You need to determine IF that's the problem first.

Second, don't use the spa again until the rash is COMPLETELY gone and then wait a week. All you're doing is irritating it and causing it to become inflamed again by not doing so. GO TO YOUR DOCTOR as none of us here are doctors and know your history...

Could it be a heat rash? How's the pH? Have you changed detergents or soaps at home  recently? There's lots more to consider than adding a gallon of bleach when a rash is involved and suggesting otherwise would be unhelpful.

Generally speaking, bromine is easier on the skin than chlorine as it's a salt based system.

If it is a bacteria, do not put anything back in the spa that was in it prior to. Toys, floaters, waterwings, etc...

Steve

[Steelerpete]

I'm getting the same type rash and thought it might be the water as well, but wouldn't my wife and kids get the rash as well if it was a bacteria in the water? They use the tub more then I do especially since the rash should up. Any thoughts would be great.

[cburk0677]

Everyones skin sensitivity is different. That being said if it is bacteria I would think everyone in the tub would be affected. I think a more likely problem is your PH is way out of wack. Maybe even beyond repair.

Superchlorinate the water, drain, wipe down with bleach solution, rinse out, and drain bleach water and then refill the tub. This should get rid of the rash problem.

[Brewman]

bleach is very corrosive to stainless steel- I've used it as a sanatizer/cleaner for my brewing equipment, except that if I use it on anything stainless I've got to watch it.  Not sure if a gallon of bleach in that much water would harm the stainless or not, but why chance it?  
 I'm pretty sure the facings on your jets are all stainless steel, and Sundance certainly won't replace them under warranty if they corrode from your use of bleach.  You can super chlorinate with dichlor and that should do the trick.
 Try swirl away or some other product made for spas if you really want to get the gunk out.  

[Steve]

For some reason, men are more susceptable to this type of rash from a hot tub. Maybe a doctor could explain it but I can't.

[squale]

well I did a gallon of bleach, no problems.  If you figure on the back of the jug of bleach it says, add 3/4 cup of bleach per gallon for cleaning things like tubs, sinks, laminate floor, tile, etc.  I'm sure acrylic is just as resistant if not more to bleach than these other surfaces.  So given the above recommend dilution on the bleach bottle, that would equate to 288 CUPS of bleach or 18 gallons of bleach for the recommended dilution.  (385 gallon spa x .75 cups of bleach per gallon = 288 cups).  I put in about 1 gallon of bleach for 385 gallons so I don't think that was too bad.  The water did turn a greenish color though lol.  Anyhow, I drained the bleach, I took a bleach dilution in a bucket iwth towel and wiped down the top of the spa all around, all the controls, headrests, etc.  I even did the underside of the cover.  I then took another towel and just regular tap water and wiped down the areas I just put bleach dilution on.  I then rinsed out the inside of the tub with a garden hose, sucked that water back out and now I'm filling her back up as I write this.

I am confident that running a gallon of bleach through the spa with full jets on for about 1/2 hour should definately take care of any bacterial problem I MIGHT of had, even though I don't think my rash is bacteria related at all.

Now I got one of those Sunpurity Nature2 cartridges to put in my filter door (where the bromine tablets go), and I also got some dichlor.  I am NOT going to use any bromine this time around, instead this mineral cartrige with dichlor.  I also have a CD Ozonator in the spa.  I will see if I have better results with chlorine than I did with bromine.

BTW.. if there is a little bleach solution left IN the piping and after the tub is full with tap water and I begin running it, that bleach will mix with the water in the spa.  Is this a problem?  can you actually put bleach into your spa water as a sanitizer or a shock?  I think bleach is actually an oxidizer right?  thus it could be used as a shock?

[In Canada eh]

With 9 years experience with Sundance spas and working directly with another tech that has 20 years in the spa industry and has a degree in environmental science,

If your friend truly has a degree in environmental science HOW would he/she suggest squale dispose of this 75 to 100ppm sodium hypo solution??

squale

   Its too late now as I can see from your post but you did not need to use that much bleach!  I would have put in 1 cup, waited 5 mins and tested the water for a chlorine residual.  You need to get that residual to about 25ppm only to superchlorinate the water and then let it circulate for about 1 hour.  Its also much safer for the environment when you send it down the drain or won't kill your lawn if draining it that way