Help! rash!

[Vinny]

I'm not a big fan of having dealers test water. Some may not know enough, some may be using uncalibrated computers and some might be trying to rip you off.

I have a local pool & spa dealer who told me once for my pool that my CYA at 100 is about where they like to see it. A CYA of 100 corresponds to about 7 or 8 PPM chlorine in a pool not 3 PPM (30 to 50 cya) in what we usually shoot for.

I think the dealers who go to bioguard school or such may have a handle rather than a dealer who just sells "chemicals".

[Tonyf]

where can I find out what the Vermonter method is that is mentioned.

Also, what is CYA and how do you test for CYA?
Tony

[Vinny]

CYA is stabilizer which is in dichlor, trichlor or can be added to water by itself.

Vermonter's info is here: http://www.rhtubs.com/bbs/FAQ.htm

[AstaLaVista]

where can I find out what the Vermonter method is that is mentioned.

Also, what is CYA and how do you test for CYA?
Tony

Yeah.... I need to know too... I always thought... CYA= cover your a$$  

[Tonyf]

Even though CYA is in dichlor, what is it and how do you test for it. If the level is high, earlier posts seem to indicate it can allow bacteria to grow.
Tony

[Vinny]

CYA is chlorine stabilizer. It is only used for pools to protect the chlorine from UV radiation which will destroy the chlorine. As it builds up in the water it locks up more and more of the chlorine where the chlorine becomes useless.

To test you need a kit that will allow you to test for it, I'm not sure if strips can test for it.

The way you do it in a Taylor kit is to add 7 ml of spa or pool water and add 7 ml of CYA testing reagent. Swirl for 30 seconds and then add it to the chlorine vile which has a black dot on the bottom ... when you can't see the dot, take the cya reading on the side of the vial.

Dichlor is about 50% CYA so for every PPM of chlorine you add, CYA gets about 0.9 PPM. Chlorine goes away, CYA doesn't. After a month of soaking you are probably close to 100 PPM CYA.

The good news is that even at 300 PPM CYA (3 months of soaking) most bacteria in a tub is being killed because most bacteria need a combined chlorine & contact time of 0.5 or less. The bad news is that hot tub rash bacteria has a contact time of 50 so if it gets into your water and you have high CYA then it will not be killed by the chlorine you are adding.

The ways around this are - Use bromine, use bleach once the CYA hits 20 PPM, drain the tub monthly or realize that if you use a public spa - do not use your spa until you wash your suit. If people come over, shock your tub with dichlor to about 10 to 15 PPM and hopefully you'll kill whatever might have been growing.

Honestly, if you keep up on your water even 3 months out getting hot tub rash is almost non exsistant. Most of the people that get it have been improperly trained or newbies who don't know. Most of us use the Vermonter method, some of us use N2, some use ozone. Some don't use ozone and N2 at all and still haven't got the hot tub rash. I wouldn't worry about it but I would file it as a possibility when you don't look at your tub for 4 days, open it up and see crystal clear water ... before going in - hit the tub with dichlor at least an hour before and then go in.

[tinybubbles]

Because of my reaction to MPS, I have to shock with dichlor.  I know that liquid bleach is an option, but I just don't want to go that route.  So my question is, how does the germ that causes hot tub itch get into a personal spa?  If it's just myself and my husband using it and no suits are involved, do I need to worry about it?  

[tony]

Because of my reaction to MPS, I have to shock with dichlor.  I know that liquid bleach is an option, but I just don't want to go that route.  So my question is, how does the germ that causes hot tub itch get into a personal spa?  If it's just myself and my husband using it and no suits are involved, do I need to worry about it?  

Psuedomonas aeruginosa is common in the environment, specifically in soil, water and on plants.  Even though it is just you and your husband using the spa, you need to worry about it...microscopic entities will swim with you if you let them.

[Bonibelle]

Pseudomonas can hang out in your hose or be tracked into your tub on your feet. In most cases, it is just a ubiquitous critter that causes no harm.  The tub gives it a great environment to multiply and (this is only my opinion) the hot water and abrasive action of the jets allows it to more easily get into folicules.

So simple precautions can limit the introduction, but probably not completely prevent it. That's why good water management is critical.

I remember being so afraid that I would mess up and we would all get the rash..but so far, so good. I learned so much from the guys on this forum.

[Chad]

Fwiw, I can keep my CYA under 100ppm for 3+ months. Mostly due to the fact that I'm pretty much the only bather and therefore my dichlor doses are minimal. But I also think using a N2 catridge along with an ozonator and using mps instead of dichlor to prevent chloramines helps alot too. Oh yeah, I try and keep my pH between 7.2 and 7.4 as well so that my dichlor doses will be a higher percentage of hypochlorus acid(the killing form of chlorine). This maximizes the sanitizing capabilities of each dose.

[searchinginfl]

This whole post has me really scared! I'm getting my spa tomorrow, and will be in it with my husband. 10 year old and 2 year old. All of this chemical talk makes NO sense to me!!! Will I "get" it once I have the stuff?

Also, I will be going away for 3 days in December, and 6 days in January. What do you do then?

[AstaLaVista]

Searching- Take a deep breath...and relax.. it only sounds complicated because you are not currently using and adjusting chemicals.  They will deliver your tub..and I am assuming set it up, and show you how to use your chemicals ( my dealer did ) Then what people are talking about will make more sense.  knock on wood... but I have had a tub now since September.. granted in the scope of things that is not long... but I have not messed up my water...and the kids and I are rash free... If I can do it.. anyone can

[Bonibelle]

Like I said, I was really scared too, but if you hang out on here, you will learn and have no problems with your water management. It was so confusing to me at first, I thought I would never understand it, but now it is second nature. The problems that I noted on here were related to poor water management and doing things that didn't make any sense. (the incident with my cousin was due to a ton of people jumping in a brand new tub where no one understood anything about water management). The incident with my friends resulted from using a tub at a rental property that was just opened after storage. Apparently old water had been sitting in the lines and no consideration was made for that.

You may want to think about how long you allow your children to soak. I limit my 15 and 16 year old boys to about 15 minutes.

What you do while you are on vacation depends on the sanitizer that you use. I use Bromine and have never had a problem leaving my tub for vacation.

[tony]

Fwiw, I can keep my CYA under 100ppm for 3+ months. Mostly due to the fact that I'm pretty much the only bather and therefore my dichlor doses are minimal. But I also think using a N2 catridge along with an ozonator and using mps instead of dichlor to prevent chloramines helps alot too. Oh yeah, I try and keep my pH between 7.2 and 7.4 as well so that my dichlor doses will be a higher percentage of hypochlorus acid(the killing form of chlorine). This maximizes the sanitizing capabilities of each dose.

Your N2 cartridge is a slow low level sanitizer itself that works regardless of the CYA level.

[searchinginfl]

Being in Florida, I don't plan on keeping the water much over 98. We don't like it HOT. Should I still limit the time my kids are in? I kind of bought this because I thought it would get more use than a pool. Everytime we are at a house with a pool and spa, everyone is always in the spa. Is the time limit just because of the heat?