Okay chemical Guru's... Here is a puzzle

[AstaLaVista]

My sister had trouble with her water last week.  Tub is only 2.5 wks old.  Very heavy use... water started to cloud so she cleaned her filter, and gave it a good shock with Dichlor.  She had to do this a couple times but the water cleared up and looked great.  Couple days later she noticed that her TA and PH dropped significantly... she got the TA and PH back up... but it took a lot to do it... with in two days the water was completely cloudy.  She is changing the water tonight.. but would like to know what exactly happend so that she doesn't repeat the same mistake again... she asked me about it....and I am way too new to have any answers... I thought some of you might?? :-/

[tinybubbles]

I can't imagine having to drain a tub so soon.  I'd see what I could do with this water before starting over.  Mine as well experiment with water you are planning to dump.  Could you give us more info.  What is her normal maintenance routine, what chemicals has she added, etc.

[AstaLaVista]

It has now been about a month.... that she has had her tub.  It is a Caldera Geneva.  It has the CD ozone and Silver Ion.  After every use she  has been using Dichlor, and once a week MPS shock .  When the water started to go south the first time she did a couple of Dichlor shocks, which worked. And it cleared up.....   She and her family have been using it every night... at least 1-2 hours a day I would say.  When she cleaned the filter...it definately needed it.  She does seem to have a lot of soap present in her water.  Other wise she seems to be doing the same thing i do in my tub... but she does have a lot more traffic in and out of her tub.

Now, the only thing I wondered about personally was.... this Geneva was a floor model.  When it was at the store they used Bromine.  I was told that when Bromine is present in the water..... The Dichlor looses its effectiveness.  If they did not drain the lines properly before delivering the tub... would there be enough Bromine residue to cause a problem with her use of Dichlor?  That was the only thing that seemed out of the ordinary... but I hear of people switching chemicals all the time.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 There wouldn't have been enough bromine left to affect the water,  It sounds like she needs to up the dose of dichlor after use, 1 to 2 hours in a spa is a long time, how many people using it?  There is a lot of sweat going in there, foam/soapy could be a number of things, hows her calcium level, do they wash there suits every time after use, make up/lotion, teenage girls?

 There are quite a few variables that come into effect,  the biggest thing I would start with is a higher dose of dichlor and how much MPS is she shocking with?

[AstaLaVista]

Okay, during a 1-2 hour soak... about every 30 minutes she adds more dichlor ( tsp and a half- 2tsp depending on number of people usually at least 4 peps)  the MPS is 6 tablespoons I think?? what ever the recommended dose is in the pamphlet... with out looking right at It I can't think of what it is... but 6 comes to mind. (3 tablespoons per 250 gallons of water? )  She does not wash bathing suits between... just rinses them.  There are teenagers using it... but she makes sure to have them rinse before entry... her lotions..?? dunno.. if applied in the am... and rinsed.. how much can the affect the water that night?? after a rinse off?  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Tell her to give it another shot and see what happens.

[hottubdan]

Chas' rule:  New owners should dump after a month.

Other comments:
Maybe be to hit it with chlorine before use, given heavy use.
Did they give your sister a new filter with floor model?  If not she should get one.

[AstaLaVista]

They did give her a new filter... and she bought a second new one... so she could rotate them.  I think she will go with Chas' rule.  I believe she had started putting some dichlor in before during and after... after her first cloudy incident.

[drewstar]

Some random thoughts that came to me while I was daydreaming in a meeting that may help your sister....


Have your sister monitor not just the amount of dichlor (tsp vs tablespoons,) but the ppm that she is achieving 5 minutes after she adds the dichlor.  That's the correct the way to tell if she is dosing correctly.   So rather than reporting that she is adding a tsp of dichlor, have her confirm that after soaking she has the dichlor up to 5ppm.  

Is she adding anything else to the mix?   any clarifier? Any foam down products? or scented oils to the water?  

I usually try to balance my ph and alk on off days of dosing, as somewhere in the foggy recesses of my brain, I remember being told that  you can't get the PH right if you are playing with the Cl.  You mentioned her PH and ALK were bouncing around. If she is trying to get everything "right" all at once, 5 minutes after soaking, she will end up with hot tub stew.  Alternate the days.  

Teenagers are notorious for having a lot of oils, make up,  and skin products on and that alone can trash the water.

Also ensure that no one is dunking thier heads in the water. Hair care products can cause the water clarity to take a nose dive.

[Bonibelle]

YEAH....Drew is back   8-)

[drewstar]

YEAH....Drew is back   8-)

 

After 4 months at the new job I am finally comming up for air....

Still I doubt I'll be able to participate at the same level I was before....thay may be a good thing.  

[Bonibelle]

I am still waiting to hear about your new tub..how many months now? and if your wife likes it ...

[tinybubbles]

If she's adding 1-2 tsps of dichlor every 30 minutes during 1 to 2 hour soaks, that's quite a bit of dichlor.  I wonder if it being broken up instead of one heavier dose at the end of soaking makes a difference.  Could her water have reached saturation in such a short period of time?  Has she tested her TDS?  With all those kids, adding alot of dichlor during soaks and multiple shocks, sounds like a possibility.  I think with really low ph her sanitizer won't work as well, so it's a vicious cycle of having to add things.