Chemically confused

[kacrab10]

Ok, went to the spa store today and looked for dichlor and mps. I could only find dichlor, bromine or the hydrogen peroxide stuff nothing said MPS and the girl didn't seem to know what I was talking about. The salesman wanted me to buy EVERYTHING they sold, dichlor, ph +,-, metal gone etc etc....  I only got the dichlor and it the cleaner to clean out the jets.  What do I do next?  What is MPS and where can I find it?  The bottle of dichlor said sanitizer and clarifier I believe so do I need anything else?  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Surprising they didn't know what mps is??

 The very basics you need are chlorine (dichlor)  some kind of alk/ph increaser and a non chlorinated shock (mps) and test strips or test kit.  The rest in my opinion is a as needed type chem.   Foam down if water gets foamy, clarifier to help get rid of cloudiness. And calcium is nice if you have soft water but some consider calcium debatable, I am on the shelf with it I do like some calcium just not the 250 to 450 ppm thats suggested by most test strips/chemkits.

  If you have hard and nasty type water, a stain and scale inhibitor is good to use if you want other than that keep it simple.   You may consider a nat2 cartridge I think sundance calls it sun pure??

 You should be able to find mps somewhere, did you use the term mps or shock?   They may not know what mps is as dumb as that seems to a spa store that sell chems?

[kacrab10]

Jim, I did ask for MPS because that is all I have heard you all refer to. I didn't know what else to call it.  I will go to Leslie's on Monday and see what they have to go with the dichlor that I bought today.  I guess I was confused about the whole thing because dichlor said shock and sanitizer (I think I'm using the right words).  

Thanks

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Well some like to shock with chlorine, I don't..   Read the the bottle and see if it contains mps ( monopersulfate)?  Some sell chlorinated shock which is basically a mix of both, so when you add chlorine after use you are in a sense shocking as well.   Just a thought.

[Renee]

Well some like to shock with chlorine, I don't..   Read the the bottle and see if it contains mps ( monopersulfate)?  Some sell chlorinated shock which is basically a mix of both, so when you add chlorine after use you are in a sense shocking as well.   Just a thought.

Just curious, Jim, why you don't like to shock with chlorine?  I try to switch off between shocking with MPS and shocking with chlorine.   Just wondered what the downfalls of shocking with chlorine are.
Thanks,
Renee

[Swell-Tub]

Jim, I did ask for MPS because that is all I have heard you all refer to. I didn't know what else to call it.  I will go to Leslie's on Monday and see what they have to go with the dichlor that I bought today.  I guess I was confused about the whole thing because dichlor said shock and sanitizer (I think I'm using the right words).  

Thanks

If you are going to Leslie's then "Fresh and Clear" is what you seek. That is what I use to shock my tub. Throwing plugged in toaster's into the spa each week was becoming too expensive (I kid, I kid).

Scott  

[kacrab10]

After the crane and the heat and the fact that the crane tore up the front yard I think the hubby might throw a toaster in the tub while I'm in it!!Since this whole thing was my idea. LOL.  I will post pictures of the whole process once the electrician comes whenever that might be.  

[tony]

Jim, I did ask for MPS because that is all I have heard you all refer to. I didn't know what else to call it.  I will go to Leslie's on Monday and see what they have to go with the dichlor that I bought today.  I guess I was confused about the whole thing because dichlor said shock and sanitizer (I think I'm using the right words).  

Thanks

MPS...AKA Non Chlorine Shock.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

Many people choose to shock with MPS, AKA Non chlorine shock because it is a very strong oxidizer and does not raise the CYA level like dichlor does.