Dichlor is a cyclic organic compound, a triazine with a couple chlorides as functional groups. When in water, it releases the chlorides to chlorinate the water probably into the hypochloric acid/hypochlorate equilibrium I don't know. At any rate, my question is does the oxidant peroxymonosulfate (MPS) oxidize (destroy) the organic dichlor salt (triazine) and thus push that equilibrium toward the release of chlorides, and thus increase the chlorine levels. Does the shock oxidizer MPS destroy the weak organic acid salt form of dichlor and leave more chlorine in the water?
Since HClO is 80 times more likely to destroy bacteria and algae than ClO- I understand why you never want to let pH into the alkaline range, hence weighing the equilibrium of the hypochloric acid to hypochlorate to the basic range and mostly the perchlorate salt doing nothing.
Seems you can add HCl or muriatic acid or hydrochloric acid, and reverse that equilibrium back to HClO side.
I took a reading yesterday using a multi strip and it read 0 for hardness. Wow, cause I don't have soft water. I live in Columbus Ohio, and this must be unusual for the neighborhood, cause Ohio doesn't have soft water on the water map online. Does this mean I have magnesium and iron ions making up for the lack of Calcium? I poured a third of a bottle of hardness up or calcium dichloride solution from the hot tub store in to get normal readings. Strange tap water, what's up? It also came in at ph 6 or so, so I added soda ash (disodium carbonate) to get into the 7 range.
I was informal in my water hygiene for the first year of hot tub soaking, and was getting all kinds of strange readings, stuck in the pH range of 6, then I dumped a bunch of dichlor and MPS in, to a tub containing white floaty (biofilm I think, it sure wasn't calcium crashing out of a high pH solution, cause my calcium reads 0 and ph was about 6). now I have a lovely hot tub rash folliculitis in the bathing suit area, and I've had it for about 10 days, the red rash went away quickly with application of antifungal cream, but I'm left with lovely festering pimple like welts oozing white slime. Bonus, just in time for Halloween. Unfortunately, I'd have to display my scrotum for the full effect. Antibiotics and antifungal ointment can't quite get rid of this pestilence so I'm going to try silver, iodine, benzoyl peroxide ointments and chlorhexidine cleanser. Bonus: I've gone from tighty whities to boxers, and I like them better, never would have tried them without the hot tub rash.
Please learn from El Estubido, don't be informal with the water chemistry of a hot tub. Now I'm left not knowing if this rash is caused by a chemical sensitivity developed by soaking in harshly imbalanced water, to much triazine, hypochloric acid and peroxysulfate, or just a bacterial folliculitis, combined with fungal infection. I'm guessing the bad little life forms.
Maybe its all of the above. I've formalized my study of water chemistry, and will never never never go more than 4 months with out changing water including a disinfection before draining and a wipe down of the tub.
Any amateur chemists out there want to take a shot at the dichlor/peroxymonosufate chemistry? Anybody understand what a buffer is, and what chemical equilibriums are? What oxidation is in relation to organic compounds?