baqua problem

[t6texan]

recently my wife noticed every time she uses our spa , if she gets water on her face it burns. The water doesent bother her any where else just her face. we use baqua products in the water and i wondered  what might be causing this . The chemical levels all check out fine. What can i do to eliminate this?
Thanks T6texan

[tootall]

Ok I might be over steping my bounds here, That said Baqua voids most warenties on the spa, is corosive hard to purge from your spa, and causes cancer if injested i.e. you get water in your mouth. We have a spa dealer here in town that sells baqua and inthe spas he sells in the user guide states not to use Baqua period but he still sells it. I would just avoid it. other people here might correct me and please do if I am wrong in any way.

[buckeyespa]

Ive seen that mentioned in lots of spa warranties. Only use chlorine or bromine, everything else voids the warranty.

Ive only seen one baquasil spa in action, and it had a terrible brownish-yellow film around the edges of the water, that the user just wiped everytime they got in and out.

[Kyle]

Most spas today cover baquaspa, however it is hydrogen peroxide that you shock your spa with, and if pH and all other variable aren't perfect it can cause foaming, white water mist and many have told about a choking sensation while soaking.  Not sure about cancer.
The water looks great before you turn the jets on though.  I'd steer clear of this product.

[Brewman]

Baqua doesn't void the warranty on all spas.  It doesn't on Sundance, for sure.  As for causing cancer, I'd like to see proof of that.  
That said, we stopped using it because one of the chemicals or other made us cough while in the spa.
We switched to bromine and are ok with that.
Suggestions I was given that didn't end up working was to quit using the water line control, and try Spa Perfect, I think was the name.  It was even more expensive than the waterline control, and it didn't help.
Also, I was told that unless you use the spa frequently, cut back on the recommended shock, as that was suspected to cause tha cough too.  
If you do dump Baqua, totally drain the water, vacuum out the plumbing lines, etc...

[tootall]

I copied this from an way earlier post




 Re:Baqua spa... bad!!!!
« Reply #1 on: Aug 16th, 2001, 9:14am »  Quote  Modify  

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Biguanides: Sold under a variety of different tradenames such as BAQUASPA; BAQUACIL; SOFTSWIM; CLEARCOMFORT; REVACIL.  The active ingredient for Biguanide Sanitizers is poly-hydrochloride. iminoimidocarbonyliminoimidocarbonyliminohexamethylene. A
shorter version is polyhexamethylene biguanide or PHMB.

Simply, the active Sanitizer is an organic manmade polymer that is effective against a broad range of microorganisms. Basically, instead of killing bacteria the polymer in Biguanides smother the bacteria cell and starve it. Because the polymer is not Chlorine or Bromine it eliminates the reactions associated with Chlorine and Bromine!  WOW, this must be it, the solution to spa water chemistry? Sorry, it's NOT!

Although there is NO CHLORINE AND NO BROMINE, there is a new
chemical - HYDROGEN PEROXIDE! Woooah, wait a minute, isn't this a
highly caustic chemical substance which if ingested can cause cancer
YEP!  And you're using it in EXTREMELY high doses, YEP! In Fact, the concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide is so high that its over 10x the normal solution sold in stores!

Why, is Hydrogen Peroxide necessary with Biguanides? The polymer
smothers the bacteria cell, but does not destroy it (Oxidize) like Chlorine or Bromine, so tons of dead bacteria cells remain in the
water causing a goo on the bottom of the spa or a dark scum line around
the surface or create a gritty feel to the water!

The only way to destroy or Oxidize out this dead bacteria is to use Hydrogen Peroxide.  Are there any her problems? YES, Hydrogen Peroxide destroys clear plastic (Lexan Polycarbonate).  Guess what, a spa is loaded with clear plastic (Light Lens, jets, fittings, electronic displays, thermal sensor mounts, ozone injectors, some pump manifolds), not including your eyeglasses, waterproof watch crystal, swimming goggles, etc...

Using Biguanides with Hydrogen Peroxide is VERY, VERY expensive and
also requires many additive agents to be used as well, AND the biquanide system is NOT very forgiving if you make a mistake. It is a very difficult system to use, BUT using Biguanides with Hydrogen Peroxide will also Instantly VOID many Manufacturers Equipment
WARRANTIES...(This is considered a NON-APPROVED Chemical)!!!  

[Chas]

Yeah, but other than that....

[t6texan]

ok tootall what do you use in your spa?

T6texan

[Wheeler]

I switched from Baqua to chlorine a just under a month ago (after using Baqua for almost 8 months), and couldn't be happier now.  Our Sundance dealer  recommended Baqua, and it was "easy" as in I didn't have to do anything to the spa every day (just add chems once a week), but I always found the water to be cloudy and it was hard to keep the pH and other levels steady.  

Since switching to chlorine my water has been crystal clear and I'm much happier with the water appearance.  Doesn't even smell bad like I thought it would with chlorine.  It's also not nearly as much work as I thought to remember to add a tsp or two of chlorine every day or so as needed to keep the chlorine level correct.  The pH and TA have stayed locked in place so far with no additional balancing since filling the tub.

I'm also pretty sure that it's going to be cheaper for chems with chlorine.  Baqua is certainly not cheap, especially at startup time when you have to dump in large amounts of stain & scale control and shock.

I'd recommend switching to chlorine.  It's made me much happier with my spa's water quality.

[tootall]

ok tootall what do you use in your spa?

T6texan

well simple Just what the user guide says to use.

[Brewman]

Absolutely you'll spend less on dichlor than Baquaspa.
That's some pretty stiffly priced stuff.
Brewman