multiple spa uses daily...sanitizing tips?

[gores95]

Hey again all.  We've only had our tub for a few days and of course the allure to soak is very strong!  The wife and I soak nightly with the kids and those same kids are in the tub in the morning and sometimes the afternoon as well.  I actually soaked this morning with them as well!

Question is..should I be dumping Dichlor after each soak even if there are two or three a day?  I don't want to overdo the tub and if I am chlorinating in the morning or afternoon I want to be sure the spa is OK to soak in by evening.

Another quickie...my spa has exterior LED lights that you can program to come on each day at the same time for six hours.  Before setting this up are LED lights costly to operate and do they burn out rapidly?  The six hours a day would translate to 2200 hours yearly and I am trying to keep operating costs as low as possible.

Thanks,

Marc

[kervis]

We got our spa in July--same thing, in and out all day.  The 3 kids put on goggles and swam around!  Then their friends came over and it went on and on...


Yes, I put in probably 2 tsp after each round.  Not as much as I would if it were the last soak of the evening--just enough to keep it clean until the next use, a couple hours later.  

I never did use my Taylor kit to measure anything, I just guessed and everything was ok.

Any problems I had were due to the lotions, sunscreens, sweat, just gunk that enzyme or clarifier helped to clear up.

At the very end of the evening, I tried to put in a good tsp for each person who had been in, without having it be a "shock" each time.

Somehow it all worked out ok.

I am glad it is now too cold for the kids to be dunking under.  We will start some new hot tub habits this winter, that will ultimately help me maintain the tub a lot more easily in the future!

Isn't it fun?!!  

[gturn]

Hey again all.  We've only had our tub for a few days and of course the allure to soak is very strong!  The wife and I soak nightly with the kids and those same kids are in the tub in the morning and sometimes the afternoon as well.  I actually soaked this morning with them as well!

Question is..should I be dumping Dichlor after each soak even if there are two or three a day?  I don't want to overdo the tub and if I am chlorinating in the morning or afternoon I want to be sure the spa is OK to soak in by evening.

Another quickie...my spa has exterior LED lights that you can program to come on each day at the same time for six hours.  Before setting this up are LED lights costly to operate and do they burn out rapidly?  The six hours a day would translate to 2200 hours yearly and I am trying to keep operating costs as low as possible.

Thanks,

Marc

I think the newness will wear off soon, I would be worried that adding Dichlor after each use might mean your levels of Clorine are to high to be using the tub again real soon the same day.  Have you checked the amount of Clorine before using the tub to see if the levels are safe? You might need to run the tub with the cover off to vent off some of that Clorine before using it again so soon after treating the water.

LED lights hardly take any electricity at all and seldom ever burn out.  They are so cheap to run that you could probably run them all month for just a few pennies of power.

[Vinny]

My suggestion would be to test the tub a couple times a day to see how the water is reacting to usage. If you put 3 PPM in and after a second soak you have 1 PPM then you'll be OK until the next soak/morning/night whichever comes first. If not then add some dichlor!

LED's usually last about 100,000 hours, so 2200 hours a year = 45 years ... There is no a guarantee that they will last that long but should last a long time! One of the good reasons for putting in an LED into the tub as well - hopefully never having to replace a bulb. Electrical usage - I think it's milliwatts so they really cost a penny or 2 a day, if that.

[tileman]

Marc, from what I've been able to learn out about led lights through several websites is that they have a maximum life of about ten years. I'm pretty sure but not 100% that the life is the same whether you use it 1 hr/day - 24 hr/day, after 10 years it's done no matter what. I'm sure  that the less you use it the better chances you have though. Most replacement led bulbs are only warranted for  2 years, I can't figure it out either. :-? As far as cost goes 24hr/day usage costs a measely $1.60 a year.  Tileman

[gores95]

Awesome guys...thanks!  I actually added some MPS and Dichlor after our soak tonight to shock the tub.  Water was pretty clear but I was getting some foam from the pumps (not when I was using the air pump only).  The foam bubbles dissipated quickly when I shut the pumps off.  I figured the shock could only help and the chlorine level was about 10 ppm and I am leaving the cover off for a while all pumps running.

I am reading MANY posts about fighting foam and am trying not to have to put foam fighter in the tub.  Let's see how things go tomorrow.

Thanks again.

[IDW]

Hey Question is..should I be dumping Dichlor after each soak even if there are two or three a day?  I don't want to overdo the tub and if I am chlorinating in the morning or afternoon I want to be sure the spa is OK to soak in by evening.


Maybe you could use your test kit and see if the tub needs more chlorine after each use.

[anne]

I had the same question in the beginning, and was advised here that probably sanitizing with every use or a max of once per day would be ok but that is just with ME and maybe one other adult in the tub. That is what I do now: even if I soak am and pm I still just chlorinate once per day.

[gores95]

I just checked the chrlorine levels and after being near 10 ppm last night they were about 0-1 this morning.  I had left the cover off last night for about a half hour with the pumps running to help dissipate the chlorine.  Tub is still a little foamy and certainly not crystal clear.  I just bought a bottle of Doc's clarifier so we'll see if that helps.  I have heard good things.  I also read to put the foam reducer in a spray bottle but I don't want to use that stuff yet.



My PH is way high(over .  The starter kit has a bottle of PH down but it contains Hydrchloric Acid....yikes!  Any advice on high PH or being a new tub should I not worry so much?  TA is a bit high also not as bad as PH.

Thnx,

Marc

[George]

My PH is way high(over .  The starter kit has a bottle of PH down but it contains Hydrchloric Acid....yikes!  Any advice on high PH or being a new tub should I not worry so much?  TA is a bit high also not as bad as PH.

Thnx,

Marc

If your ph is that high your clorine might not be working right.  Have you checked for total Clorine levels and Free levels.