Drying out

[The_Pa._Lady]

Help!   My skin is really drying out.  What is the problem?  I use the tub about 4-5 times a week, water temp is at 97 degrees, chemicals are good.  I use 1 Oz. of Dichlor to shock weekly, and 1 tablespoon of MPS before soaking.  I usually soak for about 1 Hr.  

Am I in the tub too long, or should I reverse the chemicals?  MPS for shocking and Dichlor before soaking?

Thanks

[pg_rider]

The commonly accepted method here (aka the Vermonter method) is to add chemicals (preferably chlorine) AFTER your soak.  That way it kills the bugs and is gone when you're ready to use the tub the next day...

[geekd]

you're gonna get the "Vermonter Method" thing any time you mention you don't use  X tsb of dichlor after every time you soak.   You learn to tune it out after a while.    Other methods work, too, people, relax.

Adding MPS before you soak is NOT why your skin is dry.  You have hot water jets "blowing" on your skin for an hour, every other day.  Your skin is not used to this.  Use some lotion and you'll be fine.  Your skin will adjust in time.


-geekd

[Repeat_Offender]

Phew!....I thought the "Vermonter" police were going to sniff me out. Imagine, I use Bromine....and with a floater!!!!......::::waits for lightining to strike:::

[George]

Help!   My skin is really drying out.  What is the problem?  I use the tub about 4-5 times a week, water temp is at 97 degrees, chemicals are good.  I use 1 Oz. of Dichlor to shock weekly, and 1 tablespoon of MPS before soaking.  I usually soak for about 1 Hr.  

Am I in the tub too long, or should I reverse the chemicals?  MPS for shocking and Dichlor before soaking?

Thanks

MPS is an Oxidizer not a Sanatizer it is normaly used for Shocking.  Dichlor is a Sanatizer and in large amounts can be used as a Oxidizer (Shock).  You should Sanatize daily and Oxidize (Shock) weekly.  I know there are some who do it the other way around but Oxidizers do not Sanatize and Sanatizing only once per week is risky.  I wouldn't be suprised that with this method you aren't complaining of rashes not just of dry skin. I would switch your method to adding your dichlor (1 tablespoon) after each use and shock with 4 tablespoons of MPS weekly (or 3 tablespoons per 250 gal of water).  Read your MPS bottle, I think you will see it says it is a Shock.

[gturn]

Help!   My skin is really drying out.  What is the problem?  I use the tub about 4-5 times a week, water temp is at 97 degrees, chemicals are good.  I use 1 Oz. of Dichlor to shock weekly, and 1 tablespoon of MPS before soaking.  I usually soak for about 1 Hr.  

Am I in the tub too long, or should I reverse the chemicals?  MPS for shocking and Dichlor before soaking?

Thanks

You need to use dichlor more often, you are soaking in Bacteria.  MPS doesn't kill Bacteria it disolves lotions, oils, ammonia, and gunk.  You should only need MPS once per week as a Shock.  And soak first before you put in the chemicals.

[windsurfdog]

I have no idea why the geek and repeat offender commented the way they did...it certainly seemed rude...after all, pg was just trying to help.  If the geek had not included his first paragraph, I'm sure more people would give credance to his second paragraph with which I agree.  As for the repeat offender, bromine is fine, too...I just don't know why he seemed so offended...but then again, he must be familiar with offending...

pa_lady, indeed the soaks and agitated water will tend to dry out your skin.  Use some lotion after soaking if you don't already.  I also agree that your sanitation method, which uses neither dichlor nor bromine, is suspect.  I, too, agree that you should either try the Vermonter method or switch to bromine but these are not the only two that may work...they are the only two I would recommend, though.

[IDW]

Help!   My skin is really drying out.  What is the problem?  I use the tub about 4-5 times a week, water temp is at 97 degrees, chemicals are good.  I use 1 Oz. of Dichlor to shock weekly, and 1 tablespoon of MPS before soaking.  I usually soak for about 1 Hr.  

Am I in the tub too long, or should I reverse the chemicals?  MPS for shocking and Dichlor before soaking?

Thanks

What is the calcium hardness. Hard water is not as comfortable as soft water. Try a borate product like Bioguards Optimizer

[geekd]

I have no idea why the geek and repeat offender commented the way they did...it certainly seemed rude...after all, pg was just trying to help.  If the geek had not included his first paragraph, I'm sure more people would give credance to his second paragraph with which I agree.  As for the repeat offender, bromine is fine, too...I just don't know why he seemed so offended...but then again, he must be familiar with offending...

pa_lady, indeed the soaks and agitated water will tend to dry out your skin.  Use some lotion after soaking if you don't already.  I also agree that your sanitation method, which uses neither dichlor nor bromine, is suspect.  I, too, agree that you should either try the Vermonter method or switch to bromine but these are not the only two that may work...they are the only two I would recommend, though.

To tell the truth, I went off half-cocked.

I read the first part of The_Pa._Lady's post, but not the last part: "Am I in the tub too long, or should I reverse the chemicals?  MPS for shocking and Dichlor before soaking?"

Then I read the first response from pg_rider, where he recommends the Vermonter method.  I thought he was saying that's why her skin was dry, but he was probably replying to that second part about reversing the chemicals.

In any case, chlorine smells, and I use it less than twice a month and my tub is fine.  neener neener neener!  

-geekd



Plus, I like to start trouble.  It's a vice.

[gturn]

I have no idea why the geek and repeat offender commented the way they did...it certainly seemed rude...after all, pg was just trying to help.  If the geek had not included his first paragraph, I'm sure more people would give credance to his second paragraph with which I agree.  As for the repeat offender, bromine is fine, too...I just don't know why he seemed so offended...but then again, he must be familiar with offending...

pa_lady, indeed the soaks and agitated water will tend to dry out your skin.  Use some lotion after soaking if you don't already.  I also agree that your sanitation method, which uses neither dichlor nor bromine, is suspect.  I, too, agree that you should either try the Vermonter method or switch to bromine but these are not the only two that may work...they are the only two I would recommend, though.

To tell the truth, I went off half-cocked.

I read the first part of The_Pa._Lady's post, but not the last part: "Am I in the tub too long, or should I reverse the chemicals?  MPS for shocking and Dichlor before soaking?"

Then I read the first response from pg_rider, where he recommends the Vermonter method.  I thought he was saying that's why her skin was dry, but he was probably replying to that second part about reversing the chemicals.

In any case, chlorine smells, and I use it less than twice a month and my tub is fine.  neener neener neener!  

-geekd

Plus, I like to start trouble.  It's a vice.

What sanatizer do you use the rest of the time, or do you like to soak in bacteria? Do you have Ozone or N2?
It isn't wise to recommend to someone to only use sanatizer twice a month and not explain what else you use.

[Vinny]

We the Dichlor police believe that MPS and Nature 2 may look like their working but they are not primary sanitizers - PERIOD! Ozone is not a primary sanitizer in a tub AGAIN PERIOD!

I agree that her skin condition (dryness) has nothing to do with the lack of using sanitizer - either Bromine or Chlorine. It probably does have to be the water temp, time and frequency of use.

BUT the fact remains that some of us are responsible enough to try and warn people who may be in for some serious bacterial trouble. If you truely believe that you're safe in your tub not using a sanitizer, that's fine but Vermonter who everybody quotes and based on what he writes has done numerous scientific tests on his tub.

Scientific as in having water analyzed with laboratory equipment - I would like to ask did you have your water analyzed? I will say I did not, but chlorine is used to disinfect drinking water, MPS and N2 are not.

I can test my water 1 hour after adding chlorine and tell you how much chlorine is in the water in PPM, you can also do this with bromine. Please tell me how much of your primary sanitizer, N2, you have after 1 hour - not MPS but silver ions, you can't - that's the problem.  It is proven that a sanitizer - dichlor or bromine - needs to be used.

Chlorine is quoted for a few reasons - it is stronger than bromine; when soaking you can add after your done to have it work, it will be lower the next time you soak and for some people it's easier on the skin. Bromine does have it's users and probably works just as well for those who have figured it out. I have a friend who uses it and reports no problems.

I didn't try bromine and won't due to I don't want a floater.

We try to guide people to SAFE water, dichlor to a lot of people is that route.

[geekd]

What sanatizer do you use the rest of the time, or do you like to soak in bacteria? Do you have Ozone or N2?
It isn't wise to recommend to someone to only use sanatizer twice a month and not explain what else you use.

I use Hot Spring's FreshWater system - which is really just Nature 2, Ozone & MPS.  I shock with dichlor if anything seems amiss, which isn't very often.  It' only my wife and I in the tub, 4-5 times a week.  (and no 'swimmers', either   )

And I wasn't recommending anything.

It's just that if anyone casually mentions (even if it's not part of their main question) that they don't use dichlor after each soak, the Vermonter Police come out in force.  We get it already.

The_Pa._Lady has dry skin.  She's got 2 responses suggesting she use lotion, and 4 telling her use dichlor.  Her sanitation routine may or may not be a problem, but it's not the cause of problem she is asking for help on.

-geekd

[Repeat_Offender]

Vinny, I hear what you're saying and I agree that the type of sanitizer is not as important, but using one effectively is. Bromine works for me. I have no intention of researching different types of sanitizers and do all sorts of scientific analysis. I bought the spa to enjoy, not be a slave to. I also can't see what the big deal is about a floater? Just remove it when you open the cover and toss it back in before you close up. Could it be easier?
As for Windsurfdog, get over yourself. I'm not offended at all and meant no offence to the original poster, I'm just not about to genuflect every time the word Vermonter is mentioned. Nothing wrong with a little sarcastic humor, sorry if it bothered you. Maybe you need to soak a bit longer..

[gturn]

What sanatizer do you use the rest of the time, or do you like to soak in bacteria? Do you have Ozone or N2?
It isn't wise to recommend to someone to only use sanatizer twice a month and not explain what else you use.

I use Hot Spring's FreshWater system - which is really just Nature 2, Ozone & MPS.  I shock with dichlor if anything seems amiss, which isn't very often.  It' only my wife and I in the tub, 4-5 times a week.  (and no 'swimmers', either   )

And I wasn't recommending anything.

It's just that if anyone casually mentions (even if it's not part of their main question) that they don't use dichlor after each soak, the Vermonter Police come out in force.  We get it already.

The_Pa._Lady has dry skin.  She's got 2 responses suggesting she use lotion, and 4 telling her use dichlor.  Her sanitation routine may or may not be a problem, but it's not the cause of problem she is asking for help on.

-geekd

Your method is one sanatizing method N2 and Ozone with MPS shock, not my preference, but if it works for you great.  The point of my posts were to point out that MPS daily and Dichlor as a Shock is not a proper sanatizing method and saw that in the original post as a problem.  And I agree that lotion is the best solution to dry skin.  I just saw a more important thing to point out from her post (lack of sanatizer) than the dry skin.

[The_Pa._Lady]

I'm sorry if I started a fewed.

 But it looks like I have it backwards.  We are dumping the water this weekend, and starting fresh.  I promise to take your advice and use 1 tablespoon Dichlor AFTER soaking, and use 4 tablespoons of MPS (Shock) weekly for our 325 gal tub.  We do use N2, and ozone, I guess that helps some.  We have to use our soft water because our well water has so much iron in it.  So we use Calcium Hardness Increaser.  I had the water checked, and the dealer said to use the soft water, but add the Increaser.  

I do use lotion after soaking, but I'm sure that my new regimen of adding chemicals is going to help a lot.  I can't believe I have been soaking in bacteria!!  Not a pleasant thought.  I can't wait to get rid of the old water, and jump into a clean tub for my next soak, using the Dichlor and MPS correctly.

All I can say is THANK YOU all for guiding me in the right direction.  Where would we newbies be if not for the help of people like you.

P.S.  Why is it that the water smells of chlorine, and burns my eyes?  Is it because I was using MPS before soaking?  I was under the impression that if I smelled chlorine the water was clean.  I guess I was really wrong.  Thanks again.