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I don't agree that you necessarily have to decontaminate your spa and dump the water. The reason for the difference is because a chlorine shock does a better job of destroying chloramines than MPS, but MPS does a better job of preventing them.
Sounds to me like the tub. I'll give you word for word the sheet we hand our customers:==================================================Psuedomonas:The word Psuedomonas is used loosely to describe both bacteria and the rash it can cause when it infects a spa or hot tube. Its proper name is Psuedomonas Aeruginosa dn is commonly found in soil, water and on plants.This bacteria does not compete very well with other common bacteria. The spa's higher temperature kills off its competitors, leaving Psuedomonas alone to multiply very rapidly. It feeds on proteins, oils, ammonia and nitrogen.The rash that is associated with the bacteria is know as Psuedomonas Folliculitis. It is an inflammation of the hair follicles , and usually occurs within 8 to 48 hours after exposure. It will appear as red bumps or postules with white heads that do not pop.The rash is usually, but not always, located between the shoulders and the waist (in the trunk of the body). It is not unusual for one person to get it and another who was in the spa to not get it. It seems that the wider the opening of the skin pores the more likely one is to get the rash.Within 3 to 7 days after exposure the rash normally goes away on its own without treatment. A regular skin lotion can be used to help the itching which can accompany the rash.Spa disinfection techniques:1. Drain the spa completely2. Clean the surface with an alkaline surface cleaner3. Remove and clean the spa filter(s)4. If time permits, allow spa to dry completely5. Refill spa (use a new hose or allow water to run for a few minutes before filling spa.6. Balance the spa water7. Shock the spa with a double dose of Chlorine Concentrate8. Maintain a higher than normal sanitizer level for 1 week.NOTE: This treatment plan was developed by Dr. Donald Ahearn, Professor of Microbiology at Georgia State University====================================================There you go. What I've found is that this critter tends to pop up after 1 fo 2 main things happens - either a fresh fill after the tub has set empty for a while and stuff can grow in the lines OR if your sanitizer level dropped for a period of time (I'm guessing the latter since you noted the water was slightly cloudy). Either way, once Psuedomonas gets a foot hold you have to drain and refill.I've actually seen many cases where a large number of people use a tub and only one of them breaks out with the rash and other cases where only one of them doesn't.Good luck with the treatment!
Hey Tony!Just so you know, I recommend the drain and "decontaminate" the tub method for 2 reasons. First, the guy that came up with the procedure knows a whole lot more about bacteria than I do. Second, I've dealt with probably a couple hundred cases over the 6 years I've been in the spa industry. In my experience, the people with the best luck at not having it come back are the ones who followed those instructions. It's not 100% perfect, we've had people that have had to do it a couple of times before they stopped breaking out.Have people been able to get rid of it with out draining? Yep. And I know both of them, but in both cases they ended up with it again a few weeks later. I do have a question for you though regarding your statement about MPS preventing chloramines. I was wondering if you could explain that because I've never heard it explained that way. thanks!
morgan23, I hope my post didn't come off as "holyer than thou". I was trying to address a misconception that some people have in using dichlor while answering your question. After rereading it, it sounded a little or a lot like it might be an arrogant response ... it wasn't intended to be.tony, did chemgeek explain how MPS works because waterbear tried to and everywhere he led me I kept reading to use MPS as a shock ... even on the old pool solutions/pool forum websites. He was telling me that weekly addition of MPS will keep chloramines from forming, not destroying chloramines as we all believe, I couldn't find evidence of what he was saying.