Spa Marvel vs Chlorine

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Jul 29, 2013
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So I'm about to buy my first hot tub and have been reading up on sanitation. I've been in other peoples hot tub with Bromine and Chlorine, and don't particularly like the smell and feel like a get a lot of skin irritation. So I was told about Spa Marvel and then read up a bit on it.

It sounds good, but some spa dealers have said it cannot be used without an actual sanitizer like chlorine or bromine. It is not approved by health Canada as a sanitizer and by law spas must contain chlorine or bromine.

Another dealer suggested using Spa Marvel and then adding an oxidizer/shock (non Chlorine) weekly is sufficient and I have read many claims proclaiming how well this works.

What are people comments here at Trouble Free Pools?
 
As far as I can tell from their product description, it is just an enzymatic spa cleaner. It provides no sanitation whatsoever.

Have you read our procedure for chlorinating a spa -

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?)

Many here on TFP who own hot tubs use the dichlor-then-bleach method and love it. Unlike other methods, we teach pool and dos owners how to accurately measure their own hot tub water and have a perfect spa experience without feeling like your soaking in a bowl full of human-broth.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
As far as I can tell from their product description, it is just an enzymatic spa cleaner. It provides no sanitation whatsoever.

Have you read our procedure for chlorinating a spa -

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?)

Many here on TFP who own hot tubs use the dichlor-then-bleach method and love it. Unlike other methods, we teach pool and dos owners how to accurately measure their own hot tub water and have a perfect spa experience without feeling like your soaking in a bowl full of human-broth.
Click to expand...

I've read the chlorine procedure, seems very time consuming, have to test daily, add chlorine each time you use etc.....

Spa Marvel claims all you need to do is shock/oxidize weekly with non chlorine
 
My tub takes 2 oz of bleach each day and maybe 1/2 oz of acid every 2 days.

Although I tested every day for a week or two to get the "feel" of my tubs chemistry , now all I do is enjoy it.

And all the while know that it is 100% safe and sanitary.

And NO smell.

Invest in your understanding of the chemistry you can easily learn here....and save a bunch of $$$ on chemicals. That way you can invest in cocktails to enjoy in your new tub.


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floridarandy said:
My tub takes 2 oz of bleach each day and maybe 1/2 oz of acid every 2 days.

Although I tested every day for a week or two to get the "feel" of my tubs chemistry , now all I do is enjoy it.

And all the while know that it is 100% safe and sanitary.

And NO smell.

Invest in your understanding of the chemistry you can easily learn here....and save a bunch of $$$ on chemicals. That way you can invest in cocktails to enjoy in your new tub.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hmmm.....

Very convincing. I follow Trouble Free pools advice for my pool and am 100% satisfied with results i get and the chemistry.


I find it extremely easy with pool. The only thing is with Hot tubs, I have no experience and have heard things like Chlorine is burnt up (consumed) very quickly because of heat. and I don't really want to have to test daily.


You are slowly winning me over though. I'm starting to consider Bleach route.

So what people here are saying is all those claims or people using SPA marvel only with a non chlorine oxidizer are potentially susceptible of having bacteria still in their hot tubs and thus risk of rash, infection etc....?
 
The enzymes in the Spa Marvel will simply act as a clarifier and oxidizer (mild) of bather waste. Enzymes do not sanitize the water. So, when you shock the water with chlorine or MPS, you are killing some but not all of the bacteria. Then the filter and enzymes will clear up what you have killed.

Because there is no residual sanitizer in your hot tub, that bacteria that survived or is added by people in between shock treatments will grow. Each time you shock, you will probably have to use more and more because the bacteria load will grow larger each time. Over long enough time periods, biofilms will begin to develop inside the spa plumbing acting as a reservoir of live bacteria. Your spa will then have a constant source of bacteria in it that neither chlorine or MPS can kill because biofilms are difficult to penetrate. To remove the biofilms, you would then need a cleaning product like Ahh-some Jetted Tub and Spa cleaner to remove the films.

A properly chlorinated tub will maintain a chlorine residual in between soaks (especially if you set the standby/recirculate temperate down to 94F or lower). By maintaining even a small residual, bacteria will never get a chance to grow.
 
OK so if i go the Chlorine route, what about adding other things like Borates? Is that beneficial? I add them to my pool and seem to be happy, feels smooth, water is sparkling, Ph seems very stable.

Is CH necessary in tub? In my pool i don't worry about it (it is technically low) but in Hot tub, I don't understand why having CH low is bad?
 

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Borates have a couple of benefits in ours. First, the water is "smoother and silkier"...I know these are silly words but the feel is better. Second, Ph buffering makes it easier to manage....not as big a deal as the big pool.

If you commit to testing for a couple of weeks to see how your bleach holds I think you may find you can go a couple of days between.

Heck , if you simply use your spa 2 or 3 times a week and add bleach after each use that may be less you need. The key is "learning" your spa or pool in the beginning. It will tell you what it need and how often if you invest the time in the beginning.


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