Burning through Chlorine... again

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dunginhawk

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Jul 10, 2018
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Good afternoon folks :)
So I am in a bit of a pickle. again.

So last night when I got in the tub with the kiddos and wife for about 30 minutes, the FC was about 4.
PH about 7.8, all other measurables in line with my historicals. Nothing crazy.

After the soak I knew id want to add a lot of chlorine. I actually put in about 7 oz expecting the following (7ppm per person, per hour... so thats 14ppm needed for my family in a half hour).
This afternoon when I checked it it had .5ppm thats after the SWG has run about 6 hours between soak time and now.

I ran a double dose of non chlorine shock at the recomendation of the manufacturer of the tub and holy filth and much. Not nearly as bad as an ahhsome would have been, but a LOT of yellow skum etc. So that could be one contributing factor. I am due for a cleaning and full drain. However ive done a half drain/refill two weeks ago.

Is there anything above that is shocking? I mean I guess after looking at the math perhaps 7oz of bleach for that bather load isnt crazy? just seems like a lot :)

thoughts?
 
How many kids? Did anyone shower before going into the tub?

Kids will typically urinate in a hot tub because (A) they are kids and (B) warm bubbly water makes even the strongest bladders weak. So, given the small water volume and that fact that each kid can easily output 1 to 1-1/2 cups of urine, I’m not surprised in the least.

If MPS produced a yellow scum, then your plumbing most definitely needs to be purged. I suggest you run a full coarse of Ahh-some and then dump the water. Rinse and wipe it all down then start fresh.
 
Kids are 7 and 5.. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pee in the tub so yeah that’s a deal.
I am just trying to get through the winter without a full drain and ahhsome. Part of the reason i did the half drain a few weeks ago.
Our weather should warm up enough within a month to do a full drain without freezing my arse off haha.
 
Do you all shower before getting in the tub?
My wife, daughter, and I use the tube routinely for 40 minutes at a time, with showers beforehand, and then I add about 4 oz of bleach after use and my FC will still be in range the next night when I check it before getting in.
 
Check your phosphate levels. Any kind of lotions soaps or the like can cause phosphate issues which will eat into the
chlorine like crazy. Even water from the hose has phosphates in it. Just a thought to check. Usually more of a pool issue but it can happen.
 

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I have an swg, and it can more or less keep up with a single person like me using it 5 times a week... when the fam jumps in, i have to augment that... perhaps its just expected behavior of 4 people who didnt shower right before getting in :)
 
After the soak I knew id want to add a lot of chlorine. I actually put in about 7 oz expecting the following (7ppm per person, per hour... so thats 14ppm needed for my family in a half hour).
Click to expand...

Did actually test your FC before and right after you added the bleach to see if you added what you thought? Bleach strength varies between brands, and will also vary with the same brand from one bottle to the next, and at different times of the year.

With 4 people in a spa a chlorine debt can accumulate in short order, and may require additional chlorine to be added an hour or two after you're done using the tub, even if you've shocked it well when you got out.

Another thing to keep in mind is temp plays a significant role in the chlorine demand of a spa. I've never tested it, so I can't giver precise numbers, but a tub at 104 will need twice (or more) the amount of bleach as a tub kept at 94.

My advice is not to worry so much about how much chlorine it takes to keep it sanitized compared to what other folks report here. It needs what it needs. Add it as you need to.

I add bleach by the cup. One cup adds between 2.5 FC, and 4 FC, depending on time of year with the brand I use. If I go out and find the tub at zero FC, I won't hesitate to dump three cups in all at once. And then, come back two hours later, test again, and add more.

Let your test kit be your guide.
 
dunginhawk said:
When you use non chlorine shock it displays itself as chlorine on the test strips and DPD... how long does it take the water to return to normal chlorine testing levels?
Click to expand...

MPS interferes with total chlorine measurements but not free chlorine. MPS oxidizes the R-0003 reagents but not the R-0001/0002 reagents or the R-0780/0871. There are additional reagents from Taylor to help remove the MPS interference. If you plan to use MPS regularly then you might want to get those.

Strips are not accurate and MPS will give false readings. Multi-parameter strips will also be affected and the MPS can affects other measurements.
 
All good advice... Yeah my thought is as long as my tub is sanitized and working well, maybe it doesnt matter.... I definitely am not adding cups at a time , so thats good.. I know my SWG is running minimizing how much im using.
My tub has been basically running great... Water has always been gin clear and happy... CC has been a little high but the odor is not at all bad. 5 seconds after lifting the cover, any odor is gone... That will be resolved in a drain/refill.

I do run my tub at 104... so perhaps again my chlorine demand is fairly normal..
 
I definitely am not adding cups at a time , so thats good..
Click to expand...

If your bleach is weak, perhaps you need to add cups at a time. Alls I'm saying is, what it says on the bottle - plugged into pool math, doesn't necessarily match up with what your test kit says.

I could certainly pay (more than) twice as much for bleach, and add half as much, but what difference does it really make?
 
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