2011 Marquis Spa Chemical Advice Needed!

[backyardoasis]

I have learned so much from all the information on this site this summer. My wife and I are very pleased to have used the BBB method on our pool this summer and saved a ton of money!!! No more getting "pool stored" So we thank you for this forum.

So to my question.... we just purchased a new Marquis Spa and I am questioning the pool store advice. I was given a few chemicals to start out and they are almost used up already. I have muriatic acid and was told to not use that in my spa to bring the PH down our water is very high PH so we used a whole bottle of the PH down just to start up the spa can I use the acid in the spa or what would you recommend.

Question 2: I read about the no chemical or natural way of cleaning a spa is this a good idea? what is it? and should I use it? I am currently using bromine frog system and seeing how expensive it really is.

Question 3: What Chemical do I use to clean the filters when its time? The pool store stuff is very pricey. I know hard to believe

Some Stuff to know about our situation:
On Hard Well water calcium -we fill with half well and half soft water
Live in Iowa and its cold now ie miss my pool already

I am new to forums in general so please if I am doing something wrong let me know,

Thanks

 

[chem geek]

You can most certainly use Muriatic Acid in your spa. The main reason spa dealers say not to use it is that you need only a very small amount so it can be harder to dose at the teaspoon or tablespoon level, but if you pour a little acid into a measuring cup, then you should be able to dose carefully. You can use the 15% strength which fumes less.

For a new spa, I would highly recommend that you decontaminate it and no there is no "chemical-free" way of doing that safely. New spas are wet-tested, usually with water that is reused over and over again. Such spas are usually not completely dried out in their pipes and when transported they go through different temperature and humidity environments. So condensation develops. The end result is that you can have bacterial biofilms form that normal sanitation will not remove. There are also many greases and oils in the manufacturing of spa components and these often remain in a new spa. The easiest way to clean all of these out is to use Spa System Flush. In addition, or as an alternative, one can superchlorinate as described in this post. If you do both, then do the Spa System Flush first and then after a drain/refill, superchlorinate and drain/refill again. Most likely, you'll only have to do one of these.

If the filters are like standard pool cartridge filters (only smaller, of course), then you can read about the Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters and Cartridge Cleaning Instructions.

 

[backyardoasis]

Very good information, I have started the initial cleaning cycle as you outlined in your reply.

One more question if I may. I was doing more reading today about keeping a natural spa with no brom or bleach it apparently uses some enzymes and minerals ect. Has anyone had success with this? Is it safe for the spa and the occupants? Of course this would be after the initial cleaning proscribed above ( we are now in the process of doing) my wife is sensitive to brom and bleach. We do have a ozoneator.

Thank you

 

[chem geek]

There are only 4 EPA-approved disinfectants for spas: chlorine, bromine, Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB and Nature² with MPS. These are the only ones that pass the strict DIS/TSS-12 requirements. Anything else you use would have a higher risk of pathogen growth. Enzymes do not kill pathogens -- they are just chemicals that can help to oxidize bather waste, but with an ozonator there shouldn't be any need for that. Minerals, specifically copper and silver ions, do not kill pathogens quickly and in the case of copper alone it doesn't kill fecal bacteria at all (see this post for a comparison of kill times with chlorine vs. copper and silver).

If you are assuming that your wife is sensitive to chlorine because of exposure to concentrated bleach for the laundry or due to exposure in commercial/public pools (especially indoors), then those are not realistic comparisons to what you would experience in a properly managed residential spa. Most people target around 1-2 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) at the start of their soak so there is little or no smell and due to the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in the water it's a lower active chlorine level than found in tap water. Does your wife have problems taking a shower or a bath such that you have activated carbon filters for both or for the whole house? If not, then she is not really sensitive to chlorine at low levels.

There are no government regulations requiring you to have a residential pool or spa be as sanitary as a commercial/public one. It is similar to having regulations on restaurants requiring hygiene, cleansed counter tops and equipment and proper refrigeration, but at home you can leave a chicken out all day on your counter and prepare vegetables in its spilled juices and potentially get sick from it -- the government doesn't regulate that. All the government regulates for residential pools and spa chemicals is that only registered pesticides that pass DIS/TSS-12 can make kill or disinfecting claims. So you will find all kinds of alternative treatments, but unless they additionally use one of the four EPA-approved systems I mentioned, then they cannot make disinfecting claims as that would violate FIFRA rules.

If your wife is truly sensitive to both bromine and chlorine, even chlorine at low levels, then your next best bet would be Nature² with MPS. Nature² supplies silver ions which when used with non-chlorine shock (MPS) at hot spa temperatures kills pathogens quickly. However, MPS is an irritant for some people but it is worth a try if you have to use a non-halogen approach.

 

[backyardoasis]

I will try your advice with the 1-2ppm FC and go from there. We have no chlorine in our tap due to the well water. Thank you very much for the information you some how explained all of this so even I could understand. This maybe easier than I thought!