Hot Tub help

[mkf350]

Little background, purchased home with hot tub back in July of this year. Decided to switch from chlorine tablet feeder to SmarterSpa salt system in August. At that time also treated with Ahh-Some cleaner, cleaned and changed water. We have been using tub approx 2-3 nights a week trouble free. Until last night the both my wife and i noticed that the we felt like we were having a little shortness of breath steam/aerosol coming from surface. There was a little foam on surface that dissipates quickly from aeration but not an unusual amount.

Upon researching what might be causing it I had raised FC to 12ppm with 10% let tub set for 2 days (Outdoor tub with a cover)
until FC dropped to around 6ppm. Tried getting in again last night and although not as bad still had the same symptoms of feeling in back of throat/shortness of breath for both of us.

Any ideas?
Drain and refill?




Checking water almost everyday. Here are the latest test results:
FC=3
CC=0
ph=7.2
TA=50
CH=120
CYA=30
Salt=2100
Temp=100
Added 4.5lbs of boric acid at time of refill.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I think you should open the lid about 30" before you jump in......that gives any trapped gases time to dissipate before you go breathing in the steam.

Maddie

 

[santacruzpool]

I think Maddie has a good idea to open it up before getting in - I would also run the jets for a bit just before getting in.

I do get that type of breathing problem from ozone - does your tub have an ozonator by chance?

Also, the PH at 7.2 could be causing that problem - that is on the slightly acidic side which could be irritating to some people - try to get the PH to 7.6 area.

 

[mkf350]

Thanks I will give these a shot.

 

[mkf350]

No ozonater.

 

[Arizonarob]

@JoyfulNoise Matt, any idea on this?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

What is the tub volume?

 

[mkf350]

375 gallons

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Just so you know, 4.5lbs of boric acid in 375 gallons of water yields over 250ppm concentration....that's way too high. TFP recommends 50ppm borates and so you are at 5 times that value. Now, most boron compounds are not terribly toxic to humans as the LD50 for humans is about 6 grams per kg of body mass.

That said, drain the tub, purge the lines and start over. You only need about 1 lbs of boric acid to achieve 50ppm

 

[mkf350]

Just so you know, 4.5lbs of boric acid in 375 gallons of water yields over 250ppm concentration....that's way too high. TFP recommends 50ppm borates and so you are at 5 times that value. Now, most boron compounds are not terribly toxic to humans as the LD50 for humans is about 6 grams per kg of body mass.

That said, drain the tub, purge the lines and start over. You only need about 1 lbs of boric acid to achieve 50ppm

Thanks will do!

 

[mkf350]

Well after a drain , Ahh-Some cleaning and refill all is well again! Thanks for the help.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Since it’s probably not cost-prohibitive for you, I would say you should just plan to dump the hot-tub every 3 months and start over. You don’t necessarily have to purge it with Ahh-some every time, but just getting fresh water in the tub will help. 375 gallons is pretty small and you can definitely build up chlorinated organic compounds that don’t register on any CC test. For example, water with high levels of chlorine, low stabilizer and human sweat can build up chloroform and chlorourea compounds. Normally the UV from sun exposure helps to rapidly degrade those compounds but, in a closed tub, they persist for quite some time. Then, when aerosolized by the tub jets, you’re bound to breath them in and that can irritate mucous membranes and airways. People with asthma are particularly susceptible to that kind of irritation and it’s not uncommon for poorly maintained hot tubs to cause asthma attacks in people predisposed to them.