Switch from Bromine to chlorine questions

[MoodyMaMa]

I have had a rash for the last six months that the dr can not figure out. Not bacterial not fungal. It gets way worse after using the hot tub (could just be the heat inflaming it, but) I think I may have a problem with the chemicals I am using. I used the chlorine system on my pool and never had a problem so I think we will switch to that for the hot tub and see if this goes away.

So I will use awesome, do I leave the filters in the hot tub while using it? Should I buy new filters?

How do I get ALL the bromine out, if I drain all I can and use a shop vac to get the water on the bottom of the tub out is that good enough? Should I partially refill and drain again to minimize the amount of bromine water that was left in the pipes?

 

[Flying Tivo]

Im no expert on hot tubs, but i can suggest you drain the tub, remove filters, fill with fresh water, run awesome. Depending on how dirty the water comes out with the treatment, you can repeat. After treatment fill with fresh water instal new filters and run chlorine. You can run a bromine test to make sure its all out.

good luck

Felipe

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Some people are more sensitive to bromamines than others. It is possible that it's a chemical allergy. It's also possible that it could be mechanical in nature - some people get a rash from sitting in front of the jets for too long. The mechanical force of the water is enough to irritate the skin and cause inflammation. I would definitely endorse your current approach and purge the tub. Then refill and balance with chlorine (a shopvac is a good way to clear out the pipes). You shouldn't need to do two fills but you can if your water is cheap. If the rash goes away after the switch then you can definitely point to a bromine allergy. If it comes back, then you might have to consider mechanical abrasion as a possible issues.

And, FYI, there are no tests for bromine. The DPD indicator dye is sensitive to all halogens (Cl, Br, I, etc) and so there is no easy way to distinguish bromine from chlorine using standard pool tests.