Cutting Back On Chlorine In Your Hot Tub

I read this blog post on

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and there was no way to respond. So I thought I would give my two cents on this very subject and help this person and anyone else who was having a similar problem.

The Blog Post "I have never liked the taste or feel of chlorine in my hot tub. Bromine was a little better but it still did not feel good on my skin. At the required parts per million that were recommended for a healthy hot tub it felt like I was sitting in a pool of bleach. When my hot tub dealer recommended the hot tub ozonator I jumped at the chance to reduce the Cl or Br in my water. It took me all of ten minutes toinstall the Ozonator and most of that was spent in removing the door over the hot tub equipment panel."

The Response Here is the thing with hot tub sanitation, it is extremely important because it has a small bather load. Think of it like a giant bath tub and imagine using the same bath tub water for everyone in your houseevery night. I don't know about you but that is really disgusting to me. So you should santize it of course. But some people will ask what is the best way to sanitize a small bather load like a hot tub. Well there are many ways to meet different preferences. Here is a list of all the different ways you can sanitize your hot tub and at the end of this post I will tell you what I would recommend.

Chlorine Good old chlorine is the oldest and most effective way to sanitize water, but since most hot tubs are indoors and people hate the smell of chlorine it can be unpleasant. If you were strictly using chlorinein a HOT spa, the chlorine will oxidize fast and cause that harsh chlorine smell. However even with the smell it still is the best way to sanitize hands down

Bromine The truth about bromine is that it is like the sister of chlorine. The only real differences between the two are it requires more but doesn't oxidize and give off that harsh chlorine smell. That is why most indoor pools and indoor hotel spas use bromine, that and because it's cheaper than other more effective ways. It is introduced into the spa the same way as chlorine.

Biguanide This is the Baquacil of spas. It is a peroxide based sanitizer that is soft on the skin and provides a non-chlorine like atmosphere. However due to the manufacturing of some spas, most companies forbid you to use this in your spa because it can deteriorate some plastics. And it's expensive

Mineral Systems (Recommended) Now to the good stuff. This combines the best of two worlds. The confidence that comes with chlorine sanitation and the lack of a strong chlorine smell. The way this system works is by providing your spa with a build up of silver which is an effective sanitizer. But since silver won't kill instantly you need that little extra backup of chlorine. So with this system you also need to add only 0.5 ppm ofchlorine instead of 3.0ppm of chlorine in a normal chlorine spa. So it reduces the chlorine usage by almost 80%. And the silver product is cheap, its a plastic device that floats in the spa or in your spafilter well. The most popular model of this is the Nature 2 by Zodiac. Check it out or ask your local pool company about it.- A quick note about Ozonators. Most folks think that ozonators that are installed in their spa will take over the job of santiation. Well to answer this posters question, it does not. In fact all an ozonatordoes is allow water to pass through a tube of ultra-violet light that kills most bacteria, but once that water enters back into the tub it has be contaminated again. Ozonators are great but DO NOT REPLACE PROPER CHEMICAL SANITATION!!!

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Reply to
Swim University
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This last statement is a complete falsehood. Spa ozonators disolve ozone into the water. The ozone sanitizes the water. The water is not exposed to the UV. The ozone does reduce chlorine or bromine usage and the needed concentration, similar to what you've written about the mineral systems.

This puts doubt in everything else you've written.

Reply to
Bob F

Bob F. I'm sure some would beg to differ on your comments. You are more than welcome to do this research on your own and you will find out exactly what an ozonator does. There is nothing wrong with having a ozonator in your spa, although there is also nothing wrong not having one. But I would have no reason to lie to my readers or give them false information.

Reply to
Swim University

Both UV and ozone have bactericidal properties at the time of application but do nothing thereafter to protect the water from later addition of bacteria whereas free chlorine in the water can.

Reply to
Clot

That was the point I was trying to make if I didn't make it clear Thank you for the back up Clot!

Reply to
Swim University

Oh come on...we all know who's lining your pockets. ;-)

olddog

Reply to
olddog

Show me some real info verifying your statement.

I have researched and used ozonators for my spa. The UV is nowhere near the water in any I have seen. Show me a few links to ones like you describe. I bet they a hugely more costly than the ones I describe (~$100), which are the only ones I have ever seen sold.

There are UV purifiers for drinking water that function as you describe, but they are not called "ozonators".

Now I even more reason to doubt your data.

Reply to
Bob F

Maybe you should do the research first. For someone with SwimUniversity as a screen name, you don't know much about ozone generators. Bob F is correct. Your statement that ozone generators just pass the water through an ultraviolet light that kills the bacteria is totally false. The ozone generators I'm familiar with do not even pass the water through the ultraviolet light at all. They use an ultraviolet light to generate the ozone, which is then routed as a gas into the water. And it's the oxidizing effect of the ozone that kills the bacteria.

There is nothing wrong with having a ozonator

You just did give false information.

Reply to
trader4

application

Omitted so far is how frequently the OP drains and (cleans and) refills his pool. I have no hot tub but our Jacuzzi is emptied after each use.

Reply to
Don Phillipson

SPAM SPAM SPAM

PLONK

Reply to
plonk

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