What could be the reason behind strong chlorine smell in our pool room? We opened the spa a couple of days ago and I put a few tablets of chlorine in the chlorinator but after about of week it still smells ready bad and when I test it it has no chlorine.
What do I need to do to fix this. please help.
Mojo Jojo wrote on 05 Jan 2008 in group alt.home.repair:
Get thee to a pool store.
You probably need to shock the spa. If you left it untreated for awhile, the chlorine was eventually used up and the beasties multiplied.
When you added cholorine, the chlorine combined with nitrogenous compounds in the water to form chloramines. That's what "smells like chlorine". If you have a proper level of chlorine, you won't smell much of anything.
Have the pool store test the water. It might be so far out of balance that you'll need help getting it back.
If nothing else, you can empty and refill it. You'll still have to balance the water after that, but it will be easier.
The smell is the offgassing of the chlorine doing it's job. Oddly enough, what you need is more chlorine. "Super shock" your spa, using three times thenormal dose, then maintain the proper chlorine level and the smell will go away.
s
Another problem you get with the tablets is a buildup of the stabilizer and that traps the chlorine so it never gets "free". Your pool store can tell you that too.
With a spa, dumping it and refilling is usually the easiest way to get back on track.
Sounds like the same issue I had with my pool. I was putting chlorine in there every day, and still having algae, etc. Took a sample to the pool store, and found out I needed cyanuric acid stabilizer.
When you add chlorine, it can dissipate though the air, hence the smell. Cyanuric acid keeps the chlorine in the water, and does not let it dissipate through the air. There's a simple test kit available for around twenty bucks, IIRC. I'm still using the same bottle of chemical after five years. Test it once at the beginning of the year. Still on the same gallon of stabilizer after five years.
Take a sample to the pool store, and they will tell you for free. Don't know about everyone else, but all I do with my spas is add the small tablets, and change the water when it needs it. That's the big part. A lot of crud goes into that water, and it's a lot smaller than a pool. No amount of chemicals can break up all that crud and make it disappear miraculously. You have to drain often and keep a spare pair of filters clean so you can alternate them.
HTH
Steve
We've had our tub two years now, and the only products that have gone in it are the dichlor sanitizer, and baking soda to raise the alkalinity. Never changed the water except when we moved it. (once)
It doesn't have to be complicated.
s
You really do need to change the water periodically. There comes a point where the sanitizers become ineffective due to the water being saturated with old chemistry. For the average tub, 3 or 4 times a year is enough. If you look at the water before and after changing it, you can SEE the difference in clarity and color. This also giives you a chance to quickly wipe down the shell to remove slime and deposits, which are there, even if you can't detect them.
Two years and no change of water?
Think about it.
Steve
What ever you think there genius. My water is crystal clear at all times, The 4 full flow filters to the job they were designed to do. I do clean the filters every month and have replaced them twice.
thanks for your enlightening input. Very colorful language also.
s
.>
no about one year. remember i said we moved it? Also, we leave the cover open a lot, so i do have to add about 50 gallons a week.
s
The problem is every chemical you ever dumped in there is still there. The chlorine and water may come out as vapor but the sodium, calcium and all the salts you created won't.
chloramines smell is insufficient chlorine. use an oxygen shock to knock it all out on day one. on day two shock level chlorinate it. day 3 retest the water and maintain proper parts per million of your chlorine to keep your water sanitary. look at bottom of this page:
Not enough chlorine. You're smelling chloramines, not chlorine. You need to add enough chlorine to destroy the chloramines. If you don't add enough chlorine you'll just create more chloramines.
You need to measure the chloramine level (aka combined chlorine) and add 10x that amount in chlorine.
This is known as "breakpoint chlorination".
Don't use trichlor pucks in a spa - way too acidic, and after a while they become useless because they quickly increase the cyanuric level (0.9 ppm CYA for every ppm chlorine).
Whatever you wish, slimey. Its your sespool. Where exactly do you think ALL of that "colorful language" in your hot tub goes? Hint: The filters and chemicals dont remove it all. YUK! Bubba
Mojo Jojo wrote on 05 Jan 2008 in group alt.home.repair:
Someone probably peed in it, which converts all the chlorine to dichloramine. (persistent, and smells about the same as chlorine) HTH :-)
Bob
"buffalobill" wrote
Bathing started long ago. It is a cleaning of the body by exfoliation, the removal of dead skin. It is also the rinsing off of crud accumulated on the body. Add to this spa games like hide the salami and humming contests, and there's plenty of organic matter floating in there. Yes, filters catch a lot. Yes, chemicals kill a lot of the fermenting portions. Still, there remains oils, slime, and well, you know what that the filters and chemicals can't get out.
I've had spas for years. I currently have two. For me, draining them every month or so is a good thing. At that time, I take a mop and some cleaners and go over the inside of the spa. I trade the filters for two that I have soaking in a disinfectant solution. I sure know it makes a difference. Keeping spa water for a long time amounts to bathing in the same water for months. Or even years. And no matter how much perfume or chemicals you put in there, it's still nasty.
YMMV
Steve
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