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Hot Tub Sanitation


Bigrig1919

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I just installed a new Hot Tub and don't like the idea of using clorine to sanitize it. I've read too much about the skin absorbing clorine and the problems it can cause your body.

I've been reading on the Internet about some people being happy using Hydrogen Peroxide instead of Clorine. They say, your skin feels great when you get out of the tub.

They say you need to use 35% instead of the 2% that is in drug store bottles. I have no idea where to buy it here.

Does any one in the Lakeside area have any experience using HP or know of a pool supply that has options other than Clorine

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You can still ask the seller when he's in the states. Or go to the on-line yellow pages in your home town and get the number of a trusted dealer or distributer. Just phone him or them. Using Skype or your free Telmex connection to the states. to call someone up north. It will either cost you a couple of cents per minute to nothing per minute

What? you ask, free calls to the US using Telmex? Yes if you have Telmex's middle or high speed internet package, you are given either 100 free minutes per month to the US (The $599 middle package) or unlimited free calls should you have the high end $999 peso per month telephone-DSL package.

By the way, what's the problem with Chlorine? Gosh, they have been using it in drinking water and swimming pools up north and down here for years. I understand some people are using salt, because it's cheaper, but I don't know much about how it works.

Why is a controlled small amount of Chlorine bad for you?

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OK I asked Mr. Google about chlorine in water, and depending upon how I ask the question I could find different answers all the way from bad to good. Here is on answer I got

, "when chlorine is added to water, it reacts to form a pH dependent equilibrium mixture of chlorine, hypochlorous acid and hydrochloric acid," and when these chemicals are in equilibrium, and properly balanced, they are, in fact, relatively harmless. They also serve to eliminate bacteria, and many undesirable pathogens - which is a really good thing if you're a swimmer.

What I read is that too much of anything, including rum, fatty foods, salt, chlorine etc can be bad for you. But when used in moderate amounts are of no harm or can do more good than harm

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I just installed a new Hot Tub and don't like the idea of using clorine to sanitize it. I've read too much about the skin absorbing clorine and the problems it can cause your body.

I've been reading on the Internet about some people being happy using Hydrogen Peroxide instead of Clorine. They say, your skin feels great when you get out of the tub.

They say you need to use 35% instead of the 2% that is in drug store bottles. I have no idea where to buy it here.

Does any one in the Lakeside area have any experience using HP or know of a pool supply that has options other than Clorine

We've used 35% Hydrogen Peroxide in our laboratory for decades. Use great care in handling 35% Hydrogen Peroxide, because it has a number of acute health risks: Hydrogen peroxide is rated as "Very Hazardous" in cases of skin contact (as an irritant) and of eye contact (irritant). As a corrosive agent, hydrogen peroxide is rated as "Hazardous" for permeating skin contact. and for corrosive damage to eyes. 35% hydrogen peroxide is rated as "Slightly Hazardous" in case of inhalation (as a lung sensitizer). Liquid or spray mist may produce tissue damage particularly on mucous membranes of eyes, mouth and respiratory tract. Skin contact may produce burns. Inhalation of the spray mist may produce severe irritation of respiratory tract, Prolonged exposure may result in skin burns and ulcerations.

Potential Chronic Health Effects: 35% Hydrogen Peroxide is rated as "Mutagenic" for mammalian somatic cells.

Due to these reasons, many experts recommend using bromine based hot tub sanitizers to minimize skin irritations of sensitive areas that occurs with women and frequent exposure to chlorine sanitizers. Chlorine sanitizers also create significant amounts of THMs (Trihalomethanes) which are known carcinogens. A very good alternative to the problems with using concentrated hydrogen peroxide and the cancer risks of chlorinated sanitizers is ozone. Ozonaters work for decades, they work continuously (as long as you have electrical power), they use very little electricity, and when you adjust the ozone levels correctly, ozone does not cause irritation to even sensitive feminine tissues. German water treatment experts have found ozone to offer the best range of benefits with the lowest health risks and lowest costs for the past 30 years.

Ozone and hydrogen peroxide sanitize by the same mechanisms, and we too have found our skin feels great after using our tub with ozone (since 1992).

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I've had no luck finding local suppliers. Amazon has glow discharge models for the marine aquarium market for about $150 USD. Install it with a Mazzei injector and you have a system that works with no moving parts, uses no added chemicals, is easy to maintain, and disinfects better than chlorine or bromine.

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The chapala . com software seems to strip out web addresses and not allow posting of amazon links. The Enaly line of ozonators appear to be decent quality and the technology is simple: a switch, AC to DC converter, a high voltage transformer, a glow discharge cell (corona discharge), a case, and possibly a cooling fan. Without the cooling fan, the unit should use only about 15 watts of power. At $0.6 pesos per kW-hr, that works out to $6 pesos a month (50 cents US a month). Set it and forget it. (unless your air has high humidity. High humidity can require monthly cleaning to remove non-toxic white powder.)

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For anyone considering ozone disinfection, unlike chlorine, bromine or hydrogen perozide, it provides crystal clear water due to ozone's natural water clarifying properties. The ozone reacts with proteins in free floating dead skin cells and makes them sticky. The sticky skin cells then clump together (flocculate) into little globs and then they either settle-out or collect on the filter. You can suck them out of the tub (as they collect in little eddy spots), or rinse them off the filter. This natural action of the ozone on spa contaminants is exactly like adding chemical clarifiers - except it is a natural result of the ozone disinfection process. Neither chlorine, bromine, nor peroxides offer this feature.

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