I guess that is one sign of upward mobilitiy, lol...

ahhhhh. a bacteria bath... what a comforting thought.

hope you like chlorine. just jealous
it is 6 degrees outside

Hey, Laura, we use bromine in ours and it's fabulous, keep it on 104 degrees, nothing in the world can warm you up like that, very relaxing watching the sun rise (or set) while 'tubbing'..

I'm the only one ever in it, so DH keeps the bromine level just enough to kill the bacteria, but not as strong as public tubs. I'd go to a RO treatment, if possible, better for you.

Hey, at least it's my own bacteria.

I've heard about using bromine.

Judy, do you keep yours on all the time, or do you just turn it on when you want to use it? It's warmer than 6 degrees here, but not by much, I swear, can't imagine what it would cost to heat it on a day like today.

we keep it on 104 all the time..
it really takes the aches and pains out even in the summertime, (fun going from spa to pool in the summer), so you'll find you'll become addicted to 'hot water therapy' very quickly..
our is covered, of course, and just a 2-person hydrospa, I think about 3 grand several yrs ago, but never any problems and we never saw a noticeable increase in elec. bill, so much better than a whirlpool tub that you have to clean;-)

Laura, at the bottom of this page, see about care, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: info

We kept ours warm, and turned up the heat about 1/2 hour before we went into it. DH didn't have to do a lot to keep it going. At first, like you, we thought we'd get rid of it, but I'm glad we didn't. In fact, I wish that we had one in THIS house...it is great when the old bones are a tad sore from overdoing...gardening, cutting fabric...hauling orchids...;) Go for it. You'll be happy you did!

Thanks for the link Judy.

I've been too tired from all this moving to really give the tub a second thought, although my sore muscles would probably greatly appreciate a long soak.

That's interesting that you keep them on all the time. It makes sense though, that it would be less expensive in the long run rather than going from zero to 100 degrees when you want to use it.

Nope, that's a heating myth. I know nothing about hot tubs, but I do know something about heat and energy. Your hot tub or house will use less energy if you turn down the heat or turn it off when not in use and then turn it up when you want to use it. Many studies have been done around this. I could try to explain it or you could just Google "heating myths". Most of the info you find with be concerning heating houses, but the same principles apply to heating water in a hot tub.

Kevin

the guy at the spa store told us to leave ours on 104 at all times since we were planning on using it morning and night.. neighbor had to replace the heater twice in theirs in same length of time; they'll leave it off for months, then use it a lot, it was a cheaper spa,tho.. ours has never been off except for storms, then it defaults back to 99 degrees, I have to bump it back up to 104.

Hey Judy, can DH please tell me exactly what he does to keep your tub happy. The little bit of reading I've done has me confused. One site said more people are allergic to bromine than chlorine (not a concern, I'm allergic to my entire environment, but only if it contains pollen) and that chlorine is it's own "shock" treatment but bromine needs to be shocked and both can adversely affect the motor/heater, what have you, if not properly maintained. I bought bromine granules and pH strips but it's been too cold and I've been too busy to use them or the tub. The tub is covered and when I last looked, the water looked fine.

I'm probably making a mountain out of a mole hill, simply because most web sites are trying to sell excessive amounts of garbage I don't need, and since we are just renting this place, I'm overly cautious.

Laura, hook your water hose up to it and drain the water out.. it'll have a cut-off thing down on the bottom of the tub you'll see to screw a water hose on and let all that water drain out.

Robert said to buy a start up kit at a spa store but if you've already bought the bromine and test strips, check on the kit and see what else you need..bromine is your sanitizer but you'll still need to adjust the water to get it just right, then clean the tub well(409, etc), fill it back up, check to see if the filter uses tablets, ours has a cylinder where he stacks bromine tablets in and it goes back down in the filter, shouldn't take but a few hrs to get it sparkling..but, you don't want to use it until you empty that water out.

Funny you should suggest that Judy. I opened one side of the cover today and took a good look at it. While the water is clear, there is some sand and leaves in the tub, so I decided to drain and clean it before I do anything else (in my plethora of free time). Of the six variables on the test strip, it was only in the acceptable range for one, can't remember which. Don't want to turn it on knowing there is sand in it, although I guess that's what the filter is for.

In my hot tub I have a white chemical participating out and settling on the bottom and side. It can be scrapped off. What is it and how do I get rid of it?

I do not know and you will be lucky to a reply here. Orchid Conversations is dead.