Non-Chlorine Shock Treatments

Non-Chlorine Shock

For years, hot tub and spa owners have been keeping their water crystal clear by “Shocking” it on a weekly basis with Chlorine or Bromine.

Shocking your hot tub or spa quickly raises the sanitizer level of the spa water, killing off any of the bacteria that may be present.

Unwanted bacteria in spa water can cause skin irritation, rashes, odors and cloudy water. The down side of “shocking” your hot tub or spa with chlorine is that it leaves a strong chlorine-like chemical odor, causes skin and eye irritation and can wreak cause bathing suits and hot tub covers to prematurely fade.

The folks at DuPont have come up with a great alternative product called Potassium Monopersulfate or more commonly referred to as “Non-Chlorine Shock.”

The benefits of Potassium Monopersulfate is that it is easy and convenient to use, it maximizes your existing sanitizer efficiency of Chlorine or Bromine by killing and eliminating contaminating waste and it doesn’t produce irritating and foul smelling chemical odors.

It restores sparkle and clarity to dull water and doesn’t bleach or fade bathing suits or spa covers. It also assists with the bacteria killing, with no unwanted side effects.
Potassium Monopersulfate is a powerful, odorless oxygen-based versatile oxidizer that works in conjunction with chlorine, bromine and most alternative sanitizing systems including ozone.

Sanitizers are used in hot tubs and spas to protect soakers and bathers from harmful pathogens, but sanitizing alone is not enough.  Soaker and bather waste, along with external factors, contribute to the buildup of organic contamination, especially in residential hot tubs and spas.

Two people in an average hot tub holding 250-350 gallons of water is equivalent to 200 people in a 20,000 gallon swimming pool! Regular oxidation is necessary to eliminate these contaminants and promote maximum sanitizer efficiency and water clarity.

Potassium Monopersulfate is ideal for oxidizing spa water because it reacts very quickly to eliminate bather waste, increases existing sanitizer efficiency, enhances water clarity and soaker comfort. It also eliminates the need to shock the spa with heavy chlorine-based products which cause foul odors, skin and eye irritation and prematurely fades clothing.

Chlorine Only Shocks also have a few other significant drawbacks. When used in heavy doses, chlorine can react with contaminants in hot tub water to produce foul smelling and irritating combined chlorine compounds called chloramines.

Chloramines can be simple compounds like monochloramine or they can be complex like the organic chloramines. Organic chloramines actually resist oxidation by free chlorine and persist long after chlorine shocking.

Chlorine shocking also raises chlorine residuals, which are not wanted in a brominated hot tub or spa. This can be a real problem if your hot tub is inside, where air circulation is a problem.

One of the big reasons that people use bromine as their main sanitizer is to reduce the chemical odor, both in the water and in the indoor air around the unit. Potassium Monopersulfate will not cause these unwanted odors when used on a weekly shock.

When used properly, it eliminates chloramines, ammoniated compounds, oils, soaps, perspiration, urine and odors as well as enhances the disinfection and sanitation of your hot tub by regenerating some of the existing chlorine and most of the bromine in the water.

*Please Note that Potassium Monopersulfate should not be used during the initial fill up of your hot tub or spa. It is not a disinfectant when used alone and a normal level of sanitizer must already be present in the water for Potassium Monopersulfate to react correctly.