Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: jamesfarrell on May 27, 2013, 02:39:54 pm
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We drained the hot tub today, refilled it and noticed this stuff. Disgusting. Any ideas?
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zRfprdA0gIU/UaOoEC5kXdI/AAAAAAAAASY/0KIXrA8W1yY/w529-h705-no/photo.JPG)
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Looks like bio-film/water mold.
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Awesome, just what I wanted to hear.
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How old is the water? Nuke it with chlorine, run jets on high for a few hours, then drain and refill, hopefully it will go away, but you may need to repeat if needed.
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The water is 1 hour old.
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Well maybe a bit more info from you about what have there, like where does you water come from, well, city. Or did it come from the spa is it new, used? So many questions, so little info.. If you just refilled and it showed up, then its prolly is bio-film so see first reply if so, nuke with chlorine, run then drain and refill. Repeat if necessary.
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I drained the tub today and filled it with new fresh (city) water.
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Could have been in the plumbing. Nuke with chlorine and/or do a system flush.
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Wife added the usual chemicals, ran the thing for a while and it seems clear. I was just worried it was some mold or something like that. But we did drain the thing. Kind of odd that there was so much of that crap in the water.
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Your Watkins product has more than one drain. Put in a bunch of chlorine, give it the jets to mix (be sure to run ALL jets - move the diverter valves around) and then open all drains. Main, and any other ones. Watch to see if anything milky looking comes out.
Then keep the chlorine level high for a few days.
Looks like water mold.
8)
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I don't have access to the lower drain. There's a deck around it. I have to use a sump pump to drain it unfortunately. It's a Hot Springs Flair.
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I don't have access to the lower drain. There's a deck around it. I have to use a sump pump to drain it unfortunately. It's a Hot Springs Flair.
Prolly should just set fire to it then ;)
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I don't have access to the lower drain. There's a deck around it. I have to use a sump pump to drain it unfortunately. It's a Hot Springs Flair.
In that case I'd suggest you get a good pump from Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, etc. It makes life much easier, especially if that drain isn't accessible.
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because it is a bio-film most people agree that a flushing product is required to fully eradicate it. i found a good thread discussing methods while searching yesterday. i hope its ok to post the link.
//www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=19115
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As for flushing products, Spa System Flush has worked well, but there's also Ahh-Some that in theory should be better against biofilms but we haven't had many people try it yet. We know that Swirl Away didn't work as well for some people as Spa System Flush.
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we strictly recommended spa system flush even before sea-klear aquired it. since then it has been much easier to keep in stock. most customers that use it to correct an issue see what they've been harboring in their plumbing, then use it at least yearly going forward.
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I don't have access to the lower drain. There's a deck around it. I have to use a sump pump to drain it unfortunately. It's a Hot Springs Flair.
You NEED to open those drains - when water molds gets into a tub, it will build up on uncirculated areas of the plumbing, and just keep coming back. Even using a "flush" chemical will not get into those area where water does not circulate. On the HotSpring tubs, those two areas are the drains, and any fountain which you do not use - in other words, if you don't flush out the water from any system, it can harbor the water mold.
I don't know what you need to do to open those drains, but you certainly need to have access to the motor compartment door, so I would guess that you should be able to get to the drains somehow. If it is just unbelievable work, do it anyway, or you will not be rid of the water mold. Once you DO gain access to the drains, you can always screw a short garden hose onto them, and lay it in a more accessible spot - with a simple cap on the end. That way if this ever comes up again you can superchlorinate, and then open the caps for a couple of minutes to clear the drain plumbing (and draw chlorine into those systems).
One of your drains should have a valve like this on it:
(http://www.grnleafinc.com/catalog/garden_hose_fit/G3434_V.jpg)
Both of the drains should have a cap like this:
(http://www.globalindustrialdirect.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/17a95f142614f457709c96821d068498/w/e/web_110288_usn_tif.jpg)
Buy a second valve, and extend the drains with a short garden hose - and that way you can 'flush' those plumbing sections with ease anytime you want to. Not only that, but if you have sufficient drainage, you could actually USE the built-in drain instead of pumping.
Some models of Limelight tubs have the drains on a section of flexible PVC INSIDE the motor compartment. If you are that lucky, you only have to open the door, reach in and let some water out to flush the plumbing in that area. This is an image I found online, NOT a Limelight, but it shows how some of the earlier units had the main drain coming out of the motor compartment. You may even be able to change over to this type of system if your deck precludes any access to the built-in drain caps down at the bottom/outside of the tub.
(http://www.springdancehottubs.com/hot-tub-blog/wp-content/blogs.dir/3/files/2012/05/drain-hot-spot.png)
HTH
8)