Hot Tub Forum

Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: bosco0633 on December 15, 2006, 12:14:20 pm

Title: Posting for a friend
Post by: bosco0633 on December 15, 2006, 12:14:20 pm
A friend of mine has a calspa.  He had a party in the summer and after that they stopped using the tub for the rest of the summer.  For the past month he has been running into an issue.

He drained and filled tub and ran jets and noticed a chicken noodle soup style object floating in the tub.  It is white/yellow in color about 2 to 4 inches long.  The tub is saturated in them.  They almost look like toilet paper up close.  I just saw it today and it is crazy.  I thought white mold right away, but he does not think so.  

Has anyone ever heard of this.  He has drained and refilled, added chemicals like crazy and no success.  He has drained several times and every time that he turns on the jets, he gets more of this.  There is thousands of strands of this floating in the water.  Any help would be greatly appreciated, ie. identifying the problem, and possible solutions.
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Ehizzle on December 15, 2006, 12:25:47 pm
Sounds like water mold to me too. Is it sticky? You have to use like at least a cup of chlorine and run the jets for a long time, then redrain. Sometime if its really bad it takes 2 or 3 times. Nasty stuff. There are also some products for clearing the plumbing of the spa. One is called spa system flush. I dont know if it would help or not.
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: drewstar on December 15, 2006, 12:51:25 pm
Sounds gross.

Don't forget about cleaning/chanigng/burning the filters

and behind any pillows, and what not.

 :P
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Ehizzle on December 15, 2006, 01:11:49 pm
Yeah it might be easier just to set the whole spa on fire.  :D
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Steve on December 15, 2006, 01:31:30 pm
I have seen this before and it sounds like a string algae or biofilm. The only thing to get rid of this is to super chlorinate, ged rid of the filter and anything else that was in the water during that time, drain, wipe down with a bleach solution (50/50), refill and super chlorinate again.

Here's one suggestion: http://www.spa-essentials.com/HTML/Trouble_Bacteria.html

Treat it like pseudomonas.

Check this link out and see if it helps: http://www.rhtubs.com/cgi-bin/bbs/config1.pl?noframes;read=33649
Good luck!

Steve
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: hot tub Frank on December 15, 2006, 02:27:19 pm
yuck
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Rayman on December 15, 2006, 02:53:15 pm
Sorry about his luck, I can't help you but i thought you would like to know that I did puke after reading it.

 :-[
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: RobRoy on December 15, 2006, 03:04:22 pm
Ewwww, it sounds like something you may find on the menue at the Texas State Fair.
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: hottubdan on December 15, 2006, 03:19:03 pm
It does sound like white water mold.  The decontamination methods mentioned should work.  Until he kills it all, he won't get rid of it.

Not fun.
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: anne on December 15, 2006, 03:58:54 pm
Sounds like a job for Swirl Away?
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Reese on December 15, 2006, 04:05:21 pm
Quote
Sounds like a job for Swirl Away?
I think you have to make sure everything is dead first.  rhtubs.com has a procedure for decontaminating a spa in the FAQ or one of the guides.
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: RUBADUBDUB on December 15, 2006, 04:08:29 pm
White mold, or Silly string....you choose... :P

I too vomitted alittle in my mouth

**this is just my opinion**
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Steve on December 15, 2006, 05:14:08 pm
Quote
Sounds like a job for Swirl Away?

Swirl Away is a great product Anne but not for this application. It's great at removing calcium and mineral deposits from the plumbing but what he needs is a sanitizer (chlorine/bleach) to kill this algae. Swirl Away has no "killing" aspect to it.

Steve
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Ehizzle on December 15, 2006, 05:43:04 pm
I think a good solution of 40 part commet to 18 parts windex otta take care of it. ;)
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: anne on December 15, 2006, 05:45:46 pm
Quote

Swirl Away is a great product Anne but not for this application. It's great at removing calcium and mineral deposits from the plumbing but what he needs is a sanitizer (chlorine/bleach) to kill this algae. Swirl Away has no "killing" aspect to it.

Steve

That is good to know. I was not sure what Swirl Away "swirled" away.....now I do. I thought that it helped to detach organic debris from pipelines.
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Steve on December 15, 2006, 06:30:31 pm
Quote

I was not sure what Swirl Away "swirled" away.....

 ;D  I loved that sentence! ;)

I recommend it when a hot tub or jetted bath tub has been sitting empty for a period of time. As regular maintenance, I suggest every 2nd or 3rd fill on a tub older than 3 years. ALWAYS close your air controls when using this product otherwise it will look like you added Mr. Bubble!  :D

Steve
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Tman122 on December 16, 2006, 05:58:25 am
Quote
A friend of mine has a calspa.  He had a party in the summer and after that they stopped using the tub for the rest of the summer.  For the past month he has been running into an issue.

He drained and filled tub and ran jets and noticed a chicken noodle soup style object floating in the tub.  It is white/yellow in color about 2 to 4 inches long.  The tub is saturated in them.  They almost look like toilet paper up close.  I just saw it today and it is crazy.  I thought white mold right away, but he does not think so.  

Has anyone ever heard of this.  He has drained and refilled, added chemicals like crazy and no success.  He has drained several times and every time that he turns on the jets, he gets more of this.  There is thousands of strands of this floating in the water.  Any help would be greatly appreciated, ie. identifying the problem, and possible solutions.

There's this little Army Navy surplus store down the road that has a back room. The guy running the place claims to be able to get Hand Gernades!!!
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Spiderman on December 16, 2006, 11:12:20 pm
Anyone have any pics of white mold??  :-?
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: gores95 on December 18, 2006, 10:12:17 am
Quote
Anyone have any pics of white mold??  :-?

After all the vomit posts are you a glutton for punishment???  :o
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: PotomacG on December 18, 2006, 10:17:14 am
Quote
I think a good solution of 40 part commet to 18 parts windex otta take care of it. ;)

Seriously, if the windex contains amonia, never ever use it or any amonia containing product in a chloronated tub.  The amonium chloride vapors are deadly.  :'(
Title: Re: Posting for a friend
Post by: Tatooed_Lady on December 18, 2006, 10:30:11 am
when you super-duper chlorinate the tub (or whoever does this), don't forget the nooks and crannies in the filter compartment. HS has some corners that sit above the waterline, but I've found some 'scummy' stuff on (probably when the water got a bit foamy, and here's the residue).....Anne, I believe, found some areas in her filtering area that are out of reach of the chlorinated water, too.
Sounds like nasty stuff, but instead of him trying to wipe out the nasties all winter, he may as well nuke the hell out of the tub a couple times and make sure....I love overkill.  :D