Disgusting stuff floating around.

[phanophun]

Hi again.

When we got the Coast Spa hot tub as mentioned earlier, obviously it needed to be cleaned. I don't know when the last time was that the previous owner cleaned it but it must have been a LONG time. I don't have a weak stomach by any any means but this tub actually made me heave. *Do not read this next part if you get queasy* The tub smelled like my outdoor pond mid summer and there was gobs of pink goo covering the round parts that suck the water around the foot well (whatever those are called) as well as the basket in the skimmer.

Long story longer, I got the tub clean with the scum cleaner stuff and rinsed the tub throughly. I bailed the water from the foot well and used a towel to make sure all was gone. We put in a brand new filter, filled the tub, and it was beautiful. Then I put in some stain and scale stuff, we turned on the pumps and BLAMO! All this gook came shooting out of the jets. Bits of stuff that look like crepe paper.

Would that stuff be gook from inside the pipes? Will the filter take it out this stuff eventually? We were hoping the filter would have picked out some of it since we live in Northestern Ontario and I'd hate to have to empty the tub again after it just warmed up. Oh yeah...and I'd like to use it some time soon   Seems such a waste - it sitting there...me grossed out.  

Thanks for any help and I have learned quite a bit of useful information browsing the forums for the last few days.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Nuke it really good with chlorine run everything for a couple of hours drain and refill it, rinse filter really good. Repeat if necessary.   And yes all that nasty stuff is coming from the plumbing.   If bad enough it may take a couple of times to get rid of it.

[hottubdan]

Nuke it really good with chlorine run everything for a couple of hours drain and refill it, rinse filter really good. Repeat if necessary.   And yes all that nasty stuff is coming from the plumbing.   If bad enough it may take a couple of times to get rid of it.

 

You want to get your chlorine count to 100 PPM.  If you have diverter valves, make sure you turn them so all the plumbing gets some chlorine.  If you have a blower, make sure you turn it on.  If you have a blower you might have a hard time cleaning them out.

[phanophun]

Thank you for the info.

I have a couple other questions. This is our first hot tub so we have zero experience so please forgive me if all this has been covered 10,000 times on the forum.

The previous owner used bromine tabs so that is what we have. Do we put more tabs in the holder or unscrew it more or both? Or we have spa shock - would that work to bring up the chlorine? Or is there something else we should buy?

Are the diverter valves the knobs that make more or less pressure to the jets? I don't think there is a blower - just pump 1 & 2.

Sorry about all the ?'s but there is hardly any real information about the Coast Spa out there. The owner manual I downloaded from their site is so generic that it is not much help. It's like the blind leading stupid in our house when it comes to this so I greatly appreciate your knowledge.

[smiley=dankk2.gif] a bunch!

[hottubdan]

You need to buy spa chlorine, sodium dichlor.

Diverter valve move water from one set of jets to another.

Good thing you don't have a blower!

[wmccall]

Might be worth buying a bottle of swirl away and then changing the water.

[Spalady]

Ok, well the info to Nuke it and then to keep it at 100ppm! are one in the same. I think they meant to say 10 ppm...
You have tissue mold. It is harmless but truly disgusting looking. It lives in the plumbing so just shocking the water will not take care of it. I am going to send you a sheet on how to treat this condition. Once you have killed it, you will need to drain the spa ( spa purge is a great thing to add after this process) , clean your filters or replace them if they are older than 3 years and start fresh.
I can send you a simple hand out on daily maintenance that you can use once this process is complete. Can I send it to you in a PM?

 Please do not skip over this. Tissue mold is hardy and needs to be totally eliminated from the spas system.
Treatment Of Tissue Mold and Pseudomonas Folliculitis Bacteria.

A) Tissue Mold: White floating material that looks like facial tissue and dissolves easily.
It is always best to make sure your pH and Alkalinity are in balance before you start this process. Using a test strip, balance pH and Alk. then proceed:

Step #1)      For the Treatment of Tissue Mold:
      In addition to the filter area this mold lives in the plumbing lines.  If your condition is caught early you can rid the spa by shocking the water with Bioguard Enhanced Shock to 10 parts per million (ppm) everyday for 5 days in a row. Start with one tbsp into the filter area with the jets running and check after 15 min. Continue adding shock until you reach 10 ppm. Check the chlorine level everyday and be sure to keep it at 10 ppm. If you have a diverter valve on your spa, run the jets in each of the selectable positions everyday for 20 minutes.  Once you have completed the 5-day process, re-clean your filters. We recommend not using your spa while you are doing the heavy shock treatment.

Step #2)      If the Tissue Mold returns within 2-4 weeks, you need to repeat the shock and supplement the system with a disposable Bromine feeder placed in the filter compartment. REMOVE your Ag+ cartridge (if you have one) during this process.  Follow the instructions on Feeder for use.  Add one package of Sodium Bromide to the filter with a 10 minute jet cycle.  Maintain your spa as usual and remove the bromine feeder in one month.  When the process is completed change your water if it is 4 months or older. YOU CAN USE YOUR SPA WHILE YOU ARE DOING THE BROMINE PROCESS.

  Be sure to use or maintain the AG+ Silver Ion system in your spa to help prevent this problem in the future.  When the 5 day process is completed change your water if it's 4 months or older. DO NOT USE YOUR SPA UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 1st PROCESS.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

Ok, well the info to Nuke it and then to keep it at 100ppm! are one in the same. I think they meant to say 10 ppm...
You have tissue mold. It is harmless but truly disgusting looking. It lives in the plumbing so just shocking the water will not take care of it. I am going to send you a sheet on how to treat this condition. Once you have killed it, you will need to drain the spa ( spa purge is a great thing to add after this process) , clean your filters or replace them if they are older than 3 years and start fresh.
I can send you a simple hand out on daily maintenance that you can use once this process is complete. Can I send it to you in a PM?

 Please do not skip over this. Tissue mold is hardy and needs to be totally eliminated from the spas system.
Treatment Of Tissue Mold and Pseudomonas Folliculitis Bacteria.

A) Tissue Mold: White floating material that looks like facial tissue and dissolves easily.
It is always best to make sure your pH and Alkalinity are in balance before you start this process. Using a test strip, balance pH and Alk. then proceed:

Step #1)      For the Treatment of Tissue Mold:
      In addition to the filter area this mold lives in the plumbing lines.  If your condition is caught early you can rid the spa by shocking the water with Bioguard Enhanced Shock to 10 parts per million (ppm) everyday for 5 days in a row. Start with one tbsp into the filter area with the jets running and check after 15 min. Continue adding shock until you reach 10 ppm. Check the chlorine level everyday and be sure to keep it at 10 ppm. If you have a diverter valve on your spa, run the jets in each of the selectable positions everyday for 20 minutes.  Once you have completed the 5-day process, re-clean your filters. We recommend not using your spa while you are doing the heavy shock treatment.

Step #2)      If the Tissue Mold returns within 2-4 weeks, you need to repeat the shock and supplement the system with a disposable Bromine feeder placed in the filter compartment. REMOVE your Ag+ cartridge (if you have one) during this process.  Follow the instructions on Feeder for use.  Add one package of Sodium Bromide to the filter with a 10 minute jet cycle.  Maintain your spa as usual and remove the bromine feeder in one month.  When the process is completed change your water if it is 4 months or older. YOU CAN USE YOUR SPA WHILE YOU ARE DOING THE BROMINE PROCESS.

  Be sure to use or maintain the AG+ Silver Ion system in your spa to help prevent this problem in the future.  When the 5 day process is completed change your water if it's 4 months or older. DO NOT USE YOUR SPA UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE 1st PROCESS.

 Pretty sure doing all that will clean something!!  

[hottubdan]

Just to confuse the issue   here are the instructions from my BioGuard rep:

1.      Drain the spa and refill just above the jets. Remove the filter and soak in a solution 2 Tbsp. of Chlorinating Concentrate to 5 gallons of water for 12 hours.

2.      Add 4 tsp. of SpaGuard Chlorinating Concentrate per 100 gallons. Turn on the jets and circulate for 2 - 3 hours. The growth usually builds up in the lines, so it is necessary to flush them thoroughly.

3.      Drain the spa again and refill with fresh water. Rinse and replace the filter. Rebalance spa and shock (double dose).

I'm pretty sure that will be more than 10 parts per million.

[phanophun]

Thank you all for the information! I will keep you informed of the outcome.

Hopefully Mother Nature will take pity on us northerners after the 12" dump of snow yesterday so we can get tubbing after we get rid of the gunk!

Spalady - I'd like the info you have on daily maintenance. Thx

[SerjicalStrike]

Ok, well the info to Nuke it and then to keep it at 100ppm! are one in the same. I think they meant to say 10 ppm...
You have tissue mold. It is harmless but truly disgusting looking. It lives in the plumbing so just shocking the water will not take care of it.

The biofilm that came out of the pipes is formed by groups of bacteria.  I wouldn't call that harmless.  And the 100ppm is a quick and easy way to get rid of the biofilm.  

I wouldn't even bother with granular chlorine to get rid of it.  4-6 gallons of bleach for an hour and then draining it will not only break up the biofilm, but it will usually burn most of it up.  

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

I agree, 10ppm wont even kill crypto if it is hiding in the bio film. I would do the 100 ppm (decontamination process) after running swirl away through the system, and I would use bleach to do it since you are draining it after, less costly than di-chlor.

Make sure you get some of the super chlorinated water under the pillows, on the control knobs cover ect. Molds are not harmless and will cause future issues if not taken care of. They can make you sick, cause you to use more sanitizer, issues with keeping water in balance ect. Good luck and I hope warmer weather heads your way soon!

[phanophun]

Is it ok to use the bleach even though it has bromine in it right now? Won't, like, explode or anything?  :-/
I love the idea of quick and easy.

Added bonus, it's going to be way above freezing this weekend...perfect for muddy puddle/pothole jumping up here

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

Yes, you can use chlorine with bromine, the bromine tablets are a mix of bromine and chlorine anyway and its one way you can shock a bromine tub.

If you use a swirl away type product, pull yor filters befor adding it. You are going to need to super bleach and clean your filters anyway to get all the gunk out of them.

[TubsAndCues]

The "pink goop" or what ever it was called is very likely what is called "pink slime" or "red algae."  It's present in most ground water, especially here in Michigan.  We typically fight it in biguanide pools, but you can find it in showers and all other places.  It does very well in dark places as well.

It's been a toss up for years as to whether or not it's an algae, a fungus or a bacteria, but regardless it's unwanted.

I don't know about needing to get your chlorine up to 100 ppm as the magic number, but the "nuke" option is correct.  Pink slime can be killed very easily with chlorine.

And with any used tub you purchased, I do recommend Swirl Away, Spa Purge or a similar product to clean the pipes.  Pink slime typically feeds off the biofilm that grows in there.

Hope this helps.