First drain & refill

[amy2421]

We are planning our first drain & refill tomorrow (Jacuzzi J-470 with Clear Ray). We bought a container of Ahh-some so we'll run a teaspoon of that through before draining it. Should we shock/superchlorinate tonight? Other than that, and the cycle of Ahhsome, we're planning to use a submersible pump to drain it and then a shop-vac to vacuum out any remaining water, clean the shell, (do we run a fresh fill & drain again after the Ahhsome?), refill, use our standard start-up chemicals, put in a new Nature2 stick, and that's about it I guess.

Any other good advice that I've missed?

Thanks in advance!

[av8r]

Better read the Ah-Some directions.  A single teaspoon isn't enough for even a small tub.
Dissolve the Ah-Some in hot water before dumping it in.

[jbequer]

When i used it, it took three times before the foam Ahh-some produces was clear and it was a three month old spa.
I would say to use it and see how much buildup you see on the sides of the tub. If running it for 30 min you see a lot of nasty biofilm, then clean, drain , refill and use another application until the biofilm is all gone. If you see biofilm and then just clean and refill , you will just have nasty water soon to come, you will be using more product to fix cloudy, foamy and scum on sides.
The time you take know will save you lots of headaches later .

 Three months after doing this, My hot tub is crystal clear, without the use of many other chemicals, other than the basic. It will be time to drain in about two weeks. I have decided to drain once every three months just to be safe, water is cheap. Hopefully one application of Ahh-some should do it.

All i do is add Dichlor after each use.
Add Aquafinesse once a week.
Add Spa Perfect once a week.
Shock once a week. To get Chlorine to 10ppm / PH always stays at 7.4
Clean filter once a week.
That is it, no need for other chemicals.. I never have foam, cloudy water or any other problems. My Chlorine  and PH are always kept in balance by checking them once a week.

[someguy]

Hi Amy.  Thank you for purchasing our Ahh-Some cleaner.  Here are the instructions you should follow.  Use 1 level teaspoon of the gel for each 100 gallons of water.  Remember, a LEVEL teaspoon.  More is not necessarily better when our product is used.
Larger capacity vessels such as Swim Spas should use 1/2 level teaspoon for each 100 gallons of water.  You never need to use more than 2 ounces to purge any size swim spa up to 2,000 gallons.  Here are your step by step instructions:

Add the required amount of Ahh-Some to the filled hot tub.  Remove filter (s), hose them off and place them into the hot tub water.  The gel will dissolve quickly in warm/hot water.  Ok to mix with water in a pail and pour it in.  Ahh-Some works as well in cold or hot water.  Run the jets on high.
You will see foam form quickly.  This is normal.  Control the amount of foaming by periodically reducing the amount of air in the venturi(s) or turning the jets off.  The entire purge will be completed within 20-30 minutes.  Turn system off.  Remove the filter(s) from the tub and hose off again. Place submersible pump inside and drain tub.  Rinse and wipe the yellowish sticky particulates as quickly as you can.  Bio films can be very sticky since they are comprised of sugar molecules or polysaccharides.  Clean the shell using a good cleaner compatible with your hot tub shell.  If you want to vacuum out any residual you may do so, however, we find that when the tub is refilled and powered on, small residual dislodged scum can be easily trapped by the filter(s).
it is NOT necessary to super chlorinate before using Ahh-Some, however, what our product purges can be bacterial bio films and will now be in a planktonic state ( removed from the biofilm matrix)
And the chlorine can be beneficial in oxidizing them.  After the purge and refill you must adjust the water chemistry parameters to a balanced state and proceed with your normal maintenance program.  We recommend doing the "purge process" every 4-6 months for hot tubs and once a year for Swim Spas.  Hope this helps Amy.

[amy2421]

Thanks so much for the responses! They are very helpful.

I think the only thing I am confused about is this: after draining the "Ahhsom'ed" water, should I fill the tub with fresh water and drain that to "purge" the residual Ahhsome/biofilm from the tub? Or fill it halfway and run the jets then drain it? Or is it enough just to run the Ahhsome in the old water, clean up the scum as it drains, and then fill with fresh water and be on our way?

Thanks again!

[Quickbeam]

Hi Amy,

It depends on what the foam from the Ahh-Some looks like. I would run the Ahh-Some through the tub and if the foam is clean, I would drain the water, clean the inside of the tub with vinegar and water, and refill. I would not see a need to refill and drain and then refill again. But if the foam is dirty, then I would drain the tub, refill, and do another clean with Ahh-Some. So I would continue the process of cleaning with Ahh-Some until the foam is clean. Once the foam is clean, I would drain, clean the tub with vinegar and water, and then refill.

Hope this helps.

[amy2421]

I think my husband's concern is that he doesn't want residual Ahhsome product in the plumbing or jets after draining it. He doesn't see how it would be out of the jets or plumbing just from draining, and the cleaner that is left behind in those areas will then be in the water (possibly causing foaming later and just generally being a chemical in the water.)

[someguy]

Amy:  Residual Ahh-Some in the hot tub is not a problem, unless upon draining the tub, much residual water was retained.  Actually, we have many customer who add a small amount of the gel weekly to aid in the clarity of the water and to mitigate future bio-build-up in the plumbing.  The problem is adding the correct amount weekly.  A pinch does it.  You have to work at it for a few weeks to get the correct amount where foaming is minimal with the jets on high. Our product will promote high definition clarity to the water and a feel that is soft and satisfying.  You still have to do the purge process every 4-6 months.

[amy2421]

Merry Christmas everyone!

So yesterday was our big day... we did our first drain & refill...EVER on a hot tub! Thank you to all the great advice on here!

We did one treatment of Ahhsome. The foam was coming up white in the middle with yellowish sludge on the waterline, mostly just in 2 corners. We kept wiping away the sludge as we let it cycle (we ended up doing 2 x 20-minute jet cycles). By the end of the 40 minutes, the foam was white so we did not do a second treatment.

My husband was skeptical about the necessity of the Ahhsome treatment, but now he is a believer! I am really glad you guys convinced me to do it because that yellowish sludge was pretty yucky, especially right at the beginning. We've now agreed that we're going to treat with Ahhsome every time we change the water.

We drained the water using a submersible pump that my husband bought at Home Depot. That was great, it pumped out the water in about 20-25 minutes. Then he used his shop-vac to vacuum out the remaining water from the seats, foot well, etc. I rinsed down the shell with fresh water and then I used a very diluted solution of the Ahhsome in a spray bottle to wipe down the inside of the shell. There wasn't any yellowish residue on the shell below the waterline, and not much to clean up at the waterline because we were wiping/scooping most of the yucky stuff as it was running. I am going to keep that spray bottle to use weekly to clean any build-up at the waterline. We haven't been getting any scum or discoloration but after a week or two, the waterline has a slightly gritty feel, so that's what I've been wiping off weekly using the superchlorinated/shocked water when we do our weekly shock treatment. I think using the Ahhsome will be even better.

We rinsed the filters before using the Ahhsome, then let them swim around in the tub during the treatment, and rinsed them down again afterwards. They are now drying out in the basement and a new set of filters is installed, so we can swap out the filters whenever they need to be cleaned.

We put in a new Nature2 stick, new Zorbie sponge, and proceeded to fill the tub from the hose. Fired up the breaker, the tub roared back to life with the jets on, then we put in the start-up chemicals following the dealer's instructions from when we got the tub. The water was about 45 degrees at 7pm, up to about 90 by 12am and this morning it is sitting perfectly at 100 (our setpoint).

The water looks super clear. It wasn't bad before but I'm sure it will be even better now!

I'm really glad that is done and I really appreciate all the great input and advice on here because otherwise we probably would have paid the dealer $150-200 to do it for us (sans Ahhsome).

Now we just have to make it through Christmas dinner with 10 people at our house and then we get to relax in our lovely, freshly-filled, super clean tub!

[Quickbeam]

Really glad it worked out well for you Amy. And now, good luck with your Christmas dinner!!!

[Hottubguy]

Great review of the product. I actually just spoke to them on Wednesday to become a dealer. Jerry at aahsome seemed very helpful with any questions I had

[amy2421]

Great review of the product. I actually just spoke to them on Wednesday to become a dealer. Jerry at aahsome seemed very helpful with any questions I had

I am very impressed that Someguy from Ahhsome (Jerry?) came on here to describe the process in detail and promptly answered my subsequent questions. VERY helpful and great customer service.

[someguy]

Thanks Amy for the kind words.  I have been in this industry since 1969 and understand the benefits of helping consumers with water and biofilm issues.  Biofilm issues are the single most misunderstood subject in hot tubs and swim spas.  Fortunately, this forum has some very well informed people who are helping consumers mitigate this problem.  Chemgeek in particular is a man that everyone should listen to.  Manufacturers and many dealers are reluctant to speak of this issue for fear of turning consumers against hot tubs.  This is changing for the better as hot tub enthusiasts are learning more and educating themselves and others what biofilm is and how it can affect their water chemistry.  There is nothing more satisfying than a refreshing soak in a healthy hot tub environment.  The key is to "Purge" the hot tub periodically of the build-up that is lurking within the plumbing infrastructure.  I promise you that if you do this one step regularly your water will be so,much easier to maintain and feel so much more satisfying when you are soaking.  Have an Ahh-Some day everyone.

[av8r]

So can Someguy comment on how much Ah-Some per 100 gallons would be used for maintenance? 

[Nhsusan]

Quick question: what is the reason for using a pump to drain the tub?
 Can you not use the drain plug and connect a hose?
Thanks.