Did I just destroy my brand new Spa?

[FL Person]

I'm a first time spa owner and have never owned a swimming pool.  My brand new Bullfrog R6 was delivered last week and the electrician was here today to hook it up.  When the electrician arrived, I began to fill the tub and I added the chemicals from the Sparkle bromine starter kit, per the instructions.  One of the three chemicals (can't recall if it was the Spa Shock, Bromine Initiator or Spa Metal Out) had a deep rust color when poured into the spa and sank into a confined area in one of the seats.  The electrician realized he needed some additional parts, so he ended up spending two or three hours working on another project before he ultimately put power to the tub.  So, for two or three hours, the chemicals sat idle.  Having never owned a spa and having not seen any warnings about this, I thought nothing of it.

Once the spa was up and running, I was surprised to see the rust colored spot was not altering in size or shape.  Whatever that chemical is, it has solidified on the seat and even a Scotch Brite pad (as suggested by the dealer) is 100% ineffective at removing this stain.  I'm sick about this.

The spa dealer, much to my surprise, had never heard of this happening and for now, is requesting that I give it a day or two to see if it dissipates.

Did I just totally screw up my brand new tub?

FL Person

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  That is really odd, I wouldn't scrub it, at least not very hard.   Give it a day or so and see if it goes away. if not you might drain down and I would use a spray type brake cleaner on it.   Some may say that will hurt the spa, but it won't, I have used it numerous times with out any problems on various scratches on the spa to hard core scuffs at the fair from shoes.   You have a lot of iron in your water?

[Racenut]

I'm just replying to wish you luck.... I'd be sick too.  Hope there's a way to get rid of that.

[FL Person]

  That is really odd, I wouldn't scrub it, at least not very hard.   Give it a day or so and see if it goes away. if not you might drain down and I would use a spray type brake cleaner on it...You have a lot of iron in your water?

I'm in the Tampa area.  We do have hard water and most everyone has a softener (I used hard water to fill the tub) but I have no idea how much iron is in the water.  I'm somewhat surprised no one has seen something like this before.  All I did was pour three readily available chemicals into a tub, as has been done thousands of times.  Could I be the first person to ever pour these chemicals into standing water?  It seems unlikely. 

I would think there would be big, bold statements warning of the risk of staining, if this were such an easy mistake to make.

I'll give it a day or two and see where this goes.  I have a feeling I'm going to be draining the tub.

FL Person

[GrayBeardCA]

That stinks man. I did some googling and it seems like some people try Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to remove metal stains. I don't know if that will help but that may be worth some research.

[FL Person]

That stinks man. I did some googling and it seems like some people try Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to remove metal stains. I don't know if that will help but that may be worth some research.

A neighbor mentioned that too.  I'll give it a try tomorrow.

FL Person

[MarKee]

I would try "Goof Off" but the spa will need to be drained. I have seen smaller rust spots in spas before that it takes off fairly easy. Very strange, never seen anything like that before.

[bud16415]

I wouldn’t go at the spot with scotch-brite pad or anything abrasive on the surface of my tub. It looks like iron has come out of suspension and reacted with the metal out or the other chemicals the brom starter maybe didn’t have a chance to dissolve and hardened into a mass on the Acrylic surface.

When you run your hand over the spot does it feel like a build-up or does it feel smooth like the tubs surface?

If it is all smooth that would suggest the stain is into the surface and I don’t see anything removing it. Acrylic is pretty impervious to most things though and I suspect anything that is normally used in a tub is compatible with Acrylic. I would give it a chance to break down on its own and not use anything stronger than a micro-fiber cloth on the surface. We go over the whole inside of the tub about once a week with a microfiber cloth. I wouldn’t use things like break cleaner and such without testing them first on the back side of a filter cover or something and even then I would really not want to risk it on the surface.

Contacting the manufacture might also be a good idea and ask for recommendations.

I add chemicals to our tub almost daily and always do it with the pump running on the clean cycle and I add them into the skimmer basket area never into the tub.

Sorry to hear about this. Enjoy your tub and give it a few weeks and see if it doesn’t start going away on its own. It may just start flaking off with the action of using the tub and the hot water.

Please post back your results and good luck.

[hottubdan]

Dealer did not tell you to add chemicals with jets on?

More than likely you will be able to remove the stain.  I do not think you destroyed your spa. 

[The Wizard of Spas]

Absolute first thing you do is Vitamin C.  It looks like a metal deposit and can easily be removed with the right chemicals found at any pool store.  Make sure your pH and alkalinity are balanced and that your sanitizer is low.

If that doesnt work a Magic Eraser is fine.  In all- It just looks like something ON the surface and not FROM the shell so you're fine.

Good luck moving forward.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

a light acid scrub with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser should take it right off

[FL Person]

When you run your hand over the spot does it feel like a build-up or does it feel smooth like the tubs surface?

I've been out since early this morning.  Just got home - stain is still there.  But I can feel resistance when I run my fingers over it.  In other words, if your eyes were closed, you'd be able to tell your fingers weren't running across a clean acrylic surface.

Dealer did not tell you to add chemicals with jets on?

I read somewhere - in either the paperwork that came with the tub or the chemicals - to add the chemicals while filling the spa.  I had every expectation that the spa would be powered as soon as the water hit the fill line.  It was only after I added the chemicals that the electrician told me he had to run to Home Depot for parts.  He decided to complete some other work in the mean time, and I thought nothing of it.  And no, the dealer never specifically told me to add chemicals only when the water is circulating.  I can't believe they would take the bit of information for granted.  . 

Absolute first thing you do is Vitamin C. 

Dumb question;  how/where do I buy Vitamin C?  Pills from the pharmacy?  Or is it sold as a powder from the pool supply store?

a light acid scrub with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser should take it right off

I'll try this if the Vitamin C doesn't work, after I track some down.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

FL Person

[The Wizard of Spas]

Vitamin C/Citric Acid:  Lemon/Lime/Orange slices, Airborn/Vitamin C Tablets, Lemon/Lime juice...

[FL Person]

I tried Vitamin C and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.   Both 100% ineffective.  I'm really getting sick about this.  The Vitamin C was regular vitamin tablets...they type meant to be swallowed and digested.  I'm going to try one more time with the effervescent type that are meant to dissolve in water.

FL Person

[GrayBeardCA]

They sell a concentrated amount of Vitamin C. Something like this: http://www.lesliespool.com/leslies-14101-stain-remover-2-lbs/14101.htm
That's Ascorbic Acid.