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Author Topic: water line only after one day of being in use- why?  (Read 2482 times)

kniquy

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water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« on: October 08, 2018, 08:05:18 am »
We finally had our hot springs flair delivered last wednesday and by thursday night we had it up an running.  I added the chemicals per the water test that the dealer had done.  By the next day I noticed a brown line up by the water line.  Now my previous tub many years ago was a blue color and this new one is a very light grey. 

We have not even used the tub yet, so not from body oils etc, but could it be from minerals in the water or residue from the factory?
Is this normal for start up?
a cause for concern?
anything that can be added to prevent this?
what is the best way to clean it off without damaging the tub finish?
« Last Edit: October 08, 2018, 08:21:29 am by kniquy »

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water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« on: October 08, 2018, 08:05:18 am »

Michael Russell

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Re: water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2018, 09:15:03 am »
What's your water source? Town water or well?


dlleno

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Re: water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2018, 09:53:27 am »
One question I would ask is did you use a stain and scale control product?   Its possible that you have iron in your water.  I would suggest having your water tested. You should establish confidence in your source water first, including the hose 😁

Also , it is not uncommon for new spas to come contaminated from the factory .  While I have not experienced this myself,  there have been issues with white colored flakes appearing in new spas as a byproduct of a lubricant used in the plumbing assembly process .  I dont think this is what you are describing.

Another possibility is that your spa was delivered contaminated with biofilm as a consequence of wet testing at the factory and subsequent storage and delivery processes that allow these organisms to grow
 This was precisely the case with my spa although i did not see what you describe at first fill.  But my spa did come contaminated I'm not making this up (i have a hot springs spa as well).  While biofilm contamination often is not visible without  using a product designed to release them I suppose this could be responsible for the material you are seeing.   I have some reluctance to jump to this conclusion but also caution you not to rule it out

In any case it would not surprise me at all that a new spa would be delivered contaminated with something that start up  chemicals would release.  If you have exonerated your source water and you determine that the spa itself is contaminated You have two options as i see it

1.  If you trust your dealer you could attempt to hold them responsible and compel them to correct this.   The likelihood of real success is very low however, unless you have an unusually responsible dealer.   I have personally had conversations with Watkins manufacturing on this topic and find that they have their head in the  sand.   They make a great spa but they believe that their wet testing is is flawless and  all such contamination at the customer startup  should be treated as a rare occurrence.   

2.  You could take over responsibility and do a deep cleaning purge on your spa.  This is the approach I took when my grandee was delivered contaminated.   I have since performed a great number  of experiments and can help you through this process should you choose this route.  Its really quite simple-- you can find a great deal of confidence in other forums for a product known as "ahh-some" which is intended for this purpose  and which I have extensively tested.  This is the stuff I used to correct the contamination in my own grandee . 

Start  with source water analysis and go from there

Hottubguy

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Re: water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2018, 11:33:36 am »
We finally had our hot springs flair delivered last wednesday and by thursday night we had it up an running.  I added the chemicals per the water test that the dealer had done.  By the next day I noticed a brown line up by the water line.  Now my previous tub many years ago was a blue color and this new one is a very light grey. 

We have not even used the tub yet, so not from body oils etc, but could it be from minerals in the water or residue from the factory?
Is this normal for start up?
a cause for concern?
anything that can be added to prevent this?
what is the best way to clean it off without damaging the tub finish?

Use a magic eraser to wipe it off. Did your filter that runs the circ pump turn brown?  If so use a metal remover or stain and scale preventer

wmccall

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Re: water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2018, 01:30:06 pm »

Use a magic eraser to wipe it off. Did your filter that runs the circ pump turn brown?  If so use a metal remover or stain and scale preventer

Do this and let us know if it comes back.
Member since 2003.  Owner Dynasty Excalibur 2003-2012.   Sundance Majesta from 2012-current

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Re: water line only after one day of being in use- why?
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2018, 01:30:06 pm »

 

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