So a few months ago, I noticed foaming. I used a defoamer (I know that's temporary) and figured because my son had like 12 people in the tub it was just out of whack. The foam went away but I noticed there was type of clumpy white stuff in there and some bigger bubbles that were clumpy and white when I would turn the jets on (no big bubbles at rest). You could also see some white streaks in the water at rest. I couldn't get rid of stuff or fix it so I eventually drained it.
Once drained, everything was fantastic and clear for a while - several weeks.
Yesterday I looked in there and noticed foaming. The chlorine was very low (it had been just a few days since I checked). So I added chorine and then did the same thing as before - put some defoamer in (though I forgot to shake the bottle first) and the foam went away. But I noticed the white clumpy larger bubbles after jets were on, and some "streaks" at rest.
I took the water to the local place and it said my FREE Chlorine was 5.88 but my TOTAL chlorine was 9.4. I'm not entirely sure what this means but they said it's off (the person there is stupid). Non-chlorine shock was recommended.
Is that it, or is this a larger problem.
1. Is this white mold??
2. Looking at the big bubble, is it a biofilm protecting the issue so that I can't penetrate it to fix it?
3. Or is this just scum and not a big deal?
4. If the water is balanced, is this safe to use?
5. I can see little specs floating after jets are on - perhaps that just aeration?
Looking for advice / help please.
Thanks in advance!!
