Dissolving Head rests

[Campsalot]

Okay guys, take a shot at this one!  3 of the 4 headrests I have in my 05 Sundance Maxxus are dissolving.  This tub is not 1 year old and I really kind of bummed about this.

The water chemistry is kept balanced and is always good.  The tub is not used a tremendous amount, maybe 3 times per month.  I have a bromine floater and keep it set at about 3 (very minimal total bromine usually 2 to 3ppm) and I change the water every 9 weeks.
I'm thinking the warranty needs to replace these babies.  Also, why just are just 3 of the 4 headrests  dissolving?

[drewstar]

Do you have Ozone?

Are your pillows constantly in the water (I was told to keep the  water level just below the pillows).

Both of the above will effect the pillows longevity. Also, are you cleaning these with some harsh chemical?

[hottubdan]

One of the secrets of the spa industry:

Pillows head rests in warm steamy chemical environment deteriorate.  They are consumable items, generally not covered by warranties.

[Spatech_tuo]

One of the secrets of the spa industry:

Pillows head rests in warm steamy chemical environment deteriorate.  They are consumable items, generally not covered by warranties.

They do fade but the material used nowadays should not deteriorate like that so quickly. I'd contact the dealer about this even though it's not really a warrantied item (sometimes they'll help you if the issue is way out there).

[spahappy]

Pillows are only covered for three months on a Coleman spa, however a few years ago we had some pillow issues on the 700 series spas. They fell apart right away. In fact my coworker ended up with the defective pillows on her new 706. The problem was not water chemistry and so Coleman replaced the pillows.

How soon did you notice the damage on the pillows?

Have you reported it to your dealer and if so , how did he handle the claim?

What does the underside of your cover look like? I would think less than one year would be too short of a time to destroy pillows, even with poor water chemistry.

[DoubleA]

About 7 years ago my parents bought a spa and the headrests disolved after about a year or so.  My theory on this was they were not told to shock with the cover off and always did with it on.  Not sure if I'm right but the Cover was going bad too so I'm thinking maybe.

[rick_in_cleveland]

I had always heard it was ozone and not venting the chlorine after adding it

[Bonibelle]

Campsalot, I am wondering if a spa blanket would offer more protection for your head rests?

[Spatech_tuo]

About 7 years ago my parents bought a spa and the headrests disolved after about a year or so.  My theory on this was they were not told to shock with the cover off and always did with it on.  Not sure if I'm right but the Cover was going bad too so I'm thinking maybe.

Shocking with it open for 10 minutes is a great idea in general to allow off-gassing. The pillows from about 7 yrs ago would fall apart no matter what IMO. The newer "foam" like pillows you see out there now are a different story. They'll fade like everything else due to ozone and chems but you should find them to be much more structurally sound. Some stay away from pillows due to the way they used to fall apart but what's out there nowadays works really well IMO.

[Bonibelle]

Spa tech, do you think the spa blanket offers some protection from the ozone and chemical off gassing?

[Spatech_tuo]

Spa tech, do you think the spa blanket offers some protection from the ozone and chemical off gassing?

Sure, I just don't like the inconvenience but for heat retention and off-gassing they are nice though you defintiely want to leave it open and jets on for 10 minutes after a shock before you put the blanket on and close the cover.

[DPS]

Padded headrests aren't supposed to last, and they don't.  If they did last, they wouldn't be excluded from the warranty.

[Spatech_tuo]

Padded headrests aren't supposed to last, and they don't.  If they did last, they wouldn't be excluded from the warranty.

The newer materials actually last pretty well, though they do fade. The ones that were around 5 to 10 years ago always fell apart but with the ones today it's better a faded pillow than no pillow IMO (unless you can't handle the color fading).

[Chas]

One of the secrets of the spa industry: Pillows head rests in warm steamy chemical environment deteriorate.

Well that's just great! It's not a secret anyMORE.

[The_real_Clown_Shoes]

I think most everything's been covered that I could think of except one thing- biguanides.

I don't think I've ever seen a customer on biguanide get issues with pillows, and their covers seem to last a little longer.