I have a fairly new (only 6 months old) hotsprings Vanguard tub. Everything has been great, but the tub recently had a month of complete inactivity while family was on vacation. I came home, took off the cover and there was slimey black mold around some of the jets, and alone the inside corners of the filter compartment. I used a plastic brush and and towels to scrape off all the visible mold, skimmed anything visibly floating out of the water, did a double chlorine shock and then balanced the water. I don't see any more visible mold - but my question is are we safe to use the spa as is now? I read a few things online that if you have visible mold around jets, you most likely have lots of nonvisible mold in the pipes. We live in California where we have extreme water shortages (and fines!) and I really, really don't want to drain the spa and refill it unless I absolutely have to. Also, I just replaced the filters two months ago - but should I replace them again? Also curious if anyone knows if this kind of mold in the tub will make you sick, or if it's just a nuisance and gross. Obviously if it's the former, I want to make sure to do everything I can to totally eradicate the mold! Thanks so much for any advice!!
