A gross lesson

[anne]

For the last 6 weeks or so, my water has been a bit hard to manage. It would cloud up faster than usual, and though I could get it cleared up every time with chlorine and MPS, it was getting to be a pain. If it went more than 36-48 hrs without chlorine (without use), game over. I attributed some of the difficulty to how often I have been out of town, and so the tub suffered a bit.
I changed the water today, and found a nasty little surprise that may have been the cause of my repeated water woes. The ring that floats around the filter opening is hollow: sort of up-side-down U shaped. I dont know if they are all like this, but mine is, and I assume it is made that way for buoyancy. The area inside that U probably never gets saturated with water. Well, I found a really nasty, slime/goo layer in there that smelled like pseudomonas (wet corn tortillas). I bet that when I was gone a while back the tub got a little contaminated, and then my superchlorination and MPS cleared up what it could reach but I was left behind with a repeated source of contamination. I want to emphasize here that my water NEVER felt or smelled bad, and though the clouding seemed a little frequent to me, it always cleared up fine. I rinsed the filter a couple times over the last several weeks, but did not look up in that little space of the filter cover.

I am hoping that someone else may benefit from this little issue of mine, and also hoping that I can avoid this in the future!!

[pg_rider]

Seriously, I'd be curious to see where you mean?  Not sure what a ring that floats around the filter opening is...

[kervis]

Thanks for sharing.  

I will be giving my tub the once-over tomorrow!

[anne]

Seriously, I'd be curious to see where you mean?  Not sure what a ring that floats around the filter opening is...

Well, jeez.....Kervis got it! I'll try to post a pic tomorrow. "Ring" may not have been the best word to use. I'm talking about the cylindrical part on top that "floats" with it's top just at the water line, and all the water gets sucked down the center into the filter.

[Vinny]

Anne,

Here's my $0.02.

I would make it a habit when you shock with dichlor, if you go that route to push the ring down to disinfect it. If you are not going to shock with dichlor, I would sink it every so often when the chlorine level is high, whatever that would be, to kill whatever bacteria there is. I dunk my filter lid every so often because it has water in it usually.

Is this ring something that floats so that the filter gets the proper amount of water velocity? I'm assuming it's like a filter wier gate.

[Chas]

[Tatooed_Lady]

maybe I'm wrong, but that's never stopped me from putting in my $.02 before.....  
On the HS, the filter compartment isn't all under water, and I've found that the foam/slime/"stuff" can and does collect in the corners above the waterline. I guess it's one of those things that we're not told that needs to be maintained regardless of our tub setup...
Anne, thanks for bringing this to our attention, it's about filter/compartment cleaning time for me again, anyhow.  

[Rayman]

Seriously, I'd be curious to see where you mean?  Not sure what a ring that floats around the filter opening is...

I thought it was worthy.  Keep on posting as you always do Anne.

Rayman

[anne]

I did not take pg_rider's comment to mean that he did not think it was worthy, he just did not get what I was describing. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Here's the part "in action" just as Chas showed. My water level is a bit too high now, but I think this is still clear:



Now here it is sitting out, fully "telescoped" open:



Here it is upside down, collapsed:



And lastly, a closer-up look at the inside of the ring/cylinder that floats:



Vinny: when you say "push it down" you mean take it off and submerge it in water, right? I dont think pushing it down will fill it with water - it would be like pushing an upside down cup into the water.  

[Vinny]

Anne,

Sorry for me being stupid but based on what Chas and you posted I don't see how anything could have gotten that bad. All the parts of that item in both pictures have water going over them. It would seem to me that the only way for it to get that gross was the either the part too high or the water too low.

I think there are a few manufacturers that use similar concepts in what I believe is the filter (Is that for filtering?)

I guess if it doesn't collapse freely then yes, pull it off and dunk it.

[wmccall]

maybe I'm wrong, but that's never stopped me from putting in my $.02 before.....  
On the HS, the filter compartment isn't all under water, and I've found that the foam/slime/"stuff" can and does collect in the corners above the waterline. I guess it's one of those things that we're not told that needs to be maintained regardless of our tub setup...
Anne, thanks for bringing this to our attention, it's about filter/compartment cleaning time for me again, anyhow.  

Your exactly right. I do 3-4 water changes a year and the one that is done is summer is a super cleaning one and I pull the door off the filter compartment and scrub inside the filter compartment that is above the water line.  It can get nasty. Since I discovered that fact, a one a year cleaning takes care of it, or if the weather is decent on a water change, I'll take a clorox wipe though there.

[anne]

All the parts of that item in both pictures have water going over them. It would seem to me that the only way for it to get that gross was the either the part too high or the water too low.

Water goes *over* everything, but I'm pretty sure it cannot get up into the hollow part of the cylinder, the same way that water would not go into a cup pushed into the water upside down. I think the air pocket trapped there is just enough to keep the ring/cylinder floating a tiny bit above the surface, but when the pump is on, it gets pulled down a bit for water to flow over it.

Regardless, I'll be checking in there more often.