Waterfall - Mold Buildup?

[hailypup20]

Good afternoon,

  Coming back in an attempt to get a bit of advice, since you have all been more than helpful thus far!

  Owned a 2010 Sundance Cameo for about 14 months now, and after a few initial stumbles, got the hold of the chemical cycle and have been able to maintain the tub pretty good with regular, but not particularly frequent water changes. 

  Given the unseasonably pleasant weather for NY Eve, I decided to try a partial water change to help keep things in check until Spring arrives (first time, hopefully it does help!).  All was going very well as I wiped down the water line, checked the filter, etc, until I decided to turn on the waterfall component.  A bunch of black gunk (presumably mold?) came pouring out - clumped together - actually thought I lost a seal for a moment.  However, it did separate a bit into small clusters in the water, and had a black, slimy appearance.  Wasn't too difficult to catch the pieces in a measuring cup and toss them out of the tub...

  Is this a common occurrence with a waterfall on a hot tub?  I honestly don't run it much...was fun the first few times, but now that we're 'old timers' with the hot tub, its not something we turn on more than once in a blue moon.  I'm guessing that this might be a common place for buildup and that I should make a habit of running it weekly for a bit to get some chlorinated water through there, but figured I'd run it by you all to see what thoughts/experiences you may have.  Noted a bunch of black spots on the inside of the cover near that location as well (simply wiped it down with a magic eraser today and it came off very easily.  I think I'll get in there with a toothbrush and bleach next time I'm doing a full water change, but obviously would like to flat out avoid the problem if possible.

  Appreciate any help you may be able to share - Happy New Year!

~ hailypup20

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

stagnant or non moving water will cause mold/bacteria growth...water features (most pointless thing ever created on a portable spa  ) do not always circulate water that is in the line unless in use, so make sure you at least turn it on occasionally and of course always keep at least 1ppm chlorine in the water.  Next time you drain/refill I would run a decontamination procedure to make sure no mold or bacteria is left behind...good luck

[Chas]

Every spa made has some place in the plumbing where water can sit still and go 'bad.' Fountains are fun to own ("A Jet for the mind" is how I put it), but if you shut it off and forget it... you can have some bad water.

Diverters with seals in them will stagnate water on the side not used, if the handle isn't moved on a regular basis.

Drain fittings - as in: connections for a garden hose to drain the tub for a water change - can harbor bad water if not used regularly. Some tubs have more than one drain fitting - they should be opened and flushed several times per year even if you don't use them to drain the tub.

Example: I have a customer who uses a submersible pump to empty his spa for water changes. He owns a Watkins HotSpring Aria - it has two drains. One is the main drain, the other is a plumbing drain. He did not use either drain for about three years, and started getting water mold building up in the circulation system. I had to run a snake through the 3/4" plumbing with water flowing out to clear it. When I opened the aux drain the water which flowed out smelled bad - REALLY bad. Once I got fresh (chlorinated) water flowing through everything, it was all good. The customer promised to open the drain caps at least once a year from now on...

 

[hailypup20]

Thanks for the thoughts/advice.  Plan on doing a full decon process each Spring, and will be sure to run the waterfall for a while with the highly chlorinated water and the Spa Purge, as well as to change the diverter valves during the purge - don't think I've thought of that in the past, and there's specific settings that get used more frequently and thus don't get changed as much as they probably should!

I do like having the waterfall...I actually enjoy running it when I'm just in the tub for some hot water without the jets - it makes for a very relaxing sound in the evening - I'll make a habit of running it more frequently in the future!

Cheers - hailypup