filter ring goo- help???

[anne]

Formerly known as "pseudomonas goo":

A while back I posted about finding a ring of slimey ick inside the upper ring/cylinder of the thing that sits on top of the filter. I cleaned in thoroughly, but that stuff keeps coming back! I'm pretty sure from the odor of it that it is pseudomonas (microbiology classes were good for something!) but whatever it is, it is gross. I have cleaned in there at least every few days, with bleach, but this photo is what it looked like today after about 4-5 days of me doing nothing. The water itself seems fine, water is balanced, and I have a solid 3-5 ppm FC after every soak.

This part of the ring does not have continuous contact with chlorinated water. It holds an air pocket which helps it to be buoyant just at the surface. I tried to turn the whole thing upside down, fill it with water an then put it in place, but then it cannot do it's job. (It sinks). I'm pretty sure this is a fairly standard tub part.

Any ideas??

[Vinny]

I would contact your dealer and explain what is happening. Maybe they've heard about it before. I would think that all Arctics that use this device (I guess that would be all Arctics ...duh) would have this issue. Maybe yours is missing some part to it. If the dealer doesn't know contact Arctic directly.

[bosco0633]

anne, I get that as well.  I clean it whenever I can.  I am not sure why it is happening, but mine looked 10x worse than that the other day.

Gray beard any info for us?

[anne]

Thanks Bosco- anyone else? I'm altering the title of this thread a bit to make it easer for people to tell if they want to contribute.

[anne]

Bumping myself back up to the front page! Anyone? I have emailed Arctic, too.

[Tom]

Gray beard any info for us?

I have notified both our technical and our R & D departments and will post information as soon I hear from them.

Tom

[anne]

Thanks! I have not opened up that ring since posting for fear of what I'll find......

[Tom]

A group of Arctic Staff (including R&D staffer Jody Gamracy, Technical Supervisor Dan Scalabrini, Owner James Keirstead and I) examined our factory showroom spa and found the material under the weir as Anne describes.   The material was gray-green, lumpy, unevenly distributed, cheesy in texture, and scentless (perhaps Anne's trained nose picked up something we could not?).

The conclusion was that it is a mixture of oils, chemicals, minerals, soaps etc. similar to the "bathtub ring" that may appear at the waterline on your shell.  The composition of this condensate will vary from spa to spa.  It will most likely contain some microorganisms (including bacteria and algae), but because it is trapped under the water it should not pose any hazard to bathers so long as the water is properly maintained and sanitized.

"This stuff must be in every spa from every company that uses this type of weir," Dan pointed out, "and we've never known it to cause a problem."

James added, "Since ozone is a natural flocculant, this kind of clumping may occur more noticeably in an ozonated spa.  If you have a strong smell of ozone, call your dealer to check that your system is running properly."

Care and cure, according to former store owner and now R & D staffer Jody:

• Physical removal is how to get rid of it if builds up.
• It is unlikely to pose a risk to hot tub users if contained and limited to the area under the floating weir as described.
• It is not readily accessible and no one will come in contact with it by accident
• It is a good idea to clean this part every couple months, perhaps when the filter is changed. [I used a paper towel over a ball point pen. Rubber gloves suggested]
• Add a tablespoon of Easy Clear to your water weekly to help prevent buildup.

And a side note:

Since Feb 2006 the filter weir assembly on all Arctic spas has come with an adjustable mechanism on the basket part. This adjusts the flow rate through the opening and can be set by the hot tub owner to optimize the position of the floating weir during filtration. It should be near the surface with visible flow into it, but not "bobbing" on the surface and not sucked right down.

If you don't have one of these adjustable filter baskets, they can be purchased and fit to older Arctic Spas. Call your dealer.

[anne]

Thanks Greybeard. If you guys are not worried, then I guess neither am I.

[Tatooed_Lady]

any possibility of coating the afflicted area with something to keep the grubbies away? or...can it be cleaned, dried and filled with some sort of sealed styrofoam type product to keep the float-ability of the weir door? That would, I would think, keep everything in contact with the water, leaving no air pocket to be damp and stinky... Even if it's not a major health issue, it's still something that needs to be de-funked on a regular basis.

[hot tub Frank]

is this part a needed for the tub?
if not throw it out.

[hottubdan]

Isn't the magical Microban supposed to prevent this?

[bosco0633]

the part we are talking about is before the microban filtration.  good dig though!!!!

[anne]

And it is not microban, it is micropure, if you are referring to the filter type. And I dont have one: I'm anti-micropure. Isn't Microban the stuff incorporated into shell walls and stuff, supposedly to make the surface resistant to koodies?

Tatooed Lady: I'd be hesitant to put anything up in that air pocket for fear that I'd still just trap moisture, but then have more surfaces for stuff to accumulate.

Does anyone else with this style weir have this issue? Would you mind peeking up in there, and seeing what it looks like? I may have had a little build-up in there since I had the spa, and just never noticed it till recently. Ew.

[Vinny]

This would be my $0.02 solution. On a weekly basis, when shocking with dichlor, I would remove it and dip it in the superchlorinated water upside down. Let is stay there for a minute or so and let the chlorine kill the buggers. If you're doing it on a weekly basis, the buildup shouldn't be to the yucky stage. I tend to do that with my filter cover every shock just to keep it from getting bad.