Keith01

Hi Yohab, I was looking for posts on this topic as I had the same issue. It was impossible to remove by just trying to pull it up. I had a new valve assembly so I drilled a large hole (carefully!) in the one on the tub (the white nylon top piece) and managed to lift one side slightly with long nosed pliers and break the seal. I could then force the white collar off and remove the whole valve. The problem I had fitting the new valve it that it is so damn tight the o-ring bulged out one side and I was left with pretty much the same issue. Make sure you push down the valve assembly and the white nylon top piece in an absolutely level position i.e. not one side then the other. I imagine you have fixed yours by know and if so I would be interested to know how please. Cheers, Keith

Hi TMC, I can offer my condolences but not much else unfortunately as I haven't had to face that ball-ache. I would refill and reheat as I guess that may be a tad easier but it will not dissolve it as that stuff sticks like you know what to a blanket. Sorry I can't be of more help (any help!). Cheers, Keith

Hi, Yes, definitely drain the hot tub after using Ahh-Some (you will see why when you use it!). However, it is likely you will need to use at least 2 purges of Ahh-Some if you are using it for the first time but providing you wipe the gunk off as you go then use the same water for the second purge. You will see a reduced volume of gunk being produced on second purge (if not try three - some people have said if it is really bad you may need more). If you submerge the filters (very important or they will collect all the gunk and it will be very difficult to remove) then they will also be cleaned (still flush water through them with the power washer afterwards). The last time I did it I used a scuba diving kit net weighed down with 2 2.5k weights - one both ends of the net to pull the filters completely under the water (very important). Seems like a faff but well worth it. You can tie them together and weigh down (how I did it originally - see above). Not sure what spa you have but I could easily remove filter housing and sink it (the plastic sank of its own accord) as that part got dunked up the first time I did it and was time consuming to remove. That worked a treat when I removed it. The people who didn't get on with Ahh-Some mainly seemed to be complaining about the removal of gunk so keep wiping it off during the hour purge (many pieces of rag will be needed, scrape it from the sides, chuck the rag away) then you will be fine. Hope that helps. Enjoy!

I used Tricolour tablets for a week or so to get the CYA level to approx 30 as measured (approximately) on the AquaChek test strips. I will continue to watch the CYA closely but I am having better luck with the HTH Briquettes as although they dissolve pretty damn quickly (hours not days) the Free Chlorine reading is okay in the morning when I check (3ppm) as opposed to 0 when I tried bleach, so at least the tub always has enough free chlorine in. I am now trying to hone in on the right amount of HTH briquettes to put in the hopper to maintain a reading of 4. I also learnt (self-taught/google) about chloramines today as I wanted to know why people recommend a weekly non-chlorine shock! I should have done all this years ago when I first got a tub! Cheers.

Hi dlleno, I have been reading/trying a few things regarding Chlorine dosage and arrived in the following place. May I just run that by you please? I read a long and informative post about bleach as a sanitiser by chem geek (albeit 2008) and adopted the "use tricolour or alike until the CYA/Stabaliser level is right, then switch to Bleach". I have now tried that but could not stop the Free Chlorine from dropping quickly (I use AquaChek test strips and although there are more scientific methods I find these okay). I diluted the thin, unscented bleach (4.5% is all I could get of this type), added it, did a clean cycle, checked it (all good 4-5ppm), closed the lid, checked it a couple of hours later (okay but dropping to 3ppm) and then checked it the next morning (0 ppm!). I found that to keep a correct level I was having to too regularly add bleach so after a couple of days decided to revert back to tricolour tablets at least to keep the tub constantly sanitised correctly. I read somewhere that it can aerate/outgas but I tested it after I added it and did a clean cycle so assumed this was okay. I then found a source of unstabalised chlorine 'HTH Easiflo Dry Calcium Hypochlorite Briquettes' that are intended for pools with CYA issues. I read their marketing blurb and they sounded perfect . They had better be because I had to get 25kg and they are up there with the normal stabiliser prices i.e. a shed load more expensive than bleach! I do like the idea of them being a slow release so I will now give them a go. However, I also thought it sensible to get your view on the above, in case I am missing something (a brain ) that you may know of. Any advice much appreciated. Cheers, Keith

Also thanks also for the tip re. Ahh-Some/Chlorine combined flush. I think I have the 'UK' Tub (hardly big enough to get any instructions on ) and that only mentions normal levels of Chlorine but I'll do as you suggest and save the post Ahh-Some Chlorine shock that I did last time. Cheers.

Thanks very much for the link. I will have a look at that and I guess could put something suitable/heavy in the pipe to weigh it down. Thanks for the tip on getting the correct length. Looks like we have the same skimmer door/housing which is very easy to remove. I'll let you know how that goes when I also submerge that as it was a pain to clean last time. I'm now into trying to sort out the correct sanitising method (currently using Trichlor tablets) and reading conflicting stuff about Dichlor / CYA / Bleach... I would be very interested to know what regime you use if that's not too much trouble. Thanks again for the help.

Okay thanks Dlleno, I'll sort out how best to use the bleach. I forgot to mention that I did super-chlorinate after the Ahh-Some flush so hopefully that had the same effect. I read about super-chlorination but it was suggested that was done before the flush but I did it after as that seemed more logical to me - may be wrong! Cheers.

Hi dlleno, Thanks for your reply. I also have ceramic filters and they seem fine after being submerged but were tied in sort of a circle so didn't bang against each other. I am interested to know how you use the PVC pipe though please? I will also try a final 'clean' purge with the filters in place as that doesn't sound as though it will fill them with gunk. With regard to the bleach I read contradictory stuff about that but if you have tried it I'll give it a shot thanks. I have a 323 US Gallon hot tub so how much bleach would you use for that please? Last time I used bleach to clean the washing machine I could hardly get into the utility room for froth, so does this produce a froth that I need to be aware of. I assume from what you said you put that in with the Ahh-Some? Apologies for all the supplementary questions but any answers gratefully received. Cheers, Keith (01)

Removal of Bio-film (the root cause of my itchy/scratchy patches of skin!) Background Over a long period of time (years!) I have been trying to track down the cause of my hot tub water problems and itchy patches on my skin. This started pretty much soon after we we bought a brand new tub. The old tub we had from new and had used for many years never gave us any problems. I am meticulous in looking after it (OCD!) and and would have bet it was forensically clean. Please believe me when I say that in the search to overcome my hot tub issues if you name it I have read it (including turgid scientific papers), bought it, tried it and talked to many so-called hot-tub ‘professionals’ but with no success (and less money) until now! Success came when I read around the issue of bio-film and a product called Ahh-Some to successfully remove this very stubborn problem. I have to heartily thank ‘Dlleno’ whose articles put me onto the bio-film issue, its occurrence even in brand new tubs and the success of the Ahh-Some product. Top man. I have tried all sorts of ‘pipe cleaners’ and nothing but nothing worked like Ahh-some - don’t waste your time and money with anything else (I have no connection to or reason to promote this product). It is expensive but its another case of you get what you pay for (I realise that that is not always the case when it comes to all things hot tub). I have read the product reviews on Amazon (.com) and I would summarise the negative ones as issues with the ‘gunk’ it produces (see below to minimise this issue) or where they don’t seem know/understand what they are doing and complain about the continual issues of ‘gunk’ when the product is doing exactly what it should (apologies if that sounds arrogant). How to minimise the issue of the sticky gunk produced - this will save you a lot of unnecessary work! Basically a foam is produced and anywhere the foam goes, the sticky gunk deposit is left on the shell etc. So my tips are (and they worked well for me) are: Remove your filters (I have 5 in my Hotsprings hot tub) and fully submerge them. This is very important as they will be cleaned and not attract any gunk whatsoever if fully submerged. I tied mine together and weighted them down with 2 2.5Kilo weights. I even tied the pillows down as well. Next time I will use a net like the ones the scuba people have for their fins etc. as that will work and be easier. I can also put the filter tops in. Wipe the gunk away periodically as it forms on the shell - this is relatively simple to do and much better than leaving it to the end. I also skimmed brown patches of foam with a net as I stood there in admiration of the bio-film mess produced from this process! The only issue I had was the mess in the skimmer and skimmer housing where poor design to my mind makes it difficult to clean. However when I realised that it is only attached by 2 easily accessible screws and a plastic nut that needs a 90 degree twist then I took this off to clean the gunk off. Next time I will remove the skimmer and housing and put it all in the net and fully submerge and the rest will be easy! I did 2 cycles of Ahh-Some (each an hour) without changing the water but clearing the gunk off after the first cycle. The second cycle produced very little indeed so I am sure from now on I will only need one cycle. Some people apparently needed to do this a few times but that just shows they had a bigger problem with bio-film that definitely needs to be dealt with. God only knows why it took me so long to discover the root cause of my issues and this excellent product, but if you have the same issues you simply must give this a try. Like me, you may well be amazed that what you thought was a clean tub is in fact not. Have a read around bio-film as well and you will also see that chlorine and other sanitisers will not touch it! A footnote on the use of Chlorine, in my experience: After much hope and searching unfortunately I have found no successful substitute to using Chlorine (tried Bromine - no different) and non-chlorine substitutes all seem to need Chlorine at some point, or produce chlorine (salt water systems). The end. Thanks again Dlleno.

Update: I implemented the solution just as Randy described and it works perfectly. I used 12.7mm ID / 16mm OD silicone tube purchased from The Malt Miller in the UK, 2 pieces 9 inches long (no other adjustments necessary) and saved myself hundreds! Thanks again. Keith01

Hi Randy/r5ran, I have scoured the internet for a solution to being ripped off over £200 for what is essentially 2 pieces of silicone tube, and you (and only you) have posted the solution which I am now about to implement. Top man! Many thanks indeed - I gave you a virtual pat on the back Cheers, Keith Wheeler. PS a 'life' tip to Hot Spring Official above (albeit a post 6 years ago): don't try to defend the indefensible (seen too many people try that and it always fails)