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Ok guys, LONG post sorry, Fairly new pool owner, this is the third year for our pool and we just took the cover off last week. (Its not pretty) The first year we were all chlorine, last year we converted to salt so we had some adjusting to get use to that, we did shock the pool before we closed it last year and I guess did not check the PH afterwards and closed it (Amateur pool owners here… Insert facepalm emoji) PH was VERY high when we checked it. SOOO when we took the cover off, got the pump running, we always vacuum first to get everything off the liner, but noticed there was a scale on the bottom that wasn’t going anywhere.. Calcium??? Im guessing?? Its pretty bad. First pic is our pool last year, second is the pool this year with the scale on the bottom of the liner AFTER it was vacuumed, third pic is what the PH was when we checked it this year when we took cover off. … We did get the PH down to about 6.8 and all other levels are good as well now, but my questions is, Did I ruin my liner?? It’s a big pool, 50,000 gallons and that liner alone is over 3 grand here in MO! How do I get this off??? HELP!! I have been brushing the bottom, but its on there pretty good, will a scale free remover help this?? Or is it too bad??

Hello all! I am hoping to get some help/advice for my Hot Spot spa that's ~6 months old. I will cut to the chase early, and then do the explaining at the end as the more experienced may not even need to read my story before making suggestions. My spa has a white, soft coating on the entire shell. It was solid at one point, and would wipe away with just a finger swipe. So I used a towel to wipe the entire shell down. It didn't all go away, so you can now see where some remains. Is this scale/calcium buildup? I am curious to know what exactly it is, so I can then research on my own. I have been told by support of the chemical company (Leisure Time) that they don't think it's scale/calcium buildup, so I have no idea how to research resolutions (assuming they are correct). My #1 problem currently is the buildup on the shell. Alongside the buildup, is foam when the jets are on. I'm not too concerned about it, and think I need to avoid worrying about it until I resolve the underlying issue. But here are some photos, literally less than a minute after turning the jets on. The Beginning When I purchased the spa, I was given Silk Balance and Spa Guard Enhanced Shock to maintain the spa. I was told to just put a capful of the shock in, along with a measured amount of the Silk Balance, once/week. I started to get quite a bit of foam after a couple of weeks, and I wanted to go more of a natural route so I drained and refilled. The Experiment I read about people using Essential Oils to maintain their spa, and everything on the internet is true, so I gave it a shot. It actually worked and I had no issues for a couple of months. But I started to get very small amounts of what I presume to be mold on the underside of my cover, as well as around the controls on the edge of the spa. It made me really nervous, so I decided to switch back to a chemical solution. Leisure Time Free I don't have any skin issues with Chlorine/Bromine, but I saw the Leisure Time Free sanitizing system and thought I would give it a shot. To make sure I did a good cleaning, I used Jet Clean in my old water as recommended by Leisure Time. I drained the tub, refilled with fresh water, drained the tub, then refilled a second time with fresh water. Following Leisure Time's protocol, I first balanced the pH/TA. From the faucet, my pH was high. This took me 3-4 days because the product bottles had me using teaspoon measurements to lower the pH, and it wasn't moving anywhere. So I finally got to the point where I bumped up the amount of Leisure Time Spa Down I was putting in, and got the pH balanced correctly. I then added pH Balance by Leisure Time, which is supposed to help keep pH from fluctuating. I then added Leisure Time Control, Boost and Free, all products of the Free sanitizing system. The Control and Boost is added based off the size of your spa. The Free is added and measured via test strips. Cloudy The following day I went to check on the spa and the water was extremely cloudy. I couldn't see an inch down into it. So I looked up suggestions on their website and after re-testing the water, saw I needed to bump pH up slightly with Spa Up. I then added another round of Boost, as their site suggests it will clear up cloudy water. It almost cleared up instantly, so I was in business. Orange Sticky Goo After running the spa for an hour or so, I noticed the waterline started to collect orange, sticky specs. When you touch it with your fingers, it's very sticky. So much so that if you use a paper towel to wipe it up, the paper towel will stick/tear when you swipe it across the spa shell. After doing research, I found reviews on Amazon that state the "Control" product of this system causes this sticky goo, so its usage is to be minimized. I used a solution of 50/50 vinegar/water to get the goo cleaned up. The following day, more goo was there. Any time the jets run, the goo collects above the water on the shell. I was literally cleaning up the goo every day, with it somewhat being minimized. I kept telling myself it's probably just because I used the Jet Clean, so "gunk" is being flushed out the system. (And remember, my spa is only 6 months old or so, and I bought it brand new.) White Film on Shell / Foam Fast forward a couple of days later, when I noticed that if I swiped my finger on the shell under the water line, you could see my finger swipe mark. There was a white chalky/film layer on the entire shell. I hadn't noticed it because I had yet to get in the tub, and it was uniform everywhere so I couldn't tell it existed. It wiped up easily with a towel, so I got in the tub with a towel and wiped the entire shell. Gunk/goo still continued to build up, and foam has been introduced as a new issue (see pics above). Additionally, although I wiped the whole surface of the shell, it appears the white film/chalky layer is still present in a lot of areas, perhaps where it was thicker and I didn't wipe long enough with the towel to get it off. Assuming Calcium Build Up Because the pH was high out of the faucet when I filled the tub, I assumed calcium had fallen out of the water and coated the shell. So during research, I found that you can lower the pH to 7 or so, and the water should absorb the calcium back in on its own. So I lowered the pH and ran the tub a couple of times per day, for a couple days, with no change in the chalky/film layer on the shell. It wasn't disappearing. Leisure Time Support After calling Leisure Time Support, they suggested I purchase another one of their products, Spa Defender to help prevent scaling. So I did as an apparent die-hard Leisure Time fan, and it hasn't done anything to remedy the situation. Support also had me raise my CH as it was around ~100-120, thinking that may help. It hasn't. Next Steps I'm curious what my next steps should be. Should I get in the water and scrub the shell? The film does come off with scrubbing. Or should I try something else? My main concern is that I see it on the shell, so it's obviously coating the equipment, heating element, piping, etc. Do I get AhhSome and see if that will clear it out? Do I drain the tub and scrub with some sort of cleaner while it's empty to help remove whatever is on the shell? I'm thinking of going the Nitro Water Maintenance route, but I want to be sure I set myself up for the most success prior to emptying/refilling the tub. Theories / Questions Could this all stem from out-of-date product? The local place I bought most of the products, the bottles were dusty and had been shelved for quite a while it appeared. Is the Leisure Time Free system just not something that's easy to work with? Did I really spend $100s on all of these Leisure Time products, only to throw them away? Thank you to all who read my troubles, and to those who are so gracious to attempt to help me. Your time is greatly appreciated!

We tossed our old spa cover and I drained it so I can clean it and replace some parts. After draining, I noticed a 2"-3" wide white band along the water's edge that I think is scale, according to what I'm reading online. I wondered what the best way to remove this would be since it's already drained (some threads here suggest not draining at all, but that ship has sailed). I've done some heavy scrubbing with vinegar, which was kind of effective. I also tried a couple spots with Kaboom cleaner, and that also did some good there. Some of the stuff comes off in patches, while other patches are very tough. I wonder now if I should go around the whole spa with Kaboom, or use a different cleaner, or fill the spa and put in a product to clean the whole system (I don't know if it would be effective on this water line). Jeremy

Hi all, I am a newbie to hot tubs, I have had my 1500L hot tub set up for just over a week now and already I have had to do a water change due to a film which leaves grease on my hand constantly appearing on the water no matter what. When I do a water test the PH is fine, Total alkalinity is fine and chlorine is fine. However every morning when I do a test the chlorine has completely disappeared and I have to put a dosage of chlorine in the water again. It still does the same thing even after a complete water change. It also seems to be leaving a sticky scummy scale round the side of the hot tub sides and I am constantly having to wipe this away. The water is also slighty cloudy, has a slight tint to it. I am not sure what the problem is, or what I am doing wrong that could be causing this ongoing problem. I hope someone can help me out! All help would be greatly appreciated. Kind Regards Luke. More Information: The chemicals I am using are or have are: Chlorine Granules, PH Plus, PH Minus and I also have some ANTI-FOAM.

I have a two week old hot tub , Acrylic 425 gallons . Its been having severe PH bounce , i keep it on7.4- 7.5 and after a soak it jumps up to 8.1 and sometimes over night it jumps up , I have used an entire bottle of ph down in the last 10 days , at fill i added a bottle of ph buffer , where i was keeping it . Ph (bounced) TA 120 CH 150 Br 4.0 temp 100 degrees was using bromine with Di chlor , metal out once a week , enzyme once a week , , and after not using the tub for 3 days , the inside is suddenly really rough , esp in the corners and around the jets. What i have done so far. lowered PH to 6.8 Ta 80 CH 150 Br 4.0 temp to 85 degrees , and added a triple dose of metal out Ace brand Is there a product i can add ? I'm very concerned about the build up in the plumbing and heater unit . HELP please

Question 1 # Why won't my PH settle into the 7.2-7.6 range? Question 2# Why does a light film build up at the water level? Question 3# Are the above questions the reallity of owning an acrilic tub, the Muni Water or bad readings? North Texas Municipal Water stats Treated mg/L TA = 100 Tot Hardness 152 Non-carbonite hardness 51.8 PH 7.84 Chlorine Residual 2.94 I have had my 380 gallon J-335, with Proclear inline mineral cartridge for three weeks. I find that my consumption of test strips, PH decreaser and wiping the shell at the water level is more than I expected. My water is clean, has a neutral smell, no foam and skin dryness is not too bad. I toss a little MPS in after a soak and the ozonator seems to be doing it's job. The test strips that the dealer gave me are good quality and I know this because I bought a different brand and they are simply cheap. I probably need a Taylor test kit but wanted to get some input from the GEEK. Does the original water from the hose only affect the initial setup of the chemicals. If I add a few inches of water should I expect the city water to adjust the balance by a little or a lot? Will bathers increase PH? Should I expect to wipe down the spa everytime I get in? Based on the first three weeks should I expect to use acid every 7-10 days? I plan on cleaning the filters this weekend since we used it a lot in the last three weeks. We are in the habit of showering before we get in the Jacuzzi. This is only a small challenge in a long road of ownership. We love our tub and expect the workload to settle down as time goes on. Thanks, Nug.