The Worst Thing You Can Do When Converting To Non-bromide

[Jim Biron]

I made the error of a lifetime. I was converting from Bromide to Soft Soak and when it came time to add the stain and scale control I put in the wrong one. I got a very sticky brown residue that is sticking to the sides of my fiberglass spa.

Can anyone help me figure out the best way to remove this goo? I've tride paper towels, Scotch brite, etc... but the goo sitcks to it and I'm not actually doing any cleaning.

Help!!!

Jim

[Nitro]

My advice is to forget Soft Soak and any other biguanide products. Otherwise, you'll have these (and other) problems. Why did you switch from Bromine?

[Maxemily]

Can anyone help me figure out the best way to remove this goo?

Jim

Had that happen once to us after using Sea Klear. That is not to bad mother Sea Klear, I use it regularly with confidence, I feel it was an anomaly, but I digress.

I used a plastic scraper to get as much goo out as possible then wiped up the remainder with a cleaner safe for spas (brand name escapes me). I let time finish the clean up. The spa seemed to fix itself after my half-baked clean up.

Nitro, your advice in this forum is excellent and you are likely better suited than I to answer this question, but your post is missing the solution to Jim's question.

[shovelhd]

Can anyone help me figure out the best way to remove this goo?

Jim

I would try Spa Flush straight out of the bottle on a rag.

[Nitro]

Yes, try to get as much goo off using scrapper, Spa Flush, etc. Afterward I would do a Supershock to clean it all out from the tub, pipes etc. First add Spa Flush (Purge etc) to the tub and let sit overnight. Drain, clean again and refill. Then supershock with Chlorine Bleach (2 cups Clorox) AND MPS (Non-Chlorine Shock 4 oz). Let the jets run for an hour, and let sit over night. This may be an overkill, but it should clean your tub up like new. If not, drain, clean, refill and repeat supershock. Lastly, buy a new filter, because yours is most likely a mess.

Then decide which sanitation method you want to use. Hopefully it will either be Chlorine or Bromine. If you do decide to try Soft Soak (not recommended), you'll need to drain the tub, suck the jets out with a wet vac to remove as much water as possible. Otherwise any Chlorine in the water will react with the Soft Soak and you'll be right back where you started, which may happen anyway if you have Chlorine in your tap water.

Hope that helps.

[Private Shrink]

Yes, try to get as much goo off using scrapper, Spa Flush, etc. Afterward I would do a Supershock to clean it all out from the tub, pipes etc. First add Spa Flush (Purge etc) to the tub and let sit overnight. Drain, clean again and refill. Then supershock with Chlorine Bleach (2 cups Clorox) AND MPS (Non-Chlorine Shock 4 oz). Let the jets run for an hour, and let sit over night. This may be an overkill, but it should clean your tub up like new. If not, drain, clean, refill and repeat supershock. Lastly, buy a new filter, because yours is most likely a mess.

Then decide which sanitation method you want to use. Hopefully it will either be Chlorine or Bromine. If you do decide to try Soft Soak (not recommended), you'll need to drain the tub, suck the jets out with a wet vac to remove as much water as possible. Otherwise any Chlorine in the water will react with the Soft Soak and you'll be right back where you started, which may happen anyway if you have Chlorine in your tap water.

Hope that helps.

As always, putting down the Biguanide choice. Apparently the original author didn't much like Bromine. Honestly, I read as many complaints about Chlorine and Bromine as I would expect proportionally about Biguanide. I know...if done correctly, they'd be perfect.

[Nitro]

As always, putting down the Biguanide choice.

Because it's more expensive, harder to use and causes more problems. I know more people that stopped using biguanide than I do currently using it. You seem to be the only one on this board (and that I know) that uses biguanide. What does that tell you?

Apparently the original author didn't much like Bromine.

Probably because he was duped into thinking biguanide is better. Well he just figured out it's not.

Honestly, I read as many complaints about Chlorine and Bromine as I would expect proportionally about Biguanide.

Maybe because alot more people use Chlorine and Bromine than biguanide.

I know...if done correctly, they'd be perfect.

Even if biguanide is used correctly it can cause problems. Not so with Chlorine/Bromine.

Again I'm glad biguanide is working out for you, and hopefully you won't have problems. But it is the LEAST (of the 3 FDA approved methods) recommended way to sanitize a hot tub. My advice to anyone reading this is to stay away from it, UNLESS as a last resort, which would be very rare.

Happy tubbing!