Getting Some Brownish Goo At The Waterline?

[rdefino]

I'm getting this brownish goo around the tub at the water line. I have been adding chlorine about every other day, but I still get it. Should the chlorine level be kept at a certain level? what else could be causing the goo?

thanks for any help

[mcw53]

I'm getting this brownish goo around the tub at the water line. I have been adding chlorine about every other day, but I still get it. Should the chlorine level be kept at a certain level? what else could be causing the goo?

You should never let your free chlorine (FC) drop to zero.

Could only speculate on the goo without knowing a little history and your maintenance regimen. Sounds like BaquaGoo ... but if you're using chlorine, hopefully you're not using BaquaSpa products also.

Could be accumulated bather waste, especially if people are soaking without first showering or washing off lotions, deodorants, etc.

If it's a new tub that wasn't decontaminated before your 1st fill, it could be contamination left over from the manufacturing process and/or factory testing.

If you've been using Dichlor as your source of chlorine for more than a week or two, your CYA may be high to the point that the chlorine is becoming less effective.

Here's a couple of great articles you should read:

Nitro's Approach To Water Maintenance

Chlorine Demand

Decontamination

[quantumchromodynamics]

The goo is most likely body oils and such. Making sure that people are clean before they go into the water will help a lot.

Normal maintenance should take care of most problems. You may need to clean the filter more frequently or maintain better chlorine levels.

MPS shocking might help. The use of an enzyme clarifier can be beneficial in some cases.

http://naturalchemistry.com/pool-and-spa-p...roducts/show/34

Can you post your numbers for:

Free chlorine

Combined chlorine

pH

Total alkalinity

Calcium hardness

Cyanuric acid.

Water temperature

Average amount of use the tub gets per day. Number of people and for how long?

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

The orange part of the goo is a sign of metals, such as iron in the water, the chlorine oxidizes them cause them to "rust" . I agree with the goo being body oil, soap risdual or something of the sort. You need to do more than just add chlorine to maintain your tub, before you damage yourself or the tub!

[rdefino]

The orange part of the goo is a sign of metals, such as iron in the water, the chlorine oxidizes them cause them to "rust" . I agree with the goo being body oil, soap risdual or something of the sort. You need to do more than just add chlorine to maintain your tub, before you damage yourself or the tub!

What would you recommend? I have just drained and cleaned the tub.

[quantumchromodynamics]

The orange part of the goo is a sign of metals, such as iron in the water, the chlorine oxidizes them cause them to "rust" .

The poster notes a "brownish goo". Where are you getting "orange"?

[Vince22]

I had the same line of goo for the first couple of fills on my tub. I used Swirl Away and now I don't get it anymore. I believe that it was due to leftover gunk from manufacturing and wet test.

[mcw53]

What would you recommend? I have just drained and cleaned the tub.

I'd highly recommend Nitro's decontamination procedure using Spa System Flush, Spa Purge or Swirl Away.

[timchase01]

I have to agree with Vince22. When I first got my tub this fall and did the decontamination procedure I got the brown goo line, although I would say it was more oily than gooey. I think that it is stuff left over from the manufacturing process if it is a new spa. If it isn't a new spa then it probably is body oils.

[Mikey_in_NY]

I'm getting this brownish goo around the tub at the water line. I have been adding chlorine about every other day, but I still get it. Should the chlorine level be kept at a certain level? what else could be causing the goo?

thanks for any help

As a new tub owner a few months ago I also suffered with the brownish goo at the waterline, plus excessive foaming, and that was when the tub was only 2 weeks old. After reading this forum I quickly figured out this was almost certainly due to body oils/lotions and detergents (my town water contains no metals). In the end I dumped the water and started over - that was 3 months ago. Since then I've been using the Dichlor then Chlorox method but, more importantly, have adopted a zero-tolerance 'shower before using hot tub' regime for the whole family. After 3 months water is still perfect - tub is used every day with no foaming or brown goo, and chemistry is well balanced. If it ever gets above feezing again here, or stops snowing I'm gonna change the water ready for the long,cold months ahead.

If all else fails suggest you throw out some/all of your water.