Purchasing Bank Owned Home With Full Hot Tub

[teresajill]

In a few days we'll close escrow on a bank owned home. It has a Beachcomber 550X that's (mostly) full and appears to have been neglected for quite some time. It has an ozonator. The pump looks like there's a buildup of stuff like you'd find on a battery terminal.

When the cover is lifted, it looks black and moldy, but the water doesn't look that bad. However, when the jets were turned on for inspection, there were lots of little clear/white clumps of junk floating about. This was back when the tub appeared to be full.

I'm guessing the pumps had been completely off prior to that and that it was left on after the inspection because the yard flooded for what seems like no reason at one point and the hot tub is now about 5 inches lower (40 days later). My guess is that it's leaking somewhere.

It looks like there's hard water buildup all around the skimmer area.

There's a floating dispenser in there.

I contacted Beachcomber and they sent me directions for getting rid of white algae. They noted that I should get the chemicals under control before I dump the water out.

Questions:

I hear you shouldn't mix bromine and chlorine. How can I tell what's in there now?

If I test the water and it appears the system is way out of wack, can I assume there's not enough chlorine/bromine in it to worry about mixing them?

How much water would you expect a hot tub set at 72 degrees to lose in 40 days an area where the high temps are usually around 75-85 degrees? It has a very thick cover thats been locked down with chains.

Has anyone had success with bleaching the mold out of a cover? I'm assuming I'll have to take the foam out and clean it seperately. The top of the cover also needs some love. Any opinions on what would be good to try?

Can anyone suggest a good test kit that will work even with the chemical levels being far from where they ought to be?

What should I use to clear the mineral buildup from the internals of the spa? or is that a concern?

Any advice?

[arches2]

it's fine to mix chlorine and bromine. In fact in a bromine tub many shock with chlorine. You just can't add bromine to a tub that you are trying to sanitze with chlorine as it will convert the tub to bromine. Read the sticky thread in this forum about decontamination as it will tell you everything you need to do to clean it up. I don't think you need to worry too much about the water chemistry. Just make sure the PH is between 7 and 8 when you start the decon process. Superchlorinating will shoot the pH sky high anywhay.

As far as the cover, I'd think you're going to have a hard time saving it. Just a regualr bleach and water solution will clean it if you can. If the foam has mold in it, i don't think you'll be able to get it out. New covers can be had for around $300 so it's probably worth it to get a new one. try rhtubs.com

The tub should not have lost any water in the time you are talking about. Certainly not 5" worth. Take the skirting off and see if you can find water inside the cabinet. The fact that you have "corrosion" on your pump would point me to look there. You may have to replace the pump anyway so it may just be a leaky seal in the pump and you get lucky.

A taylor kit (K2006 for chlorine or K2165 for bromine) is you best choice, but you have to order them. If you go to walmart you can get a cheap OTO kit that will work in the short term while waiting for the taylor kit to arrive

If you find a lot of issues with it i can be quite costly to bring back to life and not really worth it.

[Dr. Spa]

You should no mix chlorine and bromine in it's DRY form...e.g. adding both to a single containers. Adding both to the spa water is a completely different story, and not only is ok, but is frequently done.

"The pump looks like there's a buildup of stuff like you'd find on a battery terminal."

This is a clear indication that the pump is leaking, and has been for some time.

[teresajill]

Thanks for your replies!