Waterway Jet Body Paint Or Plastic Flaking Off

[cyber-junkie]

I have a Costco spa with Waterway stainless steel 5 point scallop jets and the mini-storm 3" have all but quit pulsing so I removed them to soak them in vinigar to remove the calcium which I thought to be the problem but after not much comming off them in the vinigar water I opened one up and the tabs on the body that hold it to the face to the body broke off and the ballbearings had moved out of the ring that holds them in place so that the pulser can spin, does the body just wear out so that the bearings fall out of place? and the jet body either has white paint on it that is flaking off or the top layer of plastic is flaking off as the body looks white but under the paint or plastic the body is kinda opaque in color and you can kinda see through the plastic...what is going on? do they just wear out or do the ballbearings just get out of place now and then.

[Loopcity]

They just wear out and need replaced. How old is the spa? Usually this happens from poor water chemistry, though if the spa is really old I wouldn't worry about it.

[cyber-junkie]

The hot tub is about 10 years old, good shape and I am trying to clean the jets and get the pulsers pulsing again So if it's just paint maybe I can scrub it off and keep using the jets as a few still work good, just don't know what this is, it's so uniformed in thickness that either the plastic is layered on the jet body or it's a factory paint, I've had this tub since new and no one has painted them, if it was done it's factory.

[SpaSage]

It's water balance over time that is causing the diffusers on the backs of the jets to break down. They will become thin and brittle, and eventually they will dissolve. Calcium hardness increaser will retard the erosion process. When your water becomes corrosive it will search for minerals. It will pull them from plastics, breaking them down over time. If calcium is present in the water it will help satisfy the corrosive water's need for minerals.