Please Help!! Cant keep tub clear for more than 3 weeks

[Mike R]

Hi, We have had our vita 300 gallon hot tub since June. I had to drain it 6x already foe cloudy water issues not sure what is wrong but i bring samples to the supplier every week and sometimes more. We have an ozonator  They tell me my chemicals are all good but sometimes my chlorine levels get really low   We add 1 tble spoon after ea use per person of 99% sometimes it doesnt register Ny chlorine the next am. I am a neat freak and lobe using my tub  prob 5-6 nites a week for approx 30-45 mins ea. Wife only half that amount  When the tub goes bad sometimes it foams like we are flushing it and when the foam dries its nasty, sticky brownish color left behind similar to when we use the gel to flush. When the tub is normal we get hardy any foam at all! We always get a whitish film or residue left on top of tub and headrests and even on the stairs which no one can tell is for certain what it is. They say our calcium hardness levels are good but yet i do het. Lil green scale on top and bottom of my filters which is a lot harder to scrape off than the white residue  we dont get the green scale anywhere else that i can tell  They tell me TA is good and ph also but even when we get great test results from them we hardly ever mKe it past 3 weeks w o An issue  usually cloudy , foamy water that looks dirty. Chlorine is always low the next day and i add the same amount even when its crystal clear so it confuses me as ro why all of a sudden we loose clean water. Alot of times it goes cloudy after not using it for 1 night which makes no sense because what id we have to go away. It seems like our tub should stay clean for more than one night w o getting cloudy imagine a whole week w o being around?Anyway , we have been to two different hot tub suppliers and had this same problem since buying it brand new in june of last year  how can it run so clean and clear for 3 weeks snd then 1 night of not using it makes it cloudy?? Its not the same each time.  Sometimes i can tell its gonna cloudy cause i can almost see the bubbles that come out of the ozonator go from clear to a whitish color that seems like the air bubbles  are tiny and almost makes them seem like particles  We just re-filled our tub 3 weeks ago and already have a high particle count for some reason  we can see the particles in the water and it doesn't look clean but the water sample can come back-with no issues at all. I am at my wits end. Ive tries everything they tell me . No body from two stores can tell me what the whitish residue is from and no body knows why my tub would foam as much as it does out of the blue and we dont use swim suits and never have and its only My wife and i that use it and we both shower before every use every time becAuse we have had so many issues   We have never made it a month w o an issue and the stores Re not much of a help telling me we use it alot more than most so maybe i should drain it every month which is not acceptable to me.  I have used the gel flush a few times like recommended to make sure its not bio film. I have switches to a water trUck to make sure im getting good water. I top off each month with 30 gallons of bottled spring water which is alot cheaper than having the truck top it off for the same price as adding 300 gallons  We had rhr frog ball that releases chlorine over time at first but it seemed like it wasn't enuff so tbey had me use the 99% after ea use and we still have major issues  this past time I filled it 3 weeks ago and it was crystal clear no issues. We dont use it one weekend and on the sat am i added chlorine when i checked it with test strips and went way came back Sunday night and tub was cloudy.  Sometimes it takes me two days to clear up with chlorine and my weekly maintenance of  mps shock,  scale control and water clarifier  Sometimes like this time its been 5 days still cloudy teat results from store say  add a lil TA and 1 tble spoon of 99% chlorine snd thats it. Which i have and still cloudy  i usually drain and refill after this long but need to get to the bottom of this asap as its frustrating and costly.  We have had the same issues since buying it and. Two different stores cant help me   When its clear and clean its wonderful and i seem  to be able to maintain it for a few weeks then bam  cloudy nasty looking water  PLEASE HELP   Im almost ready to throw in the towel and get rid of it foe good as im so frustrated and aggravated angry and sad!!  Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you Mike 

[dlleno]

Is this an a acrylic portable spa? It sounds to me like the bad guy nasties are winning the war.  You mentioned "the gel flush"  but didn't mention what product you actually used or how you used it.  Are you using "ahhsome" as discussed here in this forum? 

Normally in a situation like this,  I would recommend a prolonged, multiple purge regimen as I have coached others through as many as 10 complete purges to really win this kind of war,   but seeing the term "the gel flush" doesn't indicate yet that you have used the "ahhsome" purge product  according to the label directions.  But i may be  mis reading you, so just Kindly let us know what you mean by "gel flush"   and what steps you followed and we would be in a better position to advise on your next steps 

 

The best nuclear trump card against the proliferation of contaminants including biofilms is a many repeated  purges  with ahhsome with elevated chlorine levels (the elevated chlorine is VITALLY  important).  The fact that your chlorine levels fall faster than normal means that you've got biofilms and that they keep regenerating (the evil  beasties do just that...).  One purge with "the gel flush"  may not have eradicated the biofilms from your spa....only made them angry ...

Remember too....if chlorine goes to zero that means biofilms can regenerate..  

 

[Mike R]

Hi, 

The purge i used is called total clean serum. Its a gel that you put in and run pumps on high for 20 mins with filters out before draining. Again I am new to hot tub lingo so excuse me if i miss something . The frog ball has seemed to help keep my chlorine levels better than before but i now notice that when i put my air jets on the foam leaves behind a brownish sticky residue on the tub.  Ive only seen this after a purge but usually goes away   This time its been a week or so and it seems to be getting better but still a pain as if i don't wipe it or miss a spot it gets hard to wipe off and looks kind of nasty also. Bio film makes sense but how van there be that much in out tub we bought new in June? What causes bio film snd how do we get rid of it for good?  Would bio film also explain the white residue we see after water dries on ams around the tub.  The white stuff wipes off easier than the brown stuff! Could the white stuff be calcium even if the hardness checked out ok within the numbers allowed?   I almost think i have two separate issues but not sure? Too much chlorine would not leave a white residue  behind will it?  Would the bio film leave white residue also??  The whitish colored bubbles that come out of my ozonator start out crystal clear but approx 3 weeks later the bubbles seem to get smaller and turn whitish ?  It looks like small particles or tiny air bubbles but millions of them?  Bio film would make sense to me  and I'm hoping i only have one issue and not two??Thank you for your patience with my long explanations and any help is also greatly appreciated!!  Mike 

 

[dlleno]

You may have several things going on but it just sounds to me like the biofilms and other residues are getting the best of you.  Brand new hot tubs are notorious breeding grounds for biofilms yes.  

 

Having drained more experimental gallons of water than anyone i know of, what I can say is that I would encourage you to study my blog posts (search Google for "boisediesel spa purge").   Ground yourself in the behavior and control of biofilms .  

 

White residue could be biofilms or calcium deposits or some other contaminant as well.  I think you need to perform at least two (and maybe more) purges with the product known as "ahhsome"  (search here on this forum) and follow the label directions to the letter .

Also post test results from your untreated source water , as in from the hose before it enters your hot tub 

[dlleno]

Btw the white flakes you describe , as being easy to wipe off, is not likely calcium.  It sounds actually similar to what I found on my brand new spa after i purged  (I couldn't get water to balance from day one).

Purging multiple times (depending on  what gets  released)  with ahhsome,  along with elevated chlorine levels (you can use bleach), is your best chance of success.   Then let's talk about your source water and bather load etc .  This is all doable!  I'm here to tell you that ahhsome saved me from spa store incompetency and actually a manufacturer who refused to acknowledge that wet testing at the factory, followed by storage and transportation delays,  DOES  allow biofilms to form in a BRAND SPANKING NEW SPA.  Pardon the emphasis...sometimes I get irritated at spa store incompetence and mfg arrogance, for looking the other way and pretending these problems are your  fault!