About to give up! HT HEADACHES!

[TkayIn47]

I have a 3yrold hottub that came with the house I bought in April 2021. I decided to start fresh as I saw things floating and the filters were really dirty. I bought new filters, treated with ahh spa pipe cleaner to make sure the pipes were clear & clean, drained and refilled. Then my problems really began. It seemed like pieces of white formed slimy pieces were everywhere! (The residue from pipes?) It wasn't white mold, these were like little white flat, formed stick pieces. That evening, my tub began leaking. I treated it with a pipe seal you put in the water. The leaking stopped. I came down with covid and for nearly 3 months it was not used or touched. My daughter came in, turned the heat as low as possible and thinking it was not being used, may as well shut off to save electricity during cold weather. For nearly 3 months, no circulation. I recovered from Covid, went to check on things, it was quite the mess. White mold everywhere. I see here you guys using the pipe cleaner that led to my leak. Any suggestions other than using something that will break my pipe seal?

-Hottub headaches in Indiana

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Sorry for your troubles but in reality you can’t fix leaking plumbing with those gimmick “pipe seal” chemicals. They will not last and they are not going to work well with a sanitized hot tub. You need to get a repairman out to track down exactly what is leaking and fix it. There could be many more problems than a simple pipe leak such as pump seals or even the heater can leak. Once the hot tub is functioning properly, then you can address the chemistry.

Ahhsome doesn't cause leaks. What it probably did was loosen up enough old gunk in the pipes to reveal a leak that was already there. It sounds like your tub is heavily contaminated with biofilms especially since it sat dormant for months with water in it. If the plumbing/leaks can be repaired then you will need to do a very heavy purge of the hot tub until all of the gunk is out. If this will be physically challenging for you then you’ll need to engage the help of your family or some friends. But it will likely require multiple Ahhsome purges as well as suctioning out the lines with a shopvac and wiping down the interior surfaces.

 

[ajw22]

@RDspaguy has rebuilt many HTs.

 

[RDspaguy]

@JoyfulNoise nailed it. Plus, if the leaks were previously sealed with that junk it will crack and flakeout of the pipes if disturbed.

these were like little white flat, formed stick pieces.

No idea. Maybe old leak seal?

What brand is it?
Open the equipment area and check for leaks. Most leaks are there. Post pics.
If the spa was shut down during freezing temps you could have more problems as a result.