Hot Tub - White Flakes

[pacificwing]

Hello,

I have had a problem this last couple of weeks with white flakes in my hot tub. They are large enough to catch with the hand sifter. The flakes are mushy and feel like wet tissue paper.

My normal process is to use bromine as a sterilizer. I keep my pH regulated about twice a week. For 2.5 years I've not had a problem, then a couple of weeks ago I start seeing these mystery flakes.

Based on some information on-line, I took a cup full of the flakes and did the bleach/vinegar test to see if it was calcium or white mold. Neither totally dissolved the particles, but the bleach seemed to make them smaller, so I went with the white mold theory.

I disinfected for 72 hours with my bromine levels higher than the scale on my testing kit. Ran the jets mid-way and cleaned the filter twice per day during this process. After the 72 hour disinfect, I flushed with ahh-some (the blue stuff) and did the bubble bath treatment for 3 hours. Then drained, filled, and drained again. I scrubbed and vacuumed between rinses. After the first rinse, I replaced filter with new.

Within 12 hours after filling, the flakes came back same as before. The hot tub wasn't even up to temperature. I would have thought white mold would have taken longer than that to grow back to this level (not sure how fast it grows). I grabbed another cup of flakes and tried to dissolve with 3 cap-fulls of bleach, but they did not dissolve. I've starting to doubt the white mold theory.

Any ideas on where to go from here?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Are you sure its not calcium flakes? What's your water calcium test out at? Do you fill with really hard water?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Personally, I'd ditch the bromine and clean the tub with some Ahhsome, then disinfect with liquid chlorine and get a small spa salt system to manage my sanitation.
Bromine sounds like a PITA to use.

Maddie

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

It appears to be white mold. Remove your filter(s), rinse them off, place them inside the filled hot tub with water hot/warm. Add another dose of Ahh-Some using the amount needed for your hot tub capacity in litres/gallons.
Be sure your bromine level is high, like 10-15 ppm. Open all air inlets to create maximum turbulence. Run for 30 minutes. Keep the foam in the tub if possible. Wipe all gunk that is sticking to the acrylic shell. Let the tub set full for 12-16 hours. Add a 1/2 extra dose of Ahh-Some to the previously purged hot tub. Keep the water warm/hot. Keep bromine level high as recommended previously. Run additional 30 minutes. Drain, rinse wipe, hose off filter(s), let them drip dry. Fill the tub, adjust water so it is balanced, add bromine ( be sure to follow the bromine instructions with the product you are using). Run the system and let's see what happens. Yiu may see some residual whitefloaters for a few hours. Keep yiur hot tub well sanitized for 2-3 additional days. If yiur problem is white mold this protocol should help you. I strongly recommend that you switch to chlorine as yiur go to sanitizer. It will serve your needs with much less hassle.

 

[pacificwing]

Are you sure its not calcium flakes? What's your water calcium test out at? Do you fill with really hard water?

No. I'm not certain. I've read that calcium flakes are hard and gritty. The flakes I'm seeing are soft like tissue paper. The water in my area is quite soft. It usually tests around 90-100 on first fill, so I just bring it up to 150 or so.

 

[pacificwing]

It appears to be white mold. Remove your filter(s), rinse them off, place them inside the filled hot tub with water hot/warm. Add another dose of Ahh-Some using the amount needed for your hot tub capacity in litres/gallons.
Be sure your bromine level is high, like 10-15 ppm. Open all air inlets to create maximum turbulence. Run for 30 minutes. Keep the foam in the tub if possible. Wipe all gunk that is sticking to the acrylic shell. Let the tub set full for 12-16 hours. Add a 1/2 extra dose of Ahh-Some to the previously purged hot tub. Keep the water warm/hot. Keep bromine level high as recommended previously. Run additional 30 minutes. Drain, rinse wipe, hose off filter(s), let them drip dry. Fill the tub, adjust water so it is balanced, add bromine ( be sure to follow the bromine instructions with the product you are using). Run the system and let's see what happens. Yiu may see some residual whitefloaters for a few hours. Keep yiur hot tub well sanitized for 2-3 additional days. If yiur problem is white mold this protocol should help you. I strongly recommend that you switch to chlorine as yiur go to sanitizer. It will serve your needs with much less hassle.

Thats pretty close to what I did before, except I did a 72 hour purge. The flakes were back to previous levels within 12 hours.

You're suggesting that I only run for 30 minutes after raising levels to 10-15ppm and then sit for 12-16 hours?

I'm currently out of aww-some. I'll have to wait for more to arrive (have to order online as local doesn't have it). I'll keep at 10-15ppm until then. Should be two days.

I was advised that trichlor was too acidic for hot tubs? That leaves dichlor. Can you explain why adding granual dichlor would be simpler/better than maintaining bromine pucks with periodic shock? My understanding is that lots of hot tub owners use bromine successfully as I have for the last several years. My neighbor uses it as well, and hasn't had an issue.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Whitewater mold is typically what can form when your sanitizer levels have been low or non-existent for a time. You need to read the information on using bromine or chlorine that is readily available on this forum. They both work well when you maintain as per instructions. I find that chlorine is easier to maintain in a hot tub. Do not use tri-chlor in your hot tub unless it is cement or gunite. You should use dichlor and sodium hypochlorite (bleach). Read this forum for more information.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I've never seen white mold (thankfully), so couldn't imagine it? I think you're spot on the diagnosis @Ahhsomeguy.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thats pretty close to what I did before, except I did a 72 hour purge. The flakes were back to previous levels within 12 hours.

You're suggesting that I only run for 30 minutes after raising levels to 10-15ppm and then sit for 12-16 hours?

I'm currently out of aww-some. I'll have to wait for more to arrive (have to order online as local doesn't have it). I'll keep at 10-15ppm until then. Should be two days.

I was advised that trichlor was too acidic for hot tubs? That leaves dichlor. Can you explain why adding granual dichlor would be simpler/better than maintaining bromine pucks with periodic shock? My understanding is that lots of hot tub owners use bromine successfully as I have for the last several years. My neighbor uses it as well, and hasn't had an issue.

At some point your active sanitizer level was too low allowing the bacteria to take hold - testing & Maintaining adequate sanitizer levels is a bit less complicated for chlorine & more straightforward than it is with bromine.
Here we recommend this method which is dichlor until you reach 30ppm then liquid chlorine thereafter always minding the
FC/CYA Levels adding a swg to the mix can help maintain standby fc

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.google.com