Hello from Florida. New Hot Tub Owner

[phonedave]

Perhaps it's something we should do more often?

As I said in that post, I change my water pretty frequently, but in the winter when it is in the 30's F, not so much. Changing the water itself is not so much the issue. It is the rest of the cleaning. It is the hosing out of the internals of the jet packs and the getting in the empty tub (barefoot) and wiping down the shell. That gets cold quickly.

I just changed my water out this weekend. Took at total of two hours. From the time I put in Ahhsome and began to purge to the time I pulled out the fill hose, and closed the cover. Not a lot of time, or a lot of money. (like $20 tops, including water, chemicals, and electricity)

 

[Methuselah]

As I said in that post, I change my water pretty frequently, but in the winter when it is in the 30's F, not so much. Changing the water itself is not so much the issue. It is the rest of the cleaning. It is the hosing out of the internals of the jet packs and the getting in the empty tub (barefoot) and wiping down the shell. That gets cold quickly.

I just changed my water out this weekend. Took at total of two hours. From the time I put in Ahhsome and began to purge to the time I pulled out the fill hose, and closed the cover. Not a lot of time, or a lot of money. (like $20 tops, including water, chemicals, and electricity)

I definitely concur the timing effects me the same way

 

[Mdragger88]

I aim for purge/drain/refill every 6months (around the time I open & close my pool, April and October) - that usually coincides with decent weather so it’s not an issue.

 

[Methuselah]

Beginning of April was six months, but we used it almost daily when we first got it, and this fill I'd guess the average isnt even twice a week. It seems about as needy now as it was at the 2 1/2 month point on the first fill.

I still think Matt made an excellent argument however...

 

[WaldenTW5]

So, we’ve only had our spa for 2 months and the coating on the pillows started to wear off at the seam area. The dealer said that was probably due to chemical issues in our water, but they went ahead and replaced them. I’ve been using the dichlor/bleach method and keep my FC at about 4, CYA is low 30s, pH occasionally goes up to 8, but I add MA to bring it down, and TA is 70. Do any of those numbers explain why this would happen? Thanks! (I leave the cover off of the spa for 15 minutes with the jets running after adding chemicals.)

 

[Mdragger88]

You may want to aim for letting the tub “breathe” a bit more. This allows any cc’s trapped under the cover to escape instead of eating away at things like headrests & the underside of your cover. On nice days if I’m outside I just open mine up for a while especially if I haven’t used it that day.
Not sure if your ozone thingy may play a part in deterioration as well or if you can turn it down or anything. Ozone is an oxidizer. I’m sure the others will have some input soon.
Exactly What tub do you have?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

WaldenTW5: I realize that your hot tub is 2 months old but I have to ask a question: Have you used a plumbing and jet cleaner purge product as yet? The yellowing/gold crusty looking film seems like it could be biofilm. If you use your finger to remove some is it sticky? Can you clean the ring off with a cloth and cleaner quite easily? My advice is to provide a good purge and drain to your hot tub. This will definitely help alleviate the uncertaintymas tomwhat is causing this problem.

 

[WaldenTW5]

You may want to aim for letting the tub “breathe” a bit more. This allows any cc’s trapped under the cover to escape instead of eating away at things like headrests & the underside of your cover. On nice days if I’m outside I just open mine up for a while especially if I haven’t used it that day.
Not sure if your ozone thingy may play a part in deterioration as well or if you can turn it down or anything. Ozone is an oxidizer. I’m sure the others will have some input soon.
Exactly What tub do you have?

We have a tub made by a local manufacturer called Spa Manufacturers. They’ve been around for about 40 years here. Not sure that we have the ability to adjust the ozonator, but I will ask.

 

[WaldenTW5]

WaldenTW5: I realize that your hot tub is 2 months old but I have to ask a question: Have you used a plumbing and jet cleaner purge product as yet? The yellowing/gold crusty looking film seems like it could be biofilm. If you use your finger to remove some is it sticky? Can you clean the ring off with a cloth and cleaner quite easily? My advice is to provide a good purge and drain to your hot tub. This will definitely help alleviate the uncertaintymas tomwhat is causing this problem.

Yes, we used Ahhsome and did a purge a few weeks ago. What you’re seeing is not biofilm, that yellow is the actual foam of the headrest. The gray is like a vinyl coating that has worn away at the seam.

 

[Methuselah]

Yes, we used Ahhsome and did a purge a few weeks ago. What you’re seeing is not biofilm, that yellow is the actual foam of the headrest. The gray is like a vinyl coating that has worn away at the seam.

Perhaps the cushions were defective?

With 40 years in business you might find reviews on them? Just a thought.

 

[WaldenTW5]

Perhaps the cushions were defective?

With 40 years in business you might find reviews on them? Just a thought.

They have wonderful reviews overall and that is why we went with them. I guess I could search specifically for reviews mentioning the cushions.

 

[phonedave]

So, we’ve only had our spa for 2 months and the coating on the pillows started to wear off at the seam area. The dealer said that was probably due to chemical issues in our water, but they went ahead and replaced them. I’ve been using the dichlor/bleach method and keep my FC at about 4, CYA is low 30s, pH occasionally goes up to 8, but I add MA to bring it down, and TA is 70. Do any of those numbers explain why this would happen? Thanks! (I leave the cover off of the spa for 15 minutes with the jets running after adding chemicals.)

That really does look like ozone / UV damage. Your numbers do not seem out of the ordinary in any way. Plastics behave in strange ways to certain chemicals. The headrest retention clips on Bullfrog headrests keep snapping. The part on the headrest itself, not the part on the spa. They are black plastic, but they turn grey and then snap. At this rate, I think it my justify buying a 3D printer to make new ones.

 

[WaldenTW5]

That really does look like ozone / UV damage. Your numbers do not seem out of the ordinary in any way. Plastics behave in strange ways to certain chemicals. The headrest retention clips on Bullfrog headrests keep snapping. The part on the headrest itself, not the part on the spa. They are black plastic, but they turn grey and then snap. At this rate, I think it my justify buying a 3D printer to make new ones.

Interesting. It shouldn’t be UV damage….we keep the cover on when not using and we have a pop up cabana over it, so it’s always shaded. The company replaced the headrests and the cover…the stitching on the cover was coming undone in a few areas. We only put one of the new headrests in and left the other 2 with the old ones on. We want to see if the new one starts to erode. We also doubled our “off-gassing” time with cover off after adding chemicals.

 

[Mdragger88]

Interesting. It shouldn’t be UV damage….we keep the cover on when not using and we have a pop up cabana over it, so it’s always shaded. The company replaced the headrests and the cover…the stitching on the cover was coming undone in a few areas. We only put one of the new headrests in and left the other 2 with the old ones on. We want to see if the new one starts to erode. We also doubled our “off-gassing” time with cover off after adding chemicals.

If your tub has uv it’s coming from the inside- not the sun, same with ozone.

 

[WaldenTW5]

If your tub has uv it’s coming from the inside- not the sun, same with ozone.

Hmm, they never said anything about uv….just ozone. Is that something that would go hand-in-hand with ozone, or is that separate?

 

[Mdragger88]

Hmm, they never said anything about uv….just ozone. Is that something that would go hand-in-hand with ozone, or is that separate?

It’s separate - its a light bulb/lamp thingy. It would be in the equipment compartment. If you had it they would have probably told you because it’s an “extra” they would have likely charged for.