After hot tub body stink

[aeramsay]

We have a « new to us » hot tub. It has been filled and emptied twice, with a purge one of those times, then refilled for use.

The water is crystal clear, the Ph and alkalinity are set correctly. The hot tub doesn’t smell during use, other than the odd waft of chlorine.
We are using Smarter Spa salt water chlorinator.
Ph 7.4-7.8
Alkalinity 90-110
Chlorine varies but chlorinator is working
Borax is about 50ppm (those unreadable strips!)
When we get out, our bodies, bathing suit and towels reek of something. It is not chlorine. The best word is funky, not quite musty, not quite moldy. It drives my allergies wild. Our salt water pool doesn’t bother me at all. The smell clings to the bathing suits and is almost impossible to wash out. The smell on our skin is equally impossible to wash off. I’ve tried lemon juice, vinegar, vitamin C, different soaps, putting hand lotion on before the hot tub, showering before the hot tub. Nothing works. We have tried chlorine shock and oxi shock

We are about to empty and refill the hot tub but I’m not confident it will solve the issue. Any suggestions?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Did you use Ahh-some to purge the tub?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

And do you have and CYA in the water?

 

[aeramsay]

We do, based on the pool calculator but my Taylor kit is out of CYA tester. Would that affect the odour? It doesn’t in a pool

 

[aeramsay]

Did you use Ahh-some to purge the tub?

I used Spa Purge

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I suggest you use the current water with Ahh-some to purge your tub. Ahh-some is by far the most effective hit tub plumbing purge you will find and many hot tub owners will attest to its performance. A used hot tub with unknown history can have some seriously nasty biofilm build up. Chlorine is ineffective against biofilms once they form and grow.

I also suggest you follow the dichlor-then-bleach hot tub startup and run method as outlined in the sticky at the top of this subforum. You also need to get a fully operational test kit with reagents that are fresh.

Also make sure your filter cartridge is new.

When using the tub, you need to be certain that your clothes are properly washed and rinsed to remove all soap residues. Hair products like shampoos and conditioners can leave residues behind that can foul up tub water. Also, if anyone uses body lotions regularly, they need to shower off before getting in the tub. The less you bring into the hot tub, the less likely there is something left behind to react with your sanitizer and foul up the water.

 

[Arizonarob]

Everything you are describing is evidence to a biofilm buildup in your tub. Your allergies are telling you that something is wrong. I would stop using the tub until you can get this problem corrected.
Matt has advised you on getting a proper test kit with fresh regents, and most importantly, purging the tub (at least once if not twice) using Ahh-some. Once you purge the tub with the correct product, you’ll be able to properly balance the water and enjoy your tub.

 

[aeramsay]

I will get some ahhsome and go from there. Not sure how long that will take in lockdown!

Thank you. I will provide an update when we have given it a try

 

[kimkats]

Here is a link to a thread that shows the good work ahh some does:

Ahh-some goes head to head with oh yuk

Greetings and biofilm solutions to everyone . I have just completed a head to head shootout between ahh- some and a "new to me" purge product called "oh yuk". You may recall that I performed a series of experiments a few years back and found that ahh-some handily beat out a few other...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[aeramsay]

The Ahh-some arrived. While it only produced a small ring around the top of the water, it seems to have tamed the odour. There is still a faint whiff on the bathing suits that no one else can smell, and no odour on me. Hopefully it will disappear with another purge but the weather is too cold to be playing with water comfortably (0F). We are also using less chlorine, more in line with what I expected to use. Thanks for the help

 

[PopcornSally]

What you describe reminds me so much of the problem we had for years with our front-loading washing machine. Clothes REAKED like mildew even right after being washed. We always left the door open (and we live in AZ where it is very dry), ran hot water with bleach, vinegar, washing machine cleaner etc. but all experiments only helped temporarily.

Finally, I came across the advice not to use liquid detergent but instead use good old-fashioned powdered kind. That fixed the problem in one wash load. The smell was apparently from a disgusting biofilm/mold/mildew on the inner drum that formed from some component of liquid detergent.

My point is that as long as the smell is still there, you might want to keep purging your hot tub because I bet that biofilm is still there.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Popcorn Sally has brought up a very serious issue regarding Washing Machine biofilms and bio-fouling malodors.
With the advent of the very popular Hi-E washers many homeowners are noticing that their laundry has a definite "non clean" aroma. This can be especially noticeable with towels or larger items being washed. I do not want to get into the scientific studies that have been performed regarding these issues but suffice is to say that you may want to look these up to read what can be "left-over" after you think you have done a perfect load. They are available for your perusal. This forum has always placed the Ahh-Some Purge Product as the top recommended choice. Thank You. What many people may not realize is that there is an Ahh-Some product for cleaning those washing machines of bio-contaminants and their drain lines. The formulation is engineered to work expeditiously at removing and flushing mold, mildew, fungus and many other types of nasty smelly organic wastes from the vessel. The industry realizes that these Hi-E machines can be responsible for what is called the "fungal jungle".
Ahh-Some provides a very quick and inexpensive cleanse. With this cleaner, the issues are removed and not just masked as many other very popular deodorizer products may do. Same thing applies to dishwashers as well.
Hate to make this sound like an advertisement and it is not meant to be. It is just that there are so many millions of appliances that are in drastic need of a good purge.