Ahh-some question?

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outatime

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Apr 6, 2015
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Davenport
Hi Guys

So recently learned about Ahh-some, never heard of it before but I have owned my hot tub since 2008 and it was a used tub when I bought it, its a 2005 Caldera Elation Utopia 500 gallons so I was a little worried about what was going to come out of it and each time I am getting the green think build up of greasy sludge around the edge of tub. So I am on my 3rd flush of using Ahh-some right now and each time have emptied it but at 500g a time I am starting to get a little tired of doing it...seems like a lifetime to empty it.

Do I really need to empty it each time, I defoam it and wipe out the build up but anyway between treatments to save time? Obviosly the final treatment will be full cleaned out but I feel like I am going to be doing this clean several more times before I am done. Hopefully the sludge will stop sometime....I hope !

Thanks

Stu
 
Agree with Danny, if your tub's drain is too slow, use a sump pump. Even a small 1/4HP pump can move upwards of 25GPM if the discharge hose is large enough and they only cost about $30 to buy.

As for your green slime issue, let me ask you this - are you using the correct amount of Ahh-Some? And by correct amount, I mean you're not overdoing it and adding more than the manufacturer suggests?

The reason why I ask is because adding too much Ahh-Some can sometimes cause lots of excess foaming and look like there's lots of gunk in the hot tub. If that's not the case and you truly are getting lots of nasty pink out of the pipes, it could just be really dirty plumbing especially since it is a 12 year old used tub....there's no telling what the previous owners used in it.

If you plan to do another Ahh-some run, I would make sure you either suck out all the water in the lines using a shop-vac or use an air compressor on low pressure to slow out the lines. Get as much of the treated water out of the tub's plumbing lines as you can. I don't know how easily accessible the interior of the tub's plumbing is, but I would perhaps open it up and see if there are any ways to drain the lines out in case there's just stagnant areas in the plumbing.

Let us know how it goes.
 
good advice here. btw, the foam produced by over-dosing with ahh-some could be a nuisance, to be sure, but it is a pure white foam and easily distinguished from contamination, in color and/or texture.

Second the motion re: the pump and multiple Ahh-some doses to correct a known problem ESPECIALLY for a used spa. my spa was brand new from the factory, delivered with active biofilms and it took me several purges to get it right. you just have to power through! my spa takes a good 8 hours to drain so I just had to be patient. btw you don't have to balance/heat water before dosing again. my (long) story is here: Zenfolio | Photos by Boise Diesel | Controling biofilms in spas and hot tubs - PART 1
. I highly recommend purging again and again until you get no more material release.

Also -- just from my experience there's certainly nothing wrong with a complete drain and even blowing out lines and all of that (for a complete rinse), but it turns out that except for the nuisance factor (foam) there's really no harm in trace amounts of ahh-some in the water. I dosed my spa deliberately with very small concentrations just to see what would happen -- what I discovered was an improvement in sanitizer decay rate and that the water had a higher tolerance for neglect such as low sanitizer levels. So don't be afraid a little ahh-some in the water -- let the amount of foam be your measure of success.

"Do I really need to empty it each time?" yes. this insures that whatever ahh-some released will get dumped out the drain. you can then fill her up again, dose with ahh-some and repeat until you get no more material release. the above blog shows photographically what pure white ahh-some foam looks like
 
5k gallons later, 10 oz of Ahh Some and still no end in sight :( Getting really despondent now, tried all sorts like leaving it in over night for a good soak and its still having brown foam on top each time. I got the sump pump which has helped empty it faster. I am climbing inside the tub wiping it down also. Starting to think ignorance is bliss!
 
Have you tried calling Ahh-some technical support on this? They may have a good idea on how to speed this up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
just to keep perspective, I have coached others through as many as 10 purges, and based on my own experience with a brand new spa delivered with biofilm contamination, I would suggest that multiple purges in a a used spa would not surprise me. I like the suggestion to call ahh-some and discuss this. it may be that an overnight soak (instead of accelerating the process by pumping) may allow the product to work. I didn't have a pump, so all of my work utilized overnight soaks and the slow drain process. Given your experience to date I would be inclined to allow for more pump time and soak time. drain, fill, and dose again! just be sure that your source water is in good shape.

I have actually encountered the argument that ahh-some itself introduces contaminants just for visual effect, which is patently false. you gotta power through, and frankly had I not powered through myself I would have the confidence to recommend it. you got bad guys in your spa and ahh-some is the most effective product to use, that I am aware of.
 
connordavidson587 said:
Thanks for all the great tips. Been thinking about this since i purchased a hot tub.
Click to expand...

Stick with it until you at least get down to an extreme minimal amount of random brown discharge or faint line. I went through 10 flushes - and it paid off. I ended up using 2oz of ahh-some in 128oz of water as a maintenance solution when I was struggling. I have a Jacuzzi J-340 tub. My water turned yellow green (the entire story is on this forum). Owner of Ahh-Some said to add 4oz of solution once a week for 6 weeks. When I did my flush and refill after that the water was amazingly clear. Now he says to add 2oz / week as a maintenance dose. This will do micro purges and keep things clean. So far, water is still great!

Highly recommend.
 
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