Ahhsome and circ only cedar tub

[lissajeen]

I have an 8ft 48" tall cedar tub built by the previous owners of the house, and I'm realizing that the ionizer and MPS oxidizer combo we've been doing for the two years we've been here isn't actually the best approach.
We've drained and refilled a couple times and overall things have been pretty okay - a little slime here and there, but the water is as clear as you can tell in a cedar tub, but a few times of mildew smell. No skin irritation, etc. and my husband soaks sometimes several times a day.

I am just learning about ahhsome and I think it would be really useful to get us back to a fresh start so I can actually try to maintain the water properly - or as properly as I can with the precious little information available for cedar tub maintenance. I've been scared to use chlorine for fear of it pulping out the wood and ruining it forever (if anyone has input about this, particularly re: ideal balance and sanitizer info I'm all ears!)

The issue is we only have a circulating pump, so no jets outside of the return which isn't actually a jet. Will Ahhsome still work effectively this way, and is it safe to use on a cedar tub?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Hello Lissajeen: Excellent questions. First of all, I know Greenfield fairly well since we started in Northern Connecticut. Greenfield is a great area just like the billboard used to say when traveling up I 91. Ok, Ahh-Some gel works best when applied in warm or hot water and when water turbulence is maximized. Since you only have a circulating pump, it is not going to deliver the results that we would like. I recommend that you not make that purchase. Ahh-Some will not harm your cedar tub. We simply require agitation and higher turbulence for optimal performance. What you should use is our Aqua Clarity Concentrate. Aqua Clarity is a type of super concentrated Ahh-Some. This is an amazing product that is added weekly after you dilute it into a gallon container. The dosage is one ounce per 200 gallons weekly. You still need to use your sanitizer of choice along with this. The Aqua Clarity will keep biofilms at bay as well as provide you with the clearest water you have ever seen. Aqua Clarity will constantly seep into microscopic pores and flush out nasties continually. Initially, you may notice a few small discolored floaters that you wipe away or skim out of the water. After a few days this will not be an issue. Your husband will notice the better feel of the water as well after a month or so on the product. I really don't like to push our products on any forum as it appears as a sales presentation. However, since you essentially have a soaking tub without the bells and whistles I am compelled to give you the best advice I can offer. Be sure to read the directions for mixing and use. I guarantee that you will be thrilled with the results.

 

[Methuselah]

@lissajeen,

If you decide to try the Aqua Clarity I hope you will report back on the results in 3 to 6 months! It would be awesome to see how it does...

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Absolutely! It would be wonderful to get Lissajeen's review. No need to wait 6 months though. Yesterday, I purged and drained my 720 gallon hot tub after approximately 1 year. The purge revealed zero biofilms. Using the Aqua Clarity on a weekly basis has kept my plumbing and jets "whistle clean". It is so easy to use and extremely effective. I use chlorine and Aqua Clarity only.

 

[Krulligo]

Absolutely! It would be wonderful to get Lissajeen's review. No need to wait 6 months though. Yesterday, I purged and drained my 720 gallon hot tub after approximately 1 year. The purge revealed zero biofilms. Using the Aqua Clarity on a weekly basis has kept my plumbing and jets "whistle clean". It is so easy to use and extremely effective. I use chlorine and Aqua Clarity only.

Interested as well. Is Aqua Clarity compatible with the 2 step bromine sanitization method posted on this forum? Any history of it being an irritant to some individuals with sensitive skin?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Aqua Clarity works with all sanitizer programs Including the two step bromine program. We have never had any issues with the product being an irritant. Your bromine would be more of an irritant then the Aqua Clarity many times over when dosage instructions are followed. Many people on this forum use the product on a regular basis. I would ask them to add their review Here for you to read.

 

[RDspaguy]

Hi. I'm RD, and I'm a spa tech. I've been fixing for 26 years.
(Chorus) Hi RD!
Yeah, what he said.
I spent most of my career telling people not to use purge products, or anything that doesn't list it's active ingredients. When I started these forums I had a lengthy discussion with @Ahhsomeguy and made him a challenge, which he accepted immediately. Before and after pictures inside of the pipes on a plumbing repair. He shipped me a jar for free, express shipping.
Now, I use his products regularly. Every spa I flip gets ahhsome before it leaves. I don't keep them long enough to advise on aquaclarity, but I have no doubt it is just as effective as claimed and should be an excellent choice for a wood tub.
@Ahhsomeguy has earned my respect and his products my endorsement. Trust me, he's not here because he needs YOU to buy aquaclarity. He's here to help, and his advice is good, as usual.
Best of luck!

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Thank you RDspaguy: I am always somewhat reluctant to add my recommendation on any forum as it may look like a sales tactic. People think we work in concert to sell products. I want every reader to know that I always have and always will provide honest and reliable information on subjects where my input can help people. We all want forum readers to enjoy their hot tubs, swim spas and swimming pools without the maintenance hassle and high expense.

 

[mc2021]

I've been using ahhsome and aqua clarity since I got my tub in Oct 21. I use aqua clarity religiously every Sunday. I did a water exchange in Nov and did one today. I did an ahhsome purge prior to draining and there was zero greenish foam. Usually there is a little but not this time. It made the exchange so much easier since I didn't even try to blow out the lines or get that last inch of water.

Super happy with the product and will be using it every Sunday going forward.

 

[lissajeen]

Hello Lissajeen: Excellent questions. First of all, I know Greenfield fairly well since we started in Northern Connecticut. Greenfield is a great area just like the billboard used to say when traveling up I 91. Ok, Ahh-Some gel works best when applied in warm or hot water and when water turbulence is maximized. Since you only have a circulating pump, it is not going to deliver the results that we would like. I recommend that you not make that purchase. Ahh-Some will not harm your cedar tub. We simply require agitation and higher turbulence for optimal performance. What you should use is our Aqua Clarity Concentrate. Aqua Clarity is a type of super concentrated Ahh-Some. This is an amazing product that is added weekly after you dilute it into a gallon container. The dosage is one ounce per 200 gallons weekly. You still need to use your sanitizer of choice along with this. The Aqua Clarity will keep biofilms at bay as well as provide you with the clearest water you have ever seen. Aqua Clarity will constantly seep into microscopic pores and flush out nasties continually. Initially, you may notice a few small discolored floaters that you wipe away or skim out of the water. After a few days this will not be an issue. Your husband will notice the better feel of the water as well after a month or so on the product. I really don't like to push our products on any forum as it appears as a sales presentation. However, since you essentially have a soaking tub without the bells and whistles I am compelled to give you the best advice I can offer. Be sure to read the directions for mixing and use. I guarantee that you will be thrilled with the results.

Wow this is great info - thank you! (and hello from Greenfield!)
I'm looking forward to starting the Aqua Clarity - gonna order some today! I don't know that I'll have much impactful news to report afterward as I won't have the evidence from a purge, but I feel like I've heard enough endorsements of this product line to believe it will do what it says it will!
I wonder though, if it will still be able to clear out what gunk is there without the force of the turbulence. I'm assuming it may, just over a longer period of time? It seems like Aqua Clarity is meant to be more of a maintenance product. And just to clarify once more - this is still safe to use on a regular basis with a cedar tub?

I do have a Hot Springs tub that has been sitting unused for two years still waiting for the electric hookup to be trenched in, but when that is up and running you better believe I will be doing the most heavy-handed Ahh-Some application. I'm already looking forward to the foam that will inevitably come out of those jets!

 

[Newdude]

am always somewhat reluctant to add my recommendation on any forum as it may look like a sales tactic. People think we work in concert to sell products. I want every reader to know that I always have and always will provide honest and reliable information on subjects where my input can help people

I can attest that Ahhsomeguy always asks the user to come back and report their experience, in their own words, instead of his. As he did above yet again.

That speaks volumes in my book.

 

[Methuselah]

I used the Ahh-Some! product on my first, six-month purge. However, I also dosed heavy a few times swimming-pool style per what I recalled older recommendations from Ben Powel's site mostly, and got little to nothing out of the lines as far as dirty foaming so I'm believing that what's in the lines will die if the CHL concentration is high enough. Still, it did lower the chlorine demand after using it. Conclusion? There was still at least a little bit of stuff in there that was "shielded" (biofilm) from chlorination.

If (if, if, if) you ALWAYS keep up with a high enough sanitation level, I'd like to think it's a done deal at that point, but I have the product still left and will use it again. Do I need to? Well, I do have the metric of chlorine demand as an indicator but I'm going to say the jury is still out - just too soon to tell as far as I'm concerned. Am I a skeptic? Also too soon

I'm going to add here though, the BIG thing about sitting in an over-glorified bathtub and reusing the water for six months, that I firmly believe as do many here, that LESS IS MORE. Whatever you put in your water is what you are soaking in, period. So, Ahh-Some! to purge, my $.02 is that's a definite yes, especially initially. Aqua Clarity, well, I'm going to say I doubt I'd ever want to try it even if it were free because I just don't see a need to have anything in that water I don't have a clear need for. It's got CYA, CHL, MA, CA, and Borites in there, and I'm just not seeing a need for anything else.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say it seems improbable there have been zero incidents of aversion to the product. Everybody's different. Sure, it's gotta be minimal or you would hear about it here, but I'm just saying lets keep it real. That said, for anyone with a system that has less than a 100% chance that proper CHL sanitations levels will reach every nook and cranny of their system, Aqua Clarity could be a very good solution. I just won't advocate conjuring up a problem that doesn't exist to suite said resolution...

 

[Mdragger88]

Absolutely! It would be wonderful to get Lissajeen's review. No need to wait 6 months though. Yesterday, I purged and drained my 720 gallon hot tub after approximately 1 year. The purge revealed zero biofilms. Using the Aqua Clarity on a weekly basis has kept my plumbing and jets "whistle clean". It is so easy to use and extremely effective. I use chlorine and Aqua Clarity only.

My last several purges have also been completely clean since using the AQ. It really helps combat those biofims!

 

[lissajeen]

I used the Ahh-Some! product on my first, six-month purge. However, I also dosed heavy a few times swimming-pool style per what I recalled older recommendations from Ben Powel's site mostly, and got little to nothing out of the lines as far as dirty foaming so I'm believing that what's in the lines will die if the CHL concentration is high enough. Still, it did lower the chlorine demand after using it. Conclusion? There was still at least a little bit of stuff in there that was "shielded" (biofilm) from chlorination.

If (if, if, if) you ALWAYS keep up with a high enough sanitation level, I'd like to think it's a done deal at that point, but I have the product still left and will use it again. Do I need to? Well, I do have the metric of chlorine demand as an indicator but I'm going to say the jury is still out - just too soon to tell as far as I'm concerned. Am I a skeptic? Also too soon

I'm going to add here though, the BIG thing about sitting in an over-glorified bathtub and reusing the water for six months, that I firmly believe as do many here, that LESS IS MORE. Whatever you put in your water is what you are soaking in, period. So, Ahh-Some! to purge, my $.02 is that's a definite yes, especially initially. Aqua Clarity, well, I'm going to say I doubt I'd ever want to try it even if it were free because I just don't see a need to have anything in that water I don't have a clear need for. It's got CYA, CHL, MA, CA, and Borites in there, and I'm just not seeing a need for anything else.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say it seems improbable there have been zero incidents of aversion to the product. Everybody's different. Sure, it's gotta be minimal or you would hear about it here, but I'm just saying lets keep it real. That said, for anyone with a system that has less than a 100% chance that proper CHL sanitations levels will reach every nook and cranny of their system, Aqua Clarity could be a very good solution. I just won't advocate conjuring up a problem that doesn't exist to suite said resolution...

I wholeheartedly agree with the less is more theory. I was pumped when the previous owner said that the ionizer basically was set it and forget it and all you had to do was add a little MPS once a week. Seemed dreamy!

Now I'm learning that it isn't actually very safe/effective. I finally got a copper test kit and learned the copper levels were very low, so a different approach is required!

I'd prefer to just use Ahh-Some on purges before a drain and refill, but because my cedar tub doesn't have jets I can't get the full advantage of it. I think because of my setup then the AC is pretty much my option. And I'm grateful there is an option!

 

[Newdude]

I was pumped when the previous owner said that the ionizer basically was set it and forget it and all you had to do was add a little MPS once a week. Seemed dreamy!

Now I'm learning that it isn't actually very safe/effective.

Ignorance is bliss, they say.

 

[Methuselah]

I wholeheartedly agree with the less is more theory. I was pumped when the previous owner said that the ionizer basically was set it and forget it and all you had to do was add a little MPS once a week. Seemed dreamy!

Now I'm learning that it isn't actually very safe/effective. I finally got a copper test kit and learned the copper levels were very low, so a different approach is required!

I'd prefer to just use Ahh-Some on purges before a drain and refill, but because my cedar tub doesn't have jets I can't get the full advantage of it. I think because of my setup then the AC is pretty much my option. And I'm grateful there is an option!

The one time I don't go back and re-read the entire thread, oh boy ... yes, yes, yes, you have EXACTLY the kind of situation that demands thinking outside the box. I forgot the thread pertained to a cedar tub!

My comment was directed to a plumbed system (i.e. inside a hot tub), but that's not quite relevant to your situation, my apologies!!!

I still think less is more, but I also think the Aqua Clarity could be helpful. To use Ahh-Some! I'm not sure since agitation seems to be key in most mentions of it I have no idea how it plays in.

Here's what I recently found someone had done that needed to aerate (again, not sure it's required)

While I stand by my (misplaced) comments, they are obviously not much help in resolving your situation - however, having no rashes in two years of use is a positive note even if the smell of mildew obviously demands concern...

Now, I'm REALLY hoping to find out if the Aqua Clarity turns out to be a solution to the slime issue, I'm actually betting it will be!

P.S. You mentioned an ionizer. Just be aware if that was capable of keeping up sanitation requirements (along with bromine and MPS), it might be subject to failure, and I'm not sure you would have any way of testing to see if it was working or as effective as when it was installed.

 

[lissajeen]

I know there is very little information about this topic - I've been looking for days without a clear answer. But does anyone know or have references for what the ideal chemical balance is for a cedar tub? I've obviously seen all the recommendations for regular hot tubs but I'm not sure how relevant they are.

I'm currently trying to switch sanitizer methods from a (previously unknown) non-functioning ionizer/MPS to likely dichlor/bleach for now while I figure out what makes most sense for longer term. But I want to make sure I'm approaching things the right way and not gonna severely mess up the tub in the process.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Texas Splash]

I'm not quite sure on the best approach either. Perhaps we can see if @Donldson might have some experience to share?

 

[Donldson]

Sorry, I'm not much help here. Most cedar tubs appear to be what you found: "natural" systems that prevent algae but do little to sanitize the water (especially concerning in a hot tub!). But I can't really find any reference as to whether this is only because the people who manufacture cedar tubs have a financial incentive to push the systems (they do), or if cedar is particularly susceptible to damage by halogens.

Personally I wouldn't use a tub that wasn't properly sanitized, so if I were in this situation I'd just follow the chlorine approach as the strength is well regulated by CYA. If it damaged the tub I'd have to replace it, but since I'd replace it if I couldn't sanitize the water it would be worth the shot. But that's just opinion. Sorry I don't have more solid information.

 

[lissajeen]

Sorry, I'm not much help here. Most cedar tubs appear to be what you found: "natural" systems that prevent algae but do little to sanitize the water (especially concerning in a hot tub!). But I can't really find any reference as to whether this is only because the people who manufacture cedar tubs have a financial incentive to push the systems (they do), or if cedar is particularly susceptible to damage by halogens.

Personally I wouldn't use a tub that wasn't properly sanitized, so if I were in this situation I'd just follow the chlorine approach as the strength is well regulated by CYA. If it damaged the tub I'd have to replace it, but since I'd replace it if I couldn't sanitize the water it would be worth the shot. But that's just opinion. Sorry I don't have more solid information.

Thanks for your input! I'm trying (hoping?) to find some convincing evidence that shows ionizers that have silver, copper and zinc actually can offer some sanitizing benefits. I do know that cedar is susceptible to damage from halogens, as too much can turn the wood pulpy and requires sanding before it's useable again.

I don't mind using a bit of halogen especially to handle occasional heavy bather loads, but I'd really love to cut down the usage as much as possible.
It's built into the deck, so I'd be really great if I can keep it around. Replacing it sounds like more of a nightmare than trying to figure out how to sanitize it!