How to clean empty spa?

[mbeezie]

Moved into a home with a spa. I'd like to drain and scrub it. what's the best way to scrub? I have a submersible pump to help me drain it, but not sure what to use once it is empty. It's a ~450 gallon Caldera Aspire tub from like 10 years ago. The old owners used bromine to sanitize it, if that matters.

Thanks!

 

[RDspaguy]

Ahhsome spa jet cleaner BEFORE you drain it. Follow the instructions or read one of the many threads about it. Search "ahhsome" or "biofilm".

 

[mbeezie]

thanks!

 

[jseyfert3]

Second the Ahh-some before draining. The spa that came with our house had a ton of gunk come out when I purged it. When purging add recommended amount and run for 30 minutes or so. Wipe up most of the junk, add half the recommended amount and run jets for another 30 minutes. If you get a lot out the second time you can consider a 3rd purge, otherwise drain.

Once you've purged and drained add about 1/4 tsp of Ahh-some in a spray bottle and dissolve in hot water. Spray this on your shell as a cleaner to wipe up any leftover bits of junk. Then let us know if you have any questions on maintaining the water. Spa & Hot Tub Maintenance A Basic Guide - Trouble Free Pool

 

[mbeezie]

Thank you so much for the tip. I have been so invested in the pool we have that the Spa has been neglected. i appreciate it

 

[mbeezie]

Second the Ahh-some before draining. The spa that came with our house had a ton of gunk come out when I purged it. When purging add recommended amount and run for 30 minutes or so. Wipe up most of the junk, add half the recommended amount and run jets for another 30 minutes. If you get a lot out the second time you can consider a 3rd purge, otherwise drain.

Once you've purged and drained add about 1/4 tsp of Ahh-some in a spray bottle and dissolve in hot water. Spray this on your shell as a cleaner to wipe up any leftover bits of junk. Then let us know if you have any questions on maintaining the water. Spa & Hot Tub Maintenance A Basic Guide - Trouble Free Pool

Well that was...revealing. I don't think this spa has been de-gunked in the 15 years it has been here!

it took four purges to get 'no more gunk' at the water line. I was able to wipe most of it out each time, but there is a crusty, adhered film to the waterline of this gunk still in the shell.

I have covered the spa for now, but will go back in there later today to thoroughly clean the shell. Do you think the spray bottle with a bit of Ahh-some will be enough to scrub this stuff away? Or do you have any other tips? It seems to be really caked on there!

I've read using diluted bleach, white vinegar, and Mr Clean magic erasers can help with this. What do you suggest?

 

[jseyfert3]

Try to do it earlier rather than later. I’d start with the Ahh-Some in a spray bottle, but I haven’t tried the other options either.

 

[RDspaguy]

Maybe @Ahhsomeguy has a suggestion.

 

[5tan]

I would use a teaspoon of Ahhsome gel dissolved with hot water in a small bucket, then soak a good microfibre cloth in it and scrub the water line. This is what I did to clean the waterline throughout the purge, and had no problems with any waterline buildup.

A good microfibre is the kind where you can feel the fibres grab your skin and it can easily clean a dirty mirror with a few swipes when dampened with just plain water. I would NOT use a Magic Eraser as they are extremely abrasive.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Hello again: What should help for stubborn waterline stains would be to mix some baking soda and water into a paste. Rub this on the affected area and let it stand for 10 minutes or so. Now, take a rag soaked in vinegar and rub where the baking soda has been placed. See if this helps. If it does get much of the stain you can do this process repeatedly until it is gone. The Ahh-Some gel diluted in water should also be a great cleaner for the task. Spray this dilution on the underside of the spa cover periodically to get rid of the stickies and the not so sweet odors that rise up when you lift the cover off the tub. Many hot tub users spray the area above the waterline with our product quickly after each use to grab all the contaminants that may adhere and cause a stink.

 

[mbeezie]

Thanks for all the tips!

The spray bottle with just a bit of Ahh-some dissolved in warm water worked great. took some elbow grease and a couple of rolls of paper towels, but now it's all squeaky clean!

I'm hoping that between the deep clean, replacing the filter, and replacing the temperature sensor i will be able to run this tub for more than a few days without having it shut off on me. All signs pointed to it either getting too hot and turning itself off or the sensor being bad and thinking it was too hot and turning the tub off. I hope it's the latter!

 

[RDspaguy]

All signs pointed to it either getting too hot and turning itself off or the sensor being bad and thinking it was too hot and turning the tub off. I hope it's the latter!

What signs, exactly?
If it's still not heating let us know.

 

[mbeezie]

Sorry, that was incredibly vague. We moved into a home with a 15 year old tub last year. I don't know anything about hot tubs (never owned one before, probably been in one less than a handful of times in my life).

It heats great, and seems to work fine when it's actually running. it's just that every few days, sometimes a week or two, i would go out there to find the tub off (circulating pump running only) and four dashes on the display that should display the temp " - - - - "

I looked up the tub's manual and one of the causes is the hi temp limit was reached which causes the tub to shut down. So i'd have to go out every so often and turn off the breaker and turn it back on to get the tub working again. This of course loses some heat, though, and the chemicals would get out of balance if i didn't check it often enough. Basically when we would go to use it every few weeks, we'd find the heater off, the chemicals out of balance, and it would take a day to get everything right again and by that time we didn't want to go in.

It never seemed like the water was too warm, so i felt it could just be a problem with the sensor. I replaced it yesterday (ordered one for $30 from the internet after several Spa companies around here told me my tub was too old to service, and wouldn't give me any advice just over the phone) and i'm hoping it fixes the issue.

I read that those probes are not meant to be kept in colder conditions. When we moved in, the four dashes were already flashing, and it's 15 years old (we live in the northeast). I'm hoping that at some point they just left it out in the cold too long and the $30 sensor got damaged, and that's that.

 

[mbeezie]

Also, meant to attach this pic to an earlier post. Nice and clean!

 

[RDspaguy]

So, you have a Caldera spa by Watkins manufacturing. It uses an IQ2020 control system, just like a Hot Springs. It is not to old for anything, since they still use a variation of the same controls today. But they are proprietary controls and different from any others out there, so many places will not work on them because they don't know how (or maybe they know better ).
If it still doesn't heat post pics of the circuit board and equipment.
I aways recommend replacing both sensors at the same time.
The overheat is not in the spa, just the heater, and is likely to be a flow problem (water moving too slowly through the heater). This could be the filter or faulty sensors, but could also be the circulation pump, pressure switch, relay board, or main board.

 

[mbeezie]

So, you have a Caldera spa by Watkins manufacturing. It uses an IQ2020 control system, just like a Hot Springs. It is not to old for anything, since they still use a variation of the same controls today. But they are proprietary controls and different from any others out there, so many places will not work on them because they don't know how (or maybe they know better ).
If it still doesn't heat post pics of the circuit board and equipment.
I aways recommend replacing both sensors at the same time.
The overheat is not in the spa, just the heater, and is likely to be a flow problem (water moving too slowly through the heater). This could be the filter or faulty sensors, but could also be the circulation pump, pressure switch, relay board, or main board.

interesting!! thanks for the info.

So i went ahead and replaced this: CALDERA SPA THERMISTOR, TEMP. CONTROL 2002+ #72493

i was hoping this was the bad sensor. are you saying i am not even close to fixing the potential problem?

 

[mbeezie]

well Crud, just went out there and was greeted by the four flashing dashes. the new sensor didn’t fix it

I will start a new thread