Into the slime

[tallwater]

Hi - I'm from Seattle. I'm getting ready to do a once-a-year flush of my 4-year-old tub. I normally use SeaKlear but I'm all out. A few google searches led me to the strangely named but apparently effective "Ahh-Some," which is mentioned in more than a few posts on this site. Generally I have no problems at all keeping the spa balanced, but I have started to notice some of the hoses I'm able to see from the service hatch are turning a bit white/cloudy. It seems like i've got nothing to lose with an Ah-some treatment so that's probably my next step before we start getting any freezing weather. Thanks for a great site!

PS -- just thought of a question I've been meaning to ask. I normally use the tub in soaker mode. I almost never turn on the jets beyond the standard circulation and heat cycles. Is this going to increase my chances of nasties building up in hoses and jets or does it matter?

Cheers and thanks for having me!

 

[tallwater]

Replying to my own post .... Sorry if this was rather vague ... it was originally a post at "Introduce Yourself" but got moved here. Anyway. Hi. I'm glad to be here.

 

[Newdude]

Welcome Tallwater. I got Ahhsome after reading about it here a few months ago. My hot tub had been winterized for several years and when I fired it up it was overheating. With no other error codes the most likely cause was too much gunk in the lines and when the water passed through the heater at a much slower rate it became too hot. It worked very well. I didn’t have the handfuls of gunk come out like most of the testimonials, but each drain/fill/run again cycle produced a bunch of nasty oily foam. It took a week with a couple of cycles a day until it was clear. And no more overheating. I was very happy with it working as promised. They make a few different kinds. I used the one for the plumbing. That’s probably the one you want. You only use a teaspoon at a time depending on your gallons so the small (2 oz ?) one is probably plenty.

 

[tallwater]

Welcome Tallwater.

Thank you!

It took a week with a couple of cycles a day until it was clear. And no more overheating. I was very happy with it working as promised. They make a few different kinds. I used the one for the plumbing. That’s probably the one you want. You only use a teaspoon at a time depending on your gallons so the small (2 oz ?) one is probably plenty.

I actually did the flush last night. Strangely, almost *nothing* came out. It produced tons of foam, which if you examine closely, has some light gunk on it in spots, but otherwise no deposits on the tub. I had used SeaKlear a year or so ago and got more (basically a thin deposit line). Does this mean my tub is in great shape and I'm done or do I have to keep pumping water and Ahh-some through it until I get something?

Is it possible that SWG tubs don't build up as much slime because of the salt? Curious....

 

[Newdude]

The ahhhsome said it may take a few cycles to loosen enough to then get a messy one. Or it’s already clean. Salt/chlorine wouldn’t matter. It’s body oils, sweat and laundry detergent from your bathing suit.

..... dead skin, spilt margaritas, residual shampoo from your hair. All the stuff that’s just nasty. Blech.

 

[tallwater]

..... spilt margaritas

So *that's* what I'm doing wrong? Need more margs in the tub, pronto! ;-)