Major usage question

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dunginhawk

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Jul 10, 2018
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CLIVE/IA
So for the first time since Nov when we filled the tub for the first time I had a group of people in the hot tub for a LONG time. 4 Women for about 3 hours. Booze, etc..all that fun ness. They had a blast, so yay for them.
Before I went to bed I put in about 8oz of bleach just to get me through til morning when I could assess the dmg.
Lots of oils etc.
So what is the proper procedure for getting the tub back in shape after something like this?
I obviously didnt do it right because a few days later I noticed my FC was at zero. Not bad enough to have gone bad, but obviously not ideal.
Would you guys/gals have added 3-4oz of bleach , run pumps for 15 mins, check FC, repeat until FC is stable? Whats the process in that case?

I made the mistake of using non chlorine shock, which always messes with the readings etc. Wont do that again...
thoughts on what you might do?
thanks
 
Non chlorine shock is an oxidizer, not a sanitizer. You said you used bleach first, but then you said you used non chlorine shock. Which did you use? You would not get a FC reading by using non chlorine shock. Always use bleach.
 
Holy cow... just tossed in some clarifier and wow... LOTS of gunk... my guess is those ladies produced a LOT more gunk than I previously thought... so I guess ill continue to clean it up :)

this brings up something.. so when I run clarifier and get that gunk out, shouldnt the filters get that? all it does in my tub is gather on the sides and I have to repeatedly wipe it down with paper towels until its gone.
Seems like the filter should be pulling that down through the filter. I realize if the water level is too high than that can be counter productive, but right now its about 2 inches below the top. should be fine.
EDIT . without aeration on the water is going in filters FAST and furious... i didnt realize aeration had such an adverse affect on that... but i guess it makes sense... there is technically a lot less water moving through the lines when aeration is on.

I also just noticed a small leak from the side of the cabinet... Opened it up and the bottom of my SWG was spraying (not much)... im soaking it in acid now... it was fairly obsctructed, but not fully. wondering why an SWG would need cleaning after only 6 months of use.
 
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So after all this, it appears the following worked.
1. clean the swg cell may have allowed for more water flow, or at least better salt prod.
2. turn off aeration so pumps can push more water through filters, worked well.
3. two doses of clarifier gathered all the gunk up and I wiped it down, and out of filters.

Tubs back to pristine :) I just need to make sure im more on top of it next time we have a big party.
 
Sounds like you did things right in the end.

Any time you have a big load in your tub you need to be vigilant about staying on top of it very soon after the party. Ladies tend to wear more oils, lotions, etc. on their skin as a rule than men do, so they tend to affect the tub more.

As for the swcg cell, they can require cleaning in as little as 3 months, depending on the makeup of your water.
 
Do you mind summarizing the steps to clean up after a heave bather load? This totally hosed me on my first water fill in my tub - after a couple of big groups of teenagers in the water I never could get it clean. On my second fill now and the water is perfect, like to avoid the same problem this time if possible.
 

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Well, i imagine every tub is a bit different in how its filters and pumps work. But for me what I would do next time.

1. Gross calculation of bather load. 4 women, 3 hours (7ppm per person per hour = 84ppm of FC needed). Id cut that easily in half. To start. So I would probably add 20oz of bleach.
2. Id add a double dose of Clarifier (i think this is where I really went wrong). The Crud is in the tub, but if the filter cant grab it, it just sits there... So Double the clarifier.
3. Turn off aeration temporarily and run pumps all out for an hour or two. My pumps pushed more water (and thus more gunk) down the filter baskets without aeration, thats something maybe ur tub doesnt have an issue with).
4. Keep testing FC , if it drops below 5, add more. I dont necessarily need to slam it after this, but maintaining a good level makes sure that all the last bits get sanitized.

Not sure its much more than that, for me anyway. I was in last night and my tub has never been clearer
 
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