White Mold issues

[rarak69]

So I believe I have determined a white mold issues in my 400 gal sundance spa. Chlorine system. Has clearray. I use granular daily as needed and check and keep my levels pretty on point most of the time. This is a daily effort though and my schedule leaves some days at a time without ability to tend to the spa.

We tried "Frog ease", well my wife found it an bought it, which worked relatively well, but white mold came back again hard.

I just did a high level of chlorine for around 4 hours to hopefully wipe it out, drained, cleaned by hand, refilled enough to get jets under and did a 2nd high chlorine clean session. Drained it all and started over.

This appeared to work for about 3 weeks and back to the same game. I have ditched the frog ease system this time and went back to daily dose work as i had no away time planned. 3 weeks later its cloudy, but no flakes. All levels look good, and have stayed good in my spa(Using Taylor test system, not strips). Just go off their "Spa" Guidelines for my balance. I have cycled my filters once per week at this time as well thinking it needed to grab some residuals that are breaking up. I clean my filters with a filter cleaner every time and dry in the sun.

I ordered the Ahhsome that most appear to agree with is a great tool for a proper clean out. I think ill give it two treatments at this time. I ordered a new filter as well and will toss the old one just in case theres some sort of white mold growing in there.

Any thoughts on something additional to do? This spa is used about 5 days a week consistently in the evenings, i usually toss a little granular in afterwards every use (Tablespoons worth). When im out of town, it always zero's out though and causes issues. Any thoughts on using a floater and 1" tabs when im in this situation to keep it sanitized?

 

[Bperry]

So I believe I have determined a white mold issues in my 400 gal sundance spa. Chlorine system. Has clearray. I use granular daily as needed and check and keep my levels pretty on point most of the time. This is a daily effort though and my schedule leaves some days at a time without ability to tend to the spa.

We tried "Frog ease", well my wife found it an bought it, which worked relatively well, but white mold came back again hard.

I just did a high level of chlorine for around 4 hours to hopefully wipe it out, drained, cleaned by hand, refilled enough to get jets under and did a 2nd high chlorine clean session. Drained it all and started over.

This appeared to work for about 3 weeks and back to the same game. I have ditched the frog ease system this time and went back to daily dose work as i had no away time planned. 3 weeks later its cloudy, but no flakes. All levels look good, and have stayed good in my spa(Using Taylor test system, not strips). Just go off their "Spa" Guidelines for my balance. I have cycled my filters once per week at this time as well thinking it needed to grab some residuals that are breaking up. I clean my filters with a filter cleaner every time and dry in the sun.

I ordered the Ahhsome that most appear to agree with is a great tool for a proper clean out. I think ill give it two treatments at this time. I ordered a new filter as well and will toss the old one just in case theres some sort of white mold growing in there.

Any thoughts on something additional to do? This spa is used about 5 days a week consistently in the evenings, i usually toss a little granular in afterwards every use (Tablespoons worth). When im out of town, it always zero's out though and causes issues. Any thoughts on using a floater and 1" tabs when im in this situation to keep it sanitized?

post some test results from the Taylor kit? Also good to explain in more detail what you mean by “granular”. Both MPS and dichlor are granular.

 

[Mdragger88]

If you’re only using dichlor to chlorinate with your cya is likely off the charts & very little sanitizing/disinfecting is occurring.
See —-> FC/CYA Levels
Mps is not a sanitizer- it is only an oxidizer.
The answer is to use Ahhsome (you may need several rounds of purging- you don’t need to drain in between)
Then follow this guide

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

Here’s the effects of each tablespoon of dichlor in your tub

You can see how after several uses your cya would at the recommended level of 30ppm.

 

[rarak69]

I am using Dichlor, "Spa" specific, but whatever that means.

I just threw in 2oz of MPS this morning, so I will test a little later this afternoon and see where im at.

Honestly, i have not watched the CYA levels AT ALL, i was under impression the "SPA Chlorines" dont have CYA in it like swimming pool pucks, etc. To be fair im coming from a pool owner to a spa owner, so maybe i missed this in learning curve.

Im 3 weeks into this water at this time, so we will see hopfully something simple like CYA through the roof and explains the ongoing issues.

 

[Bperry]

I am using Dichlor, "Spa" specific, but whatever that means.

I just threw in 2oz of MPS this morning, so I will test a little later this afternoon and see where im at.

Honestly, i have not watched the CYA levels AT ALL, i was under impression the "SPA Chlorines" dont have CYA in it like swimming pool pucks, etc. To be fair im coming from a pool owner to a spa owner, so maybe i missed this in learning curve.

Im 3 weeks into this water at this time, so we will see hopfully something simple like CYA through the roof and explains the ongoing issues.

Be careful with the MPS as it can cause other problems.

 

[rarak69]

Ok waited about 4 hours since the MPS.

Using my Taylor K-1004 kit

FC: .5 - 1
TC: 5+ - My kit only reads to 5, looked a little darker than the 5
PH: 7.5-7.6
Alk: 80ppm

Since my "White mold" issue, the Alk has really been dropping frequently as well it seems. I have been adding a bit of baking soda(.5oz) to the tub every 3-4 days. Its not dropping hard and fast, but just a bit more maintenance than typically expected. The PH falls in spec after that dosage as well.


To add to this, my TC levels yesterday were still 5+ range. MPS did not appear to do anything today. This is really why i came here im stuck. Other than to drain again(Just did 3 weeks ago). and try the ahhsome stuff, twice before draining again to really hopefully knock out any residuals of the white mold.

I read white mold can come from leaving a tub empty over some days? This is exactly what we did last cleaning, was empty for 2 days while i got time to deep clean things inside between changes. Usually i try to do it in one shot but got some rain, etc so just let it sit for a day and a half empty. Can anyone confirm this story?

 

[JoeSelf]

We need to see:
FC = Free Chlorine
CC = Combined Chloramines - MPS will mess with this number
PH = PH
CH - Calcium
TA - Total Alkalinity
CYA = CYA

We recommend the 2006C or TFT-100. You can add the test that you don't have.

 

[Bperry]

Ok waited about 4 hours since the MPS.

Using my Taylor K-1004 kit

FC: .5 - 1
TC: 5+ - My kit only reads to 5, looked a little darker than the 5
PH: 7.5-7.6
Alk: 80ppm

Since my "White mold" issue, the Alk has really been dropping frequently as well it seems. I have been adding a bit of baking soda(.5oz) to the tub every 3-4 days. Its not dropping hard and fast, but just a bit more maintenance than typically expected. The PH falls in spec after that dosage as well.


To add to this, my TC levels yesterday were still 5+ range. MPS did not appear to do anything today. This is really why i came here im stuck. Other than to drain again(Just did 3 weeks ago). and try the ahhsome stuff, twice before draining again to really hopefully knock out any residuals of the white mold.

I read white mold can come from leaving a tub empty over some days? This is exactly what we did last cleaning, was empty for 2 days while i got time to deep clean things inside between changes. Usually i try to do it in one shot but got some rain, etc so just let it sit for a day and a half empty. Can anyone confirm this story?

The MPS goofs up the CC test (TC=FC+CC). Don’t use that stuff. You need the FAS-DPD addition to your test kit to test chlorine accurately over ~5ppm.

Separately, You have no chlorine in the water, that’s a more likely reason for mold.

 

[rarak69]

The MPS goofs up the CC test (TC=FC+CC). Don’t use that stuff. You need the FAS-DPD addition to your test kit to test chlorine accurately over ~5ppm.

Separately, You have no chlorine in the water, that’s a more likely reason for mold.

yea the FC drop FAST and have been unable to get it in control, even with NOT using the spa at this point. Its like at a point of the mold is taking over is what im thinking.

 

[rarak69]

At any rate, i ordered the ahhsome today, will get in there and remove all the jets prior to running this all through to make sure nothing is caught in behind them and double make sure i get this thing cleaned out and mold erradicated.

 

[Bperry]

Without a CYA test and more accurate, Chlorine reading your flying kind of blind. if you’ve been using Dichlor for a long time to see why I may be really high and if you have mold, it’s probably consuming whatever chlorine you do put in there.

 

[Mdragger88]

PoolMath only considers 99% dichlor for calculations. Some brands contain less than 99% & for a premium none the less.
Regardless- every 1ppm of fc any dichlor product gives you will also give you almost 1ppm of cya.
As mentioned- mps is only an oxidizer - not a sanitizer. It also reads as cc’s when testing if the special interference reagent isn’t used.
White water mold is a bacteria. If this were my tub I would drain now, refill, add 10ppm worth of liquid chlorine & then proceed with purge (how ever many rounds it takes until no more detritus is released, this may take more than 2 rounds) then drain, rinse & refill.
Then follow the guide in post #3.
When purging with Ahhsome you want there to be some available sanitizer as you will be touching the water.
If you have added a tbsp of 99% dichlor daily for 21 days your cya is likely around 100 or more - it’s impossible to maintain a sanitary tub with 100ppm cya. Shock level is 39 ppm. Minimum is 8ppm. If the fc falls below minimum for your cya at any time nasties grow period.
FC/CYA Levels
You also need the fas dpd test to accurately maintain your tub.

 

[rarak69]

ahhsome and a 2006C test kit should be here today, hopefully i get back to square one.

Thanks for help. Definately learned a few things i was unaware of especially with CYA and reading the chlorine guide as well.

 

[Methuselah]

There is a neutralizer reagent for mps, but using mps is controversial so I'd research it if you plan on keeping your supply of it.

Some mps info.

The "temporary" CYA charts.

How often do yo dump the water? One expert's recommendation...

The Frog system gets talked about here from time to time, so if you ever try it again maybe do some research on it? I saved some links here. Link_1, Link_2, Link_3.

It's good you read the sticky @Mdragger88 referenced, just know the pool school links can Also be very informative as well as the thread search feature, and there's a link at the bottom for a dosing calculator (old Poolmath webpage).

Welcome to TFP!

 

[Mdragger88]

Hopefully you’ll be happily hot tubbing soon!
2 simple things to Remember-
* chlorine is paramount, always follow the
FC/CYA Levels
* keep ph in the 7’s
* everything else is secondary & can be adjusted as you go along.

Fill out your signature with all the details about your tub (volume, ozone/uv, shell material etc) & your test kit-
it really helps you get appropriate advice quickly. (You can see mine below each post - turn mobile devices sideways)
Also
PoolMath is an invaluable tool- using the calculator is free but storing logs requires a subscription($7/yr?). In my opinion it’s definitely worth the subscription because you can go back & see your logs / notes & so can we if you share them. (If you click my avatar you can see mine)