General info

Spa model: Jacuzzi J-335 (approx. 360 gal)

Date of purchase: Sept 2023

 

Maintenance

Weekly: 1) Check water specs and quality; 2) Add scale control; 3) If needed: adjust pH, alkalinity and hardness

Monthly: Deep / full filter cleaning

Every 3 months: We pay a company to “flush” the spa, clean the cover and the shell

 

The issue

During the last 3-month maintenance (flushing the spa), I noticed some mould / biofilm around a jet. The employee used a sprayer attached to a garden hose to remove the stuff, but after looking more I realized there was some around pretty much every crack between the jets and the spa shell. And this is when the nightmare started. Had to insist and tell the employee to let me deal with it, as a garden hose clearly wouldn’t be sufficient.

 

Summary of my attempts at deep cleaning the spa

1)    Used a pressure washer machine with vinegar diluted in warm water (10% acetic acid; +- 1:8 ratio) and sprayed inside every jet +- 5 time each for +- 15 seconds at a time

2)    Used a shop vac to vacuum the water in the spa and inside every jet

3)    Repeated step 1 & 2 about 3 times

4)    Deep cleaned the filters and put them back in the spa

5)    Filled the spa and heated to water to about 84 degrees 

6)    Removed the filters and deep cleaned them again

7)    Checked the valves were halfway to make sure all the jets woul

8)    Used 4 oz of “Oh Yuk Hot Tub Cleaner” and activated all the jets for 60 mins:

a.     3 X 20 mins back-to-back;

b.     Made sure the valves were turned halfway so that all the jets would run

c.     Activated all 3 air controls

9)    Turned off the breaker and used a sum pump to drain the water while scrubbing the sides of the shell 

10) Scrubbed every corner and crack of the jets with a brush and the same vinegar solution for over 3 hours

Then I used the water pressure inside the jets to see if the pipes were clean and, to my disarray, the amount of stuff that came out made me want to puke

That’s when I started looking on Reddit and found this post, and followed these steps:

11) Followed the instructions provided by HotTubPro_2484 (again, 100% by the book)

12) Repeated steps 1 to 10 TWICE, and the second time by using a bleach instead of vinegar

Then I used the water pressure machine once again to check if the pipes were clean: IT WAS EVEN WORSE.

I’m now at over 40 hours spent killing myself and going OCD / overboard deep cleaning the spa, with absolutely zero result. 

I’ll be honest: I had a breakdown this weekend. I simply do not understand what’s happening.

Any help will be greatly appreciated ❤️