Are these additional items really necessary??

[AndyWallace]

Purchased a 330 gallon Rhythm hot tub and just drained and refilled it for the first time since installation.

I used 2 ounces of Ahh Some prior to the purge. I'm currently in the process of getting the FC/TA/Ph in order using a TF Test Kit and Pool Math app. I follow the Dichlor to liquid chlorine method. CH is fine at 200. I'm not on well water, I filled with city water out of the hose.

Upon installation the delivery folks who set up the tub added a bottle of "Metal Gon" (which has no listed ingredients on the bottle) which is intended to "prevent iron and other metal buildup" along with a "FreshWater Mineral Spa Sanitizer" (Metallic Silver is 0.92% with Other Ingredients making up the remaining 99.08%). This thing looks like a toilet paper rod and sounds like a baby rattle when you shake it and it sits inside the filter. They also gave me two bottles of "Soft Skin Spa" which also does not list any active ingredients but is designed to provide a "more natural feeling of softened, protected and balanced spa water".

Is this all just Pool Store junk that isn't needed since I will have the water balanced properly using my TF Test Kit? They left instructions recommending adding at least the "Metal Gon" and the "Freshwater Mineral Spa Sanitizer" upon every refill. The "Soft Skin Spa" was a user preference thing. TBH I could never really tell a difference when I added a little of it in the past.

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Hi Andy; Did you use 2 ounces of the Blue Ahh-Some Gel or our liquid product? If you used the gel and added 2 ounces in your size hot tub the foam would be ginormous. It must have been the liquid. If it was, you needed to add more than the 2 ounces to do the job.

 

[98Poolmaster]

Purchased a 330 gallon Rhythm hot tub and just drained and refilled it for the first time since installation.

I used 2 ounces of Ahh Some prior to the purge. I'm currently in the process of getting the FC/TA/Ph in order using a TF Test Kit and Pool Math app. I follow the Dichlor to liquid chlorine method. CH is fine at 200. I'm not on well water, I filled with city water out of the hose.

Upon installation the delivery folks who set up the tub added a bottle of "Metal Gon" (which has no listed ingredients on the bottle) which is intended to "prevent iron and other metal buildup" along with a "FreshWater Mineral Spa Sanitizer" (Metallic Silver is 0.92% with Other Ingredients making up the remaining 99.08%). This thing looks like a toilet paper rod and sounds like a baby rattle when you shake it and it sits inside the filter. They also gave me two bottles of "Soft Skin Spa" which also does not list any active ingredients but is designed to provide a "more natural feeling of softened, protected and balanced spa water".

Is this all just Pool Store junk that isn't needed since I will have the water balanced properly using my TF Test Kit? They left instructions recommending adding at least the "Metal Gon" and the "Freshwater Mineral Spa Sanitizer" upon every refill. The "Soft Skin Spa" was a user preference thing. TBH I could never really tell a difference when I added a little of it in the past.

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

Add metal gon on a fresh fill the mineral cartridges last 3-4 months on average they do help to use less sanitizer I would also recommend using a product called Mineraluxe they are little cubes you put in the filter area great for stain and scale also a clarifier and enzyme keeps your surface squeaky clean they also have a blended shock that comes in premeasured packets you add weekly with the cubes

 

[Bperry]

Purchased a 330 gallon Rhythm hot tub and just drained and refilled it for the first time since installation.

I used 2 ounces of Ahh Some prior to the purge. I'm currently in the process of getting the FC/TA/Ph in order using a TF Test Kit and Pool Math app. I follow the Dichlor to liquid chlorine method. CH is fine at 200. I'm not on well water, I filled with city water out of the hose.

Upon installation the delivery folks who set up the tub added a bottle of "Metal Gon" (which has no listed ingredients on the bottle) which is intended to "prevent iron and other metal buildup" along with a "FreshWater Mineral Spa Sanitizer" (Metallic Silver is 0.92% with Other Ingredients making up the remaining 99.08%). This thing looks like a toilet paper rod and sounds like a baby rattle when you shake it and it sits inside the filter. They also gave me two bottles of "Soft Skin Spa" which also does not list any active ingredients but is designed to provide a "more natural feeling of softened, protected and balanced spa water".

Is this all just Pool Store junk that isn't needed since I will have the water balanced properly using my TF Test Kit? They left instructions recommending adding at least the "Metal Gon" and the "Freshwater Mineral Spa Sanitizer" upon every refill. The "Soft Skin Spa" was a user preference thing. TBH I could never really tell a difference when I added a little of it in the past.

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

Your instincts are correct in that it’s all overpriced gimmicks and not needed.

I suppose the “metal gon” might be their suggestion because of the other stuff they are adding that puts… ehm…silver (metal) in the water?

And what’s with the silly names designed to look like kindergarteners did the spelling?

 

[98Poolmaster]

Wouldn’t necessarily call them gimmicks you just spent probably nearly $9500-$ 10,000 dollars on a brand new Hot Springs Rhythm we service 175 spas weekly and we use the Freshwater Mineral Sticks and Mineraluxe system on nearly 75% of those spas and have very few issues five and six year old tubs look almost brand new and we replace very few circ pumps heaters or two speed pumps because these tubs use less chemicals and don’t need to be drained as often

 

[Bperry]

Wouldn’t necessarily call them gimmicks you just spent probably nearly $9500-$ 10,000 dollars on a brand new Hot Springs Rhythm we service 175 spas weekly and we use the Freshwater Mineral Sticks and Mineraluxe system on nearly 75% of those spas and have very few issues five and six year old tubs look almost brand new and we replace very few circ pumps heaters or two speed pumps because these tubs use less chemicals and don’t need to be drained as often

I’ve never used them but I’m still quite convinced they are gimmicks. The notion of using “less chemicals” by using these other special “chemicals” that are way more expensive seems pretty fishy to me.

Here’s a list of TFP recommended chemicals. If it’s not in that list, it’s not recommended and probably a gimmick.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

And here’s a specific one for spas.

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

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

 

[98Poolmaster]

We have used them for many years with excellent results and many very happy customers who have tried every different way of spa maintenance people just want results and less time spent on caring for their tubs and just want to enjoy using them with very few hassles actually using these products save a lot of people money by not having to replace pumps heaters circ pumps and getting a service call you would be amazed at the hundreds of spas we have seen over the years that were improperly cared for by people listening to people who don’t know how to care for their investment the right way thousands of dollars in repairs and replacements unnecessarily because they didn’t listen to people who do this everyday and test thousands of people’s water a year

 

[Bperry]

We have used them for many years with excellent results and many very happy customers who have tried every different way of spa maintenance people just want results and less time spent on caring for their tubs and just want to enjoy using them with very few hassles actually using these products save a lot of people money by not having to replace pumps heaters circ pumps and getting a service call you would be amazed at the hundreds of spas we have seen over the years that were improperly cared for by people listening to people who don’t know how to care for their investment the right way thousands of dollars in repairs and replacements unnecessarily because they didn’t listen to people who do this everyday and test thousands of people’s water a year

I can probably provide many references of people on this site who get great results, also don’t have to replace pumps or heaters, but also don’t use silly expensive silver ions claiming to reduce the sanitizer requirements of the water which is plainly false.

You’re correct that many people don’t care for their spa or pool very well and are hoodwinked into trying lots of useless products that at best don’t provide any benefit and at worst cause damage to people and equipment. That’s what TFP is built to help correct and steer people away from those things.

$129 for 4 months of silver ions, magnesium and phosphate remover is for sure a gimmick. I spend less than that maintaining a 27k gallon pool each year using only what TFP recommends.

 

[98Poolmaster]

We don’t hoodwink anybody they call us I have to turn down people because we don’t have enough good techs to do all the work we are honest and have gone with what works just because it’s not on your approved list doesn’t mean it doesn’t work or provide the results you think it doesn’t we care about our customers and have never sold things just for profit only you have to make money to stay in business but you can easily do that on the up and up without misleading them I have told quite a few of our pool customers about TFP and have gotten and given advice to them based on things I learned on here and from my 25 plus years in the industry

 

[Bperry]

We don’t hoodwink anybody they call us I have to turn down people because we don’t have enough good techs to do all the work we are honest and have gone with what works just because it’s not on your approved list doesn’t mean it doesn’t work or provide the results you think it doesn’t we care about our customers and have never sold things just for profit only you have to make money to stay in business but you can easily do that on the up and up without misleading them I have told quite a few of our pool customers about TFP and have gotten and given advice to them based on things I learned on here and from my 25 plus years in the industry

I wasn’t necessarily saying you are deceiving people, and I’ve no doubt that you mean well. This will maybe sound harsh but it’s not meant to be. It’s entirely possible you just aren’t aware and I believe you that you care about your customers but that doesn’t change the fact that TFP is designed to promote one specific type of pool care that works much better.

If you have some data you can share showing how silver ions lead to reduced need for sanitizers or replacing heaters I’m sure some of the chemistry minded folks would like to learn about it. The referenced products above seem to just be lots of silver which is genuinely a waste of money. Even if silver ions did all of what the manufacturer claims, all the same benefits can be achieved at much lower cost using the list I referenced above.

 

[AndyWallace]

Hi Andy; Did you use 2 ounces of the Blue Ahh-Some Gel or our liquid product? If you used the gel and added 2 ounces in your size hot tub the foam would be ginormous. It must have been the liquid. If it was, you needed to add more than the 2 ounces to do the job.

I used 2 ounces of the blue liquid product = per the instructions on the bottle.

If I was supposed to add more than that, why did the instructions on the bottle not indicate that more than 2 ounces were required?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

it sounds like you have our Jetted Bath cleaner for bathtubs. That is what is recommended for those vessels but they hold under 70 gallons of water. Your hot tub is 330 gallons. Does the bottle say Jetted Bath Cleaner?

 

[98Poolmaster]

I wasn’t necessarily saying you are deceiving people, and I’ve no doubt that you mean well. This will maybe sound harsh but it’s not meant to be. It’s entirely possible you just aren’t aware and I believe you that you care about your customers but that doesn’t change the fact that TFP is designed to promote one specific type of pool care that works much better.

If you have some data you can share showing how silver ions lead to reduced need for sanitizers or replacing heaters I’m sure some of the chemistry minded folks would like to learn about it. The referenced products above seem to just be lots of silver which is genuinely a waste of money. Even if silver ions did all of what the manufacturer claims, all the same benefits can be achieved at much lower cost using the list I referenced above.

That’s definitely food for thought thanks for your input

 

[Newdude]

we are honest and have gone with what works

You have no idea what works when you aren't there to test daily.

If the customers tested daily and understood basic water chemistry, there would be no need for the service people. Instead, they rely on you to 'dump and pray' once a week.

The homeowner could use the spa for 15 mins 3 times a day, or not at all. Or back and forth between the two during the same week. Every soak has a different level of bather waste and it is impossible to manage weekly, not even with my beloved SWG.

So, yeah. What you think works based upon a weekly snapshot, and what the customer who doesn't understand basic water chemistry reports, means next to nothing.

This is not saying anything bad about you or your employees. The deck is stacked against you from the beginning. I'm sure you'd rather go daily, but nobody would ever pay for that and they'll sure complain to everyone they know when you can't do the impossible.

 

[98Poolmaster]

You have no idea what works when you aren't there to test daily.

If the customers tested daily and understood basic water chemistry, there would be no need for the service people. Instead, they rely on you to 'dump and pray' once a week.

The homeowner could use the spa for 15 mins 3 times a day, or not at all. Or back and forth between the two during the same week. Every soak has a different level of bather waste and it is impossible to manage weekly, not even with my beloved SWG.

So, yeah. What you think works based upon a weekly snapshot, and what the customer who doesn't understand basic water chemistry reports, means next to nothing.

This is not saying anything bad about you or your employees. The deck is stacked against you from the beginning. I'm sure you'd rather go daily, but nobody would ever pay for that and they'll sure complain to everyone they know when you can't do the impossible.

For weekly visits this is the best method we have found and yes we have all varied levels of usage to twice daily to once a week or not at all so it can be challenging although we have remained very consistent with our customers satisfaction and long term business with them and word of mouth growth maybe you have some ideas on how to do it better or different if you do that would be great to hear your recommendations thanks a lot for your input

 

[Newdude]

word of mouth growth

Ever wonder why so many people are looking for a new service company ?

There are many good setvice people out there trying their best, but there is no way to maintain a spa weekly. Both you and the ignorant customer may be fooled into thinking everything is great, but without frequent tests to confirm it, nobody can say.

Somebody needs to test frequently and adjust on the fly. There are no two ways about it.

 

[98Poolmaster]

Ever wonder why so many people are looking for a new service company ?

There are many good setvice people out there trying their best, but there is no way to maintain a spa weekly. Both you and the ignorant customer may be fooled into thinking everything is great, but without frequent tests to confirm it, nobody can say.

Somebody needs to test frequently and adjust on the fly. There are no two ways about it.

I have been in this business long enough to not be fooled into thinking anything Good advice thank you

 

[AndyWallace]

it sounds like you have our Jetted Bath cleaner for bathtubs. That is what is recommended for those vessels but they hold under 70 gallons of water. Your hot tub is 330 gallons. Does the bottle say Jetted Bath Cleaner?

It sure does. What product do / should I have going forward?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Andy, you can use that product for the purge but you need to add 8 ounces to do the job. 2 ounces of that in a 330 gallon hot tub will release a minimum amount of biofilms.

 

[AndyWallace]

Andy, you can use that product for the purge but you need to add 8 ounces to do the job. 2 ounces of that in a 330 gallon hot tub will release a minimum amount of biofilms.

Ok thanks!!