Ready to purge, drain and refill my spa. Have a few questions

[DowneastSpa]

Hello! I have some Ahhsome and am ready to do the first purge, drain and refill of my spa.

I've read up on doing an Ahhsome purge, and think I have that understood - does anything look wrong with the ahhsome plan below?

• headrests out, filter tossed into middle of tub (maybe weight it down somehow?)
• Make sure FC is 3-5 ish?
• Add ahhsome dose
• run all jets open and all diverters in middle for 30 mins
• Remove gunk/foam as it is created so as to not dry on acrylic shell
• Add a half dose of ahhsome and repeat jets for 30mins
• Repeat half dose until nothing is being purged/released as gunk onto walls

I have a submersible pump so will then use that to drain, as well as opening the drain cock within front access panel of spa.

My questions pertain mainly to the rinse/cleaning after the drain has been done.

1. I have a wet/dry shop vac. Should I use this on suck or blow on each jet? I don't want to push or pull air through a line if there is a check valve I could damage.
2. Should I use a garden hose/fresh water to try and push water into the jets? Or is that a useless endeavor, or damaging since I'm pushing water into a jet that water normally comes out the other direction?
3. What is my best bet for getting ahhsome purge water out of the lines after a drain? Fill spa up enough to cover the intakes and have the filter housing full, and then kick jets on real quick? Then drain that partial water and start with a full new fresh fill? Only issue there is time; I'm on well water and pushing through a Cleanscreen prefilter so I can only fill at ~1.5-2 gallons per minute.
4. I think I've seen it somewhere on here (my head is swimming with the amount of spa-related posts I've read recently), but what is the proper mix of vinegar-to-water ratio for cleaning the acrylic interior shell once water has been removed?

Thanks so much in advance

 

[Newdude]

I have a wet/dry shop vac. Should I use this on suck or blow on each jet? I don't want to push or pull air through a line if there is a check valve I could damage.

I always did. Use the crevice tool and you can watch drops getting sucked up by the thousand once the bulk of the water is out.

Should I use a garden hose/fresh water to try and push water into the jets? Or is that a useless endeavor, or damaging since I'm pushing water into a jet that water normally comes out the other direction?

Mine never worked that way. I believe the pump kept the system airlocked when adding backwards and the only thing that got wet was me, like I stuck the hose directly to the side of the tub. Not even one spurt made it in the pipes.

You have nothing to lose by trying tho.

What is my best bet for getting ahhsome purge water out of the lines after a drain? Fill spa up enough to cover the intakes and have the filter housing full, and then kick jets on real quick?

Exactly what I did. A couple of quick on/off taps and it's gone.

I think I've seen it somewhere on here (my head is swimming with the amount of spa-related posts I've read recently), but what is the proper mix of vinegar-to-water ratio for cleaning the acrylic interior shell once water has been removed?

Stay on top of the foam scooping and wipe the rim a few times with paper towels during the purge. (Pool net worked awesome getting the nasty foam). Also wipe as it drains. Both of my purges only needed a quick sponging with no vinegar. Vinegar is a weak acid and any residuals won't hurt anything, especially after being diluted 400:1 by filling. Mix up whatever strength your heart tells you is right if you feel you need it.

 

[phonedave]

Hello! I have some Ahhsome and am ready to do the first purge, drain and refill of my spa.

I've read up on doing an Ahhsome purge, and think I have that understood - does anything look wrong with the ahhsome plan below?

• headrests out, filter tossed into middle of tub (maybe weight it down somehow?)
• Make sure FC is 3-5 ish?
• Add ahhsome dose
• run all jets open and all diverters in middle for 30 mins
• Remove gunk/foam as it is created so as to not dry on acrylic shell
• Add a half dose of ahhsome and repeat jets for 30mins
• Repeat half dose until nothing is being purged/released as gunk onto walls

I have a submersible pump so will then use that to drain, as well as opening the drain cock within front access panel of spa.

My questions pertain mainly to the rinse/cleaning after the drain has been done.

1. I have a wet/dry shop vac. Should I use this on suck or blow on each jet? I don't want to push or pull air through a line if there is a check valve I could damage.
2. Should I use a garden hose/fresh water to try and push water into the jets? Or is that a useless endeavor, or damaging since I'm pushing water into a jet that water normally comes out the other direction?
3. What is my best bet for getting ahhsome purge water out of the lines after a drain? Fill spa up enough to cover the intakes and have the filter housing full, and then kick jets on real quick? Then drain that partial water and start with a full new fresh fill? Only issue there is time; I'm on well water and pushing through a Cleanscreen prefilter so I can only fill at ~1.5-2 gallons per minute.
4. I think I've seen it somewhere on here (my head is swimming with the amount of spa-related posts I've read recently), but what is the proper mix of vinegar-to-water ratio for cleaning the acrylic interior shell once water has been removed?

Thanks so much in advance

I just did mine this past weekend.
- My filters sunk to the bottom this time. They never did that before.
- Your Ahhsome purge sounds good

I use a sump and shop vac. I don't open my drain (because it is a pain) I use the shop vac to suck up the foot and seat wells.

I use a hose to flush out my lines, but I have a Bullfrog spa, so my jet packs come out and I flush those outside the tub, and I then stick a hose in the filter returns and let the water run out the feeder ports for the jetpacks. I guess my wall jets and water feature don't get flushed, but in reality it is not a big deal.

I never filled the tub enough to purge by kicking on the jets - I would be leery about doing so anyway. My tub runs jet pump 1 if it needs heat. I would not be able to kick it on and off. I would have to either cycle through menus to go in and out of standby, or do a complete power cycle. Maybe yours is different

I use a bleach solution to wipe down my shell. About a 1/2 cup of bleach in a 2 gallon bucket of water.

As a side note, those filters work really well. We had a water main break down the road, so I ended up filling my tub with murky brown water. I didn't know about the break until it started refilling and by that point I was pretty much committed. It only took about 2 hours and it was crystal clear. I had to re-clean the filters and dirty water came out of them, but I was pretty impressed by how well they worked and how quickly the water turned over.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

To Downeastspa: Your purge steps look fine to me. I wouldn’t labor so much to try to get all the residual water and a bit of the Ahh-Some out of the lines after the purge. So you get a few floaters and a little discoloration on the refill. No big deal. Actually, a small amount of the residual Ahh-Some will help clear the water faster. It will not in any way cause problems with a little leftover after the refill. Be sure to hose your filter(s) off before you place them into the hot tub proper to be cleaned simultaneously while doing the purge. You also don’t need to use the vac or garden hose to squirt into the jets. Drain as much as you can and you are good to go. One last thing. The second purge with using one half the required amount of gel should only be run for 5-10 minutes and not 30 minutes. Ahh-Some works very quickly and if there is biofilm hanging on inside the pipes after the initial 30 minute purge cycle, a 5-10 minute second run is all you will need. Just wipe any sticky gunk as you see it build, especially in the filter well area where much of it will collect. When you refill the tub add the water into the filter housing where the filters go. This way, when you restart the pump(s), a prime will be instant with no air lock and the pumps never run dry.

 

[DowneastSpa]

Thanks so much for the replies! @Ahhsomeguy , my main concern with trying to flush as much of the purge water out of my lines is for fear of foaming. Right now my water is 5 months old, and has developed some bad foaming over the past couple of weeks (due mainly to friends hopping in with us in what I think were washing detergent-loaded suits). I would hate to do a purge and new water just to have foaming still an issue due to leftover Ahhsome. Is that a valid concern, or will any floaties/water discoloration dissipate with a filter cleaning if that's an issue?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

As I stated in the prior post. The small amount of residual left over from the purge amounts to very very little.
If you continue to see foaming after the refill and a few weeks into the new water regimen there may be other issues. Not knowing what you are using for chemicals and the water test results I cannot comment on much right now. Here’s the key thing. A little foaming is normal. However, when you shut the high jets off the foam bubbles should dissipate and not be noticeable within 30 seconds or so.

 

[bbdude]

Hope ya'll don't mind me bumping an old thread as I'm gearing up to do a purge/cleaning.

Right now my hot tub is empty/dry. Going to fill, heat to 80F, purge, drain, refill, balance chemicals. I may do two purges ... it's a 2003 tub and no idea if the previous owners performed a regular purge. Do I really need FC @ 3-5 or can I do the purge w/ Ahhsome and FC @ 0?

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

You can purge at zero chlorine but we do recommend having at least 1.0-1.5 ppm in the water to oxidize pathogenic bio fouling detritus. We want to be sure that all contaminants are controlled. Between our product and a minimum amount of free chlorine or free bromine, you will be safe to have your hands touch the purged water. There is no need to drain after the first purge if you plan an additional purge. Here is what you do. After the first purge is complete, roughly 20 minutes after adding the Ahh-Some and wiping away the released sticky stuff, add a half dose to the same water and run the pumps with all air intakes open for another 5 minutes or so. That should do it for you. Drain, rinse, wipe, refill and balance water. Enjoy!

 

[bbdude]

You can purge at zero chlorine but we do recommend having at least 1.0-1.5 ppm in the water to oxidize pathogenic bio fouling detritus. We want to be sure that all contaminants are controlled. Between our product and a minimum amount of free chlorine or free bromine, you will be safe to have your hands touch the purged water. There is no need to drain after the first purge if you plan an additional purge. Here is what you do. After the first purge is complete, roughly 20 minutes after adding the Ahh-Some and wiping away the released sticky stuff, add a half dose to the same water and run the pumps with all air intakes open for another 5 minutes or so. That should do it for you. Drain, rinse, wipe, refill and balance water. Enjoy!

Much appreciate the input, @Ahhsomeguy !