I have received some requests to comment on the use of various home remedies for hot tubs, particularly vinegar. There are so many of these remedies that I can’t comment on all of them, and frankly I haven’t tested any of them — primarily because I haven’t seen compelling evidence that they work better than […]
Tag: biofilm
when “Shock level and maintain” doesn’t work
Greetings Hot Tub enthusiasts. This post addresses a common “rescue prescription” for bad water: The SLAM, or “Shock Level And Maintain”. Its basically what the name implies — raising the level of chlorine in your water to a very high level, and then maintaining that level for some period of time. It’s a procedure to […]
What does EPA registration mean?
Having demonstrated the performance of Hot Tub Serum “Total Maintenance” in previous posts, I feel you should know about EPA registration. EPA registration is neither trivial to obtain nor inexpensive, but the manufacturer has gone through the impressive rigor. That, by itself, says a lot. It means that proving the science is more important to […]
ahh-some vs “Serum Total Cleanse” – is there a difference?
An astute reader brought to my attention that a product very similar in appearance to Ahh-Some, known as “Serum Total Cleanse” has been available for some time now. My curiosity got the best of me, so I brought in a small jar and did a little recon: Turns out they are the same product, only […]
Silk balance vs Hot Tub Serum
As the spa products industry is finally starting to recognize the benefits of “quaternary ammonium cations” (sometimes called “QUATs”), the concept of a regular water maintenance product is starting to become more prominent. This post is about two such products — both of which hold familiar places in the market. Those of you who follow […]
Ahh-some vs bioGuard and ecoOne
This post describes my September, 2020 test of two additional products against “Ahh-some”, the current king of purge products. For this test, I continue with my normal protocol, which is to purge with one or more “under test” products and then purge again with Ahh-some to see what the others leave behind. The contestants […]
Pushing the limits of Hot Tub Serum
In the foundational materials on this site (see the Hot Tub home page) I highlighted that biofilms can survive chlorine concentrations of 1-3ppm — levels that some authorities still promote for regular use. In addition to ahh-some as a purge product, Hot Tub Serum (or “Serum Total Maintenance”) gives us another tool in our toolbox […]
Hot Tub Serum
Those who have followed my work know that I have a proclivity to exposing junk products, especially the snake oil in the Hot Tub industry, while highlighting useful ones. I do enjoy it when I find a product that DOES work — a product that does something useful and that I find effective in my […]
ahh-some vs Proline and Leisure Time
This post describes my October, 2019 test of two additional purge products against the product which is currently the most effective in my tests, “Ahh-some”. As readers will note, my normal protocol is to purge my spa with one or more “under test” products and then purge again with Ahh-some to see what the others […]
SeaKlear and Silk Balance vs Ahh-some
In this post, I continue my passion for testing spa purge products, and exposing myths and marketing hype, with a test of two new products, “SeaKlear” and Silk Balance “Clean Start” against ahh-some. SeaKlear My first test in this round is the familiar product, “SeaKlear”, a blue colored liquid who’s active ingredient is a […]