How to remove calcium flakes from hot tub

on February 13, 2015 in Care & Maintenance

Regularly cleaning and sanitizing your hot tub helps to keep strange things from happening, like seeing white flakes in your hot tub water. White flakes are usually caused by calcium scale deposits. But they may also be a sign that your hot tub contains white water mold, which is an overgrowth of biofilm. Either way, you’ll want to get rid of them. As long as you consistently maintain your hot tub with a simple and quick cleaning routine, you shouldn’t run into these problems. But if you do, we’re here to help.

How to Find Out if the White Flakes Are Caused By Calcium or Biofilm

To determine whether the flakes are a result of calcium scale deposits or biofilm, you need to find out if they are organic or inorganic. All you have to do to figure this out is fill up 8 ounces of spa water with the flakes inside. Then, pour 20 drops of bleach or liquid chlorine in the water you collected. Gently stir the water and sanitizer, and wait for 30 minutes.

If the flakes remain in the water after 30 minutes, they are most likely caused by calcium scale deposits. If they aren’t there anymore, they are probably a result of biofilm.

How To Get Rid of White Flakes Caused by Calcium Scale Deposits

Good news! Getting rid of calcium scale deposits is easy. Just follow the two simple steps below.

  • First, make sure to keep your pH alkalinity properly balanced. Scale begins to form when your pH is too high.

  • Then, use a scale preventer, like ThermoSpas Spa Stain & Scale Preventer, every week. If you have a high mineral content, add 4 ounces per 100 gallons on initial fill and 2 ounces per 100 gallons weekly. For water with a low mineral content, add 2 ounces per 100 gallons on initial fill and 1 ounce per 100 gallons weekly.

The scale preventer will work to break down the existing particles, peeling the scale away from your spa. Both balancing your spa’s chemicals and using a scale inhibitor should also keep this problem from happening again.

How to Prevent & Get Rid of White Flakes Cause by White Water Mold & Biofilm

When compared to calcium scale deposits, biofilm is a tougher and more serious issue. As long as you take proper care of your hot tub, you shouldn’t run into a biofilm problem. Biofilm usually forms as a result of a spa that hasn’t been used for a while or improper cleaning techniques when the spa is being used. If you do get biofilm, take the steps that are detailed in this blog post and make sure to start following a simple and regular cleaning schedule.

As long as you take care of your hot tub, you shouldn’t have to deal with white flakes of any kind in your water. Maintaining your spa is easy to do and takes very little time out of your day. If you have any more questions about white flakes in your ThermoSpas® hot tub, feel free to contact our customer service representatives today by calling 1-800-876-0158. We would love to help you make your spa water clear again.

There’s nothing worse than finding white flakes floating around you in the hot tub to put a damper on your relaxing spa night. It’s just gross! Not to worry, it’s easily sorted – I’ll teach you how to remove white flakes from your hot tub and how to prevent them in future. Let’s have a look ….

What Are These White Flakes in Your Spa?

White flakes filming over your hot tub or floating around near the drains is not a pretty sight. If your hot tub water is looking flaky and gross there are two possible culprits.

  • Biofilm growth
  • Calcium scale deposit
How to remove calcium flakes from hot tub

Biofilm Growth

Biofilm growth is also known as white water mold. Biofilm growth usually happens when the hot tub hasn’t been in use for a long time. This thin film of mold develops when you neglect cleaning your tub and leave the water stagnant.

The water in your hot tub is usually set between 102 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature setting in your hot tub also makes it an extremely vulnerable spot for mold and bacterial growth.

How to remove calcium flakes from hot tub

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Calcium Scale Deposits

Your water can develop white flakes if it has high calcium content. Some amount of calcium should be present in your hot tub water to keep the tiles and the equipment from wearing out too soon.

If the calcium hardness in your hot tub water is low, you might feel slimy and unclean when you get out of the tub. Too much calcium, however, will solidify and form flaky deposits in the water as well as on your heating equipment.

Ideally, the calcium hardness in your hot tub water should be between 100 to 150 parts per million.

How to remove calcium flakes from hot tub

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Test Your Flakes First

You have to follow different procedures to get rid of calcium deposits and biofilm growth. So the first thing you have to do when you notice these white flakes in your hot tub water is to get them checked.

This is a fairly simple process that you can do yourself. You don’t need any professional help.

  • Collect some hot tub water and flakes in a clean glass or bowl.
  • Add 15-20 drops of bleach or liquid chlorine to the water you collected.
  • Stir the solution and let it sit for 30 minutes.

If the flakes disappear after 30 minutes, you have biofilm buildup in your hot tub.
If the flakes are still there in the cup after 30 minutes you have calcium deposits in your hot tub. Don’t you love a simple testing solution!

Removing the White Flakes and Preventing Their Return

Now that you’ve identified what is causing the white flakes, it’s time to find a solution and keep the flakes away for good. While a thorough cleaning can get rid of biofilm deposits, calcium deposits require a regular balancing of hardness causing minerals.

Below I’ll explain how to remove white flakes caused by biofilm growth and by calcium deposits and tips to prevent this in future:

Biofilm Growth

This usually occurs because you don’t sanitize your hot tub regularly. Using a sanitizer that works well and is easy to manage is important. If you are not happy with the quality of your spa water have a look at using alternative sanitizers – I list a few good ones here.

It can also occur if the water has remained stagnant for a long time due to the irregular use of the hot tub.

Once you have identified that your white flakes are a result of biofilm, it is fairly easy to solve. A good cleaning out and regular maintenance will keep these flakes out of your hot tub.

How to Remove Biofilm Growth

You must drain the hot tub and use a biofilm cleaner – these are not regular hot tub sanitizers, they are specifically designed to tackle biofilm buildup. Follow my guide on how to drain and clean your hot tub.

Make sure that you clean your filters using the product. Replace the filter if you feel they are damaged beyond repair.

After you clean the hot tub using the biofilm cleaner, fill it back up, balance the pH and add chemical disinfectants like chlorine or bromine.

How to remove calcium flakes from hot tub

How to Prevent Biofilm Growth:

Use Your Hot Tub Regularly

Don’t leave your hot tub unused for long periods of time. Biofilm develops when the water remains stagnant for too long.

Follow a Cleaning Schedule

Follow a regular sanitizing and cleaning schedule for your spa. The warm temperature in the hot tub makes it an ideal breeding ground for mold, green algae and bacteria.

If you’re on a regular cleaning routine you don’t have to worry about flaky water or skin infections as a result of the bacterial growth in your hot tub.

Calcium Deposits

Calcium deposits form in your hot tub because the chemical balance in your hot tub water is off. If you live in an area with hard water, you will face calcium deposit problems if you don’t test your hot tub water frequently.

How to Remove Calcium Deposits

  • Drain the tub, wipe it down and let it air dry.
  • Spray a mixture of vinegar and distilled water all over the dry tub. This will soften any calcium deposits on the tub.
  • Scrub out the tub with a brush. Use some more mixture for stubborn buildup.
  • Rinse and wipe the tub down.
  • Refill the hot tub and check the chemical levels.

How to Prevent Calcium Deposits

Balance Your Water

Balance the alkalinity and pH levels in your hot tub water. If your pH is too high that means your water is hard and has high levels of calcium. The calcium will eventually solidify and break down into flakes.

Regularly test your hot tub water either using test strips or a liquid testing kit. You can even get your water checked out professionally at your local hot tub dealer’s office.

Try Using Scale Preventer

Scale preventers are similar to water softeners. They are additives that help in reducing the hardness of your water.

You can get scale preventers from hot tub manufacturers or suppliers. If your area has very hard water you can treat your hot tub water every week with these scale preventers to avoid buildup.

How to remove calcium flakes from hot tub

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  • Simply add this powerful liquid formula weekly to safeguard your spa or hot tub from these threats.Color of the liquid is natural brown

In Conclusion

A hot tub is a fine investment for some quality alone time, romantic date nights and winding down with your friends after a stressful week at the office. However, they require a certain amount of attention to keep running smoothly.

You don’t want white flakes in your hot tub and you certainly don’t want give anyone skin infections just because you forgot to clean your hot tub.

If you forget to disinfect your pool regularly, not only will you lose face in front of other people but you might also end up having to spend a lot of time and money to clean it up later on.

Last update on 2022-11-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

What are all the white flakes in my hot tub?

Typically, these little white flakes are calcium deposits that have collected in your water and started to clump together. Or, it may be biofilm, the result of mold growth in your hot tub.

How do I get the white stuff out of my hot tub?

To kill white water mold in the hot tub, you need to decontaminate the spa. This can be accomplished by super-chlorinating the water with granular chlorine, granular bromine, or lithium. For best results, maintain 20ppm or more of chlorine for 72 hours.

How do I get rid of yellow flakes in my hot tub?

To remove the deposit of calcium flakes from you water, use a net similar to a pool skimmer to remove as much debris as you can. Once you have removed as many of the flakes as possible, you are going to have to use a product called "Whirlpool Rinse" before draining your hot tub.