Hi all. We have owned a 485 gallon Sundance Optima for I guess 4 years or so. We have been on Baquaspa since the beginning, and I like this chemical system. Pricey, but stable. Anyways, about a year ago, we began noticing a mildew odor while in the tub, and on our bodies when we get out of the tub. This is a very particular odor that smells exactly like that dishcloth you left in the sink too many days before throwing it in the wash machine. This smell is very persistent and annoying, and has really decreased our enjoyment of the tub.

We notice the smell primarily when we open up the air inlet valves to the jets, allowing air into the hydrojets. I am NOT talking about the air pump or its associated air outlets in the tub. We have, over the last 8 to 10 months, gone through numerous drain/clean/start-over cycles, hoping to eliminate the problem. It seems that after the start-over it's better for a few days (or maybe we just really want to think it is after all that work!). But it always comes back. We have thoroughly cleaned every surface we can get to, including the cover.

We talked to the dealer and even had their service guy out on it once. The people in the store sold us this "purge" product. Can't find the bottle right now, but it's some kind of brownish stuff that you let circulate in the tub for 24 hours before you drain/clean/start-over. Didn't do anything that I can tell. The service guy said we weren't chemically stripping our main filter cartridge often enough, so circulation was decreasing. He suggested buying a new filter element. We just installed the new element last night after yesterday's start-over. He also said our ph was too high, and that would contribute to the odor. We bought some decreaser, and we'll get that under control. Finally, he said there may be a problem with water leaking back into the air tubing after the air jets are shut off due to a bad air valve. Once the tubes get wet inside with water that no longer mixes with the main tub water, bacteria forms and hence the odor. That sounds believable, but I am guessing it would be a pain for them to fix (still on the mfr 5 year warranty, thank goodness).

I am hearing rumors that this problem is not uncommon in Sundance tubs, although I don't see any posts about it anywhere, so I don't know what to believe. Has anyone else had this problem, and what did you do to fix? Thanks for any help.

Man talk about $1000 solutions to a nickle problem.

I'd pull the tops of those air valves off if possible and pour about a couple of ounces of plain old chlorine bleach down there... let it sit for about an hour, then kick the jets on.

If you can't do that then shock the heck out of the spa with about half a gallon of bleach, (no other sanitizers present please), let it run for a half an hour. Let it sit for about an hour. Run it for another 15 minutes. Drain and refill.

I'll bet it'll get rid of this problem.

this is purely a problem with your chemical system - not Sundance or any other spa brand problem - whilst these products are sold as a 'healthy' option to chlorine, they rarely work correctly for many people in practice. For my money (particularly for SD) i'd fit a CD ozonator to run 24hrs a day and add minimal chlorine - works for most people very effectively

' water leaking into the air tubing' ha! another dealer with no clue - of cause water goes in the airlines back up to the tub water line when the pumps are not running ! - this is normal gravity activity - not an issue, however it is likely over time these lines get a bit of a coating but each time the pump stops sanitised water enters these lines so bacteria is kept at bay.
change your sanitiser and your problems will go away - try showering b4 use - limits the addition of foreign matter - sweat, oils, hairspray, deodorant, make up, mascara, etc - keep filter spotless - soak in electric dishwasher poder solution to degrease on a regular basis. Run a quality ozone - in your case Sundances own CD ozonator is a fantastic performer. Add 1-2 teaspoons chlorine 2x per week, balance as required - result - barely noticeable chlorine level/odour, clean, clear, fresh water, no allergys, no odour, no effect on balance - great spa experience.
i personally use this setup (on my own 95 SD Marin) and have set up approx 50 others this way with no complaint to date - works for them too!

Couldn't agree more.

That's what ticks me off too.... spas with perfectly good ozonators set up on a full blown chemical regimen as if it had no ozonator.

What a waste of $$$$!!!

This sure doesnt sound like much of a recommendation for BaquaSpa !

I have a 2006 SD Marin 880 and my dealer insisted on not including the ozonator in the order. He advised me to only use BaquaSpa chemicals in the spa.

I note that the 2006 SD 880 series Marin has their new high flow circulation system with the new MicroClean 2 filter.

The spa has been in use for 2 months now on this basis with no apparent problems so far, but, I dont want to be heading for trouble.

Should I consider adding the SD ozonator ?

What about BaquaSpa ?

i would personally insist you fit a sundance cd ozonator to your spa - they are perfectly set up to perform with minimal additional chemicals
i feel your dealer is either ill informed on ozone or trying to keep you coming back for expensive chemicals
however its personal choice and your money
i have an older 95 sundance marin with the new style cd ozone generator, with a system not too dissimilar from current versions and can personally recommend this setup from experience.
however you should be aware that for ozone to work to its optimum, its important you are clean - shower first - remove all body oils, sweat, suntan lotion, make up, hair products etc that affect water quality and ultimately mean the ozonator is over run. as another tech posted on this forum, ozone (when set up properly) is your spas caretaker system when you are not using it. once you use it a small extra dose of chlorine is about all thats needed. balancing frequency is reduced to f/nightly or monthly and cost of balancing, oxidising and sanitising chemicals becomes 10% of normal cost.
bear in mind that heavy use or the addition of kids into the equation means more chlorine and more frequent alteration to balance(but that happens with all chemical/sanitiser systems)
i personally have no need to add chlorine at all to my spa - we only balance it at fill up, test regularly - adjust balance about once a month and then religiously drain every 4 months - however we don't use it much - approx 1-2 x per week maximum (this proves the ozone is working as a 'caretaker' when not being used) can't promise this is the same case for everyone because all situations are different, but can promise the use of a top quality cd ozone unit running on circ pump 24 hrs will give you a healthy, clean, odour free spa with minimal ongoing expense.

baqua (or any other alternative sanitiser) - Bugger Them ! Ozone's simply too good to ignore
just my humble opinion from plenty of experience of fixing customers chemical woes!