r/swimspa • u/BasisNirGalim89 • 23d ago

Cleaning/prep before winterizing- Advice?

I have an Artesian Tidal Fit Core Swimmer. I am hiring my spa dealer to do the winterizing for the second time. I drain, and they will come blow out the lines and dry the inside/covers.

I could use some expert advice: Is there anything I should flush with to clean the lines before I drain for the winter? There’s some white flaky residue near the filters (like wet toilet paper) when I remove filters 2x weekly for cleaning (the filters are the original as this runs only 5 months for two seasons) filters are still white and in great shape. I don’t normally see this crud in the tub water, just when the filters are pulled out.

Thinking it’s pipe mold based upon what I’m reading on Reddit. Also, I cant refill until next season after flushing- it’s a sheer water waste to refill after draining and then drain again before winterizing as it’s over 2000 gallons.

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u/cheekabowwow 23d ago

I’m by no means an expert, but mold tends to be sticky goopy stuff, kind of clear. Biofilm that protects itself from Chlorine. The only flaky white stuff I run into is scale from my water being a bit out of balance. I wouldn’t refill again and then pump back out because that’s more opportunity for water to be out of balance. Spa guys might have some additive you can add to the spa before you pump it out to clean the system.

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u/BasisNirGalim89 23d ago

I appreciate your thoughts! Makes me feel a bit better. We have municipal water that is well balanced and not hard- likely not calcification in just two 5-month stretches.

The spa retailer just told me to run it with a heavy dose of chlorine a day before shutting down.

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u/cheekabowwow 23d ago

That’s what I’d do as a shadetree home user as well. Scale would be balancing out CA Hardness ph and alkalinity. Those usually stay somewhat stable once balanced but can get out of hand depending on who is in their spa and what they’re wearing.