When we got back from Seattle, the hot tub definitely didn't smell exactly right. It has been about a week since we had been in it. We had a similar situation after going to Vegas a few weeks before. In other words, long periods of time passed with no shocking and an empty bromine feeder.

Seemingly all at once, the water got cloudy, and I noticed how bad it was yesterday when I saw it in the daylight. So I added the clearing liquid that bonds to the organic particles in the water (which make it cloudy), so they're more easily caught by the filter.

Well, they bonded and clumped alright... all over the sides of the tub and even on the underside of the cover from foam. It's really gross.

I'm annoyed because after a year, I thought I really figured this cleaning and care thing out so I could go a full three months without changing the water. I did it last time, December to February, no problem. This time I only made it two months, and I have no chemicals in reserve for the start-up routine. I guess I'm off to the tub store tomorrow!