I have a Bain Ultra tub. Have owned it three years. Used very little because brown flaky crud comes from air jets when on. I have always used the cleaning cycle as directed by the manual. Have tried filling tub and turning on air to blow out crudd. At least 20 times . Anyone else having this problem and what can I do? As far as personal products that I have used in my tub, shampoo , bath soap, some times aveeno oatmeal. Thought maybe ,the aveeno built up.

15 years ago there used to be a tub made at that time by Ultra. The way it worked was you used it and the it would cycle back on to blow the ports free and dry.
When it turns back on do not turn it of. It will run the cycle and turn off. Then know if you use the tub motor it will turn on 20 minutes after and run the dry cycle. There also was settings that would allow you to cycle on everyday at the same time with or without you using the motor. you can still contact the manufacturer.

If you are experiencing a "smell" coming out of the water when you use the tub then you should use one of the products that are made for cleaning jetted tubs pipes.
Here is a link to a site that carries those items. These will get rid of the nasty smell and flecks of bacteria when you use the tub too.


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Rod
US Parts Center

The problem you are experiencing is common to many jetted bathtubs.It is a result of dried bathing water in the tub. There are a couple of solutions to resolve this ongoing problem.

1. Use your tub more frequently as the water will not have time to fester in the pipes.
2. Use a cleaning solution made for cleaning the pipes on jetted bathtubs once every three months.

You find Cleaning and Maintenance Products for jetted tubs at the following website. US Parts Center


Rod
US Parts Center
888-521-6183

you can check to make sure there is water to the front of the pump. What they use on their tubs is called flooded suction pump i.e. there has to be enough water to the front of the pump end to **** it through and push it up and out of the wet end.
fill your tub up and loosen the discharge union on the top of the pump until water starts to come out, quickly tighten the union back down and then see if you can get the pump to start pushing water.

the button is an air switch, check the simple things first. your tub is connected to a gfi plug or breaker, try reseting the breaker first.next is the air hose from the button to the pump connected,is it split or have a hole in it. with the access door removed pump the button and listen for an air leak, if so remove hose just by pulling on it, most hardware stores carry the same hose and sell it by the foot.

If you have hard water you will get lots of crud build up in the pipes.

Try soaking the jets in the cheapest vinagar you can find. The weak acid in the vinagar is great for getting crud off plumbing. Let it soak for at least 15 min then give it a try.

If this frees it up a little try the cheapest dishwasher powder you can get. The cheap stuff is a little abrasive and works great at cleaning jets.

John,

"Smokey-acidic" - are you the original owner, and can verify no fires, etc? (People don't always tell the truth when they sell a house).

In my own experience, allergen control is a two-part job
1. Using a purifier/ionizer to oxidize odors and electrostatically sweep particulates from the air (like a magnet in a box of loose hardware - clump the micro-particles that normally float on air currents together so they "fall-out", to be swept, vacuumed or filtered by step #2. My experience is with the EcoQuest purifiers, and I like the ones with needle-point ionizers. I don't have a lot of experience on the RCI technology, can't comment on it. New EQ purifiers run ~$700-1000 USD, depending on capacity; you can probably find used units (older models) on eBay or craigslist for much less, but you'll be doing your own service unless you know a dealer or handyman who will do repairs for you. (and this can get pricey in a hurry too).

2. Use an ultra-high-filtration vacuum cleaner (or a whole-house unit that vents outside/downwind from your house) to remove the "fall-out" and embedded dust/dander/other accumulated crud from upholstered furniture and carpeting. I don't know what kind of "carpet cleaning" you used - some systems just pump hot water into the mud and microbes already in the base of the carpet, **** some of it out, but leave a layer of now-moistened crud in the bottom to grow stuff that you may be reacting to. Some use steam, which is better (kills more of the cooties instead of simply re-hydrating them), others use chemical powders to adsorb dirt and then get vacuumed-out. Just understand, unless the size of the dirt being vacuumed is big enough to be strained-out by the filter media, you'll be inhaling it again when it comes out the back of the vacuum-cleaner, so the really-tiny stuff goes through regardless, which is why you want an ionizer that will clump the little stuff together (and increase the effectiveness of your filter media). Having an external (outside the living space) exhaust on the vacuum would be even better, but probably more spendy and less convenient to routine housekeeping.

If I can be of further assistance, or if you have questions about any of my response(s), please let me know before rating me.

If this solves the issue, please rate it accordingly. My goal is to earn a "FixYa" rating from everyone I help.

Thanks for using Fixya.com,

Jon

Is it a jetted tub, or a air bath tub with holes or jets in the floor? If it has holes or jets in the floor, the control box is bad and needs replaced. If it is a jetted tub, there may be a water level sensor, if so the sensor may be bad causing the tub to turn on.

I had exactly the same problem a few years ago. I thought it was a leak from an oil seal and had technicians out. The problem was that I used the wrong washing powder. Find out from the manufacturer what washing powder you need to use and use only that.

Depending on how mechanically inclined you are, take apart the tub and clean everything out. No easy task, I know, but who want old dog hair floating around? That will be your best bet.