I'd like to invite you to check out Zero Bull Jetted Tub Cleaner. I’m a co-founder of Zero-Bull.com. We make powerful, safe, all-natural replacements for common, dangerous chemicals. We’ve taken a successful industrial cleaner used by Kellogg’s, Carnival, Craft, and U.S Navy and repackaged it for household bathtub use. Pages like this often recommend DIY solutions using bleach, vinegar, or products that use “quat” like Oh Yuck. We have a lot of research on these chemicals as cleaning solutions. The consensus is that bleach and quat are extremely dangerous, and vinegar is mildly effective. Here’s a brief explanation about why bleach, vinegar and quat are not great solutions for jetted tubs: Bleach: when bleach is added to a tub of hot water, the chemical aerosolizes, filling the room with the noxious chemical known to cause asthma, lung damage, and rashes. Also, the corrosiveness of bleach will damage a jetted tub system over time. Vinegar: household vinegar has a pH of about three. Vinegar by itself won’t actually clean out the jets—it’s better at cleaning mineral deposits but can’t cut and remove gunk saturated in biomaterial oil deposits. Quat: Like Bleach, quaternary ammonium compound is known to cause asthma, lung damage, and skin irritation. Quat poses a “high health risk” and “moderate flammability” on the HMIS scale. Oh Yuk is a popular jetted tub cleaner that contains quat. Jetted Tub Cleaner - LInk! Please send your feedback, we love seeing reviews, especially the nasty photos!

I remodelled a bathroom in the last house that had a cultured marble shower that was somewhere between 20 and 30 years old and it was in great shape. The old pearlescent swirly cultured marble is still available, but there are newer patterns now, too. You also might want to think about other solid surfaces like Corian and Silestone which are also available as a thin product meant for cladding walls for showers and the like. Corian also makes custom shower pans as well as those nice, integrated sinks. The price, especially compared to installed tile, is not astronomical. If you want to do tile, consider Spectralock grout. It's pretty tough to damage and although mildew will grow on it's rough surface, it doesn't discolor and a spritz of Tilex will clean it up perfectly.

It definitely sounds like mold. We have the same problem in our shower. I use a 50/50 mixture of bleach and water to clean it. Unfortunately, without regular bleach cleanings, the mold will begin to grow again. You will need to continue to run your "bleach baths" every so often to keep the mold at bay. As for the filter, if you can remove it from your tub, I would soak it in a 50/50 mixture of bleach and water. If not, fill the filter area with the mixture and let is soak for 15 minutes before you run your bleach bath. Mold sucks, but with proper maintenance, it can be controlled. Good luck!

I had this problem as well. It ended up taking several treatments of a vinegar and Dawn mixture with the jets running to get it clean, as well as me sitting in the (dry, clean) tub with the same vinegar/Dawn mixture and some Q-tips, cleaning the insides of the jets. Now, to keep it clean, I clean the actual tup with Fantastic Scrubbing bubbles and Comet, and I rinse thoroughly - I do not run this through the jets! Then I fill the tub, put a cup of vinegar and a tablespoon or so of Dawn OR a few spoonfuls of Cascade Complete and I let the jets run for about 15 minutes.