Get rid of foamy water

[Larryo]

All,

I've got water that turns cloudy and foamy after two uses, and brownish scum starts forming around the edges. The PH is rather high, and hard to get down...

I've had the water tested, followed the recommendations of the spa people, with a lot of additives, (pH down, spa shock, hardner, etc.... and tried with no additives. tried both water thru a water conditioner and straight from the hose..... This is a small, 135gal TubLicious, like new spa that I recently bought.

Never had this issue before and can't figure out how to clear the water. Help? Ideas?

My last one I did almost nothing and it never got cloudy.

[summerside9000]

Maybe try one of those products like swirl=away. flush it out and try again. Its not a lot of water to dump.
Sounds like there is some residue in there somewhere.
Super clean is the way to go. Get the Chlorine content up there for awhile.

[chem geek]

If it's biofilm or greases/oils in the plumbing, then Ahh-Some is the better product to use compared to Swirl Away or Spa System Flush.

[spalifer]

I have found the best way to get rid of foam is to use a net and scoop it out.  The best way to get rid of water line deposits is wipe with a "Magic Eraser" and squeeze the water out on the ground NOT back into the spa.  Many "chemicals" used to make the cause of these two issues get filtered out, will just breakdown with time and release the cause chemical back into the water.  The main goal with almost all water chemistry is to REMOVE anything other than pure h2o from the system.

[Waterlogger]

Swirl-away is better than ahh-some in my experience and even better than that is Spa Purge by Natural Chemistry, but a bit more pricey.

[Quickbeam]

Swirl-away is better than ahh-some in my experience and even better than that is Spa Purge by Natural Chemistry, but a bit more pricey.

I think you might get some disagreement with this. I can't profess to know a whole lot about these products, but I remember seeing some independent studies posted, by I think Chem Geek, showing that Ahh-Some was the superior product.

[chem geek]

See Seaklear Vs Ahh-Some Test Results and Spa Purge Product Shootout - 2nd Experiment and Montana State University tests.  There are other users as well who have compared these products and found Ahh-Some to be superior.

[Waterlogger]

Yeah, I was informed when they gave me some free samples. I did an experiment(which I wish I filmed now) on a tub that was a few years old that had never been purged. I used the recommended  dosage of ahh-some which didn't produce much bio film. I ran a bottle of swirl away through the same tub a few days later and it appeared to release more brown bubbles than the ahh-some.

But experiences vary I suppose.

[chem geek]

Yes, that is strange.  Most people using Ahh-Some are amazed by how much it removes and they use it multiple times until it stops removing material.  Interestingly years ago when first making comparisons, Spa System Flush was found to be better than Swirl Away after quite a few people compared the two.  It was later on when I found out about Ahh-Some and then people compared that.

I suppose it might depend on the type of material being removed, though generally the powerful surfactants will remove a lot of organic material whether it be greases/oils or biofilm.  Or perhaps if you used Ahh-Some a second time it might have removed more, basically the first usage might have removed less due to a harder surface layer of material, but once that broke through then a subsequent usage (or perhaps using a higher dosage) would remove more.  I'm just speculating.

[Waterlogger]

Well you have convinced me to give it another "whirl" lol.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[wmccall]

Everybody seems to be concentrating on cleaning products.  How about keeping the stuff out of the tub all together since this is a small tub. Has anything changed. Is someone using a new skin moisturizers?  Washing any suits in a soapy detergent?

[Larryo]

While the foamy has disappeared with application of Spa Shock after use, and putting a bromide tablet in for a day, the color is still rather cloudy.

I'd like to eliminate the source of this cloudy water, instead of treating it. Can't figure it our. Water out of the tap (with water softener) or from the hose are both clean and gets the same results. Only two of us use it, no clothes and minimal if no body lotions on....

More ideas? Sure would like to get the results of my last spa, that stayed clear for months with only an occasionally chlorine tablet.

I've heard that the chlorine is a better product for clarity, even though it has a lingering smell that the bromide doesn't have. Comments?

[chem geek]

Chlorine does generally do a better job than bromine or MPS in terms of keeping water clear.  This is why many bromine and Nature²/MPS spa users add chlorine once in a while (every week or so) to keep their water clean, especially when there is no ozonator.

[Pacificpoolandspa]

Defoamer is just a bandaid however it does eliminate the foam temporarily.  It sounds like the total dissolved solid count is high and therefore the water could use a change.  I would also check the diverters to ensure proper flow throughout the entire tub. 

Jeff