Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: Catfish on September 21, 2005, 10:27:03 am
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And it was truly amazing to watch the foam disappear..but it came back in 15 minutes and my husband can't stand the smell of 'em(they make the whole tub smell like snuggle) We literally get 8-10" of foam
if even one person comes in with a different suit. It's happened different times. Also the night after we used the sheet the water was cloudy but I'm not sure if that was the reason.
Isn't there a product that is anti-foam? Meaning it stops the foam from forming in the first place not just makes it go away temporarily once it appears?
Thanks in advance!
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I'm not aware of any foam prevention, other than keeping detergenty swimwear out of the spa. For the few times we did have foam appear, we used some type of foam disperser and it quickly disappeared. We've only had to add this product a couple times in the last couple years.
I think some people mixed the foam dispersier with water in one of those spray bottles, and just spray on enough to knock down the suds. That way you use as little as possible to do the job.
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I also find it a useful anaology to compare a defoamer to an ant-acid.
Defoamer deals with the symptom not the cause.
If I have constant heart burn, taking an ant-acid helps me deal with the symptom. I made need a perscription or change my lifestyle to prevent the symptom from re-occurring.
Foaming is caused by:
1)detergents/soaps (from suits, hair, body) body oils, deoderant, moisterizers, suntanning lotions, self tanning lotions (results in yellow, orange or brown foam), cosmetics. You stop this by minimizing the amount of these things that get in your water.
2)water balance - you can adjust this easily
3)dirty filters - clean/rinse regularly
4)inadequate filtration - increase your filter cycles
5)TDS - as the water gets older it foams more
So while a dryer sheet may deal with the symptom, it will not cure consistent foaming
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Will a scum-bug help or is that like a glorified dryer sheet?
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We've only had the tub a month. I'm surprised it's happening because except for one time, it's only been the two of us in the tub mostly wearing the same suits or umm not. I don't think we're especially dirty either, imho..
We just cleaned our filters so maybe it's one of the other things you mentioned. Does anyone notice more foam directly after filter cleaning? That's what happened last night.
Thanks for your responses!
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Tuesday night my son and daughter-in-law used the tub with us. My son had regular shorts on(Washed in soap I am sure) and my daughter-in-law wears tons of makeup and lotion. I told them both to shower first. Well last night I got in and low and behold foam. I used a dryer sheet and it knocked them right down. The smell was okay to me. This morning all tests were good and the water was clear. I will let you know what happens tonight.
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YES there is one product that will help prevent foam by Natural Chemistry, Its called Spa Perfect. It eleiminates waterline build up clogged filters, chemical oders and excessive foaming by breaking down the oils in the water, like the all natural stuff they put in the ocean when they have a spill. I use it and recomend it to all my customers. Its works for US...
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Do most dealers carry it or is there a website to purchase the Spa Perfect?
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I bought a bottle at a spa dealer, as a futile attempt to get Baqua Spa (yeccccchhh) working for us, at the recommendation of the person selling the Bauqa and the Spa Perfect. If I recall, regular use of that stuff is pretty spendy.
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Do most dealers carry it or is there a website to purchase the Spa Perfect?
Most dealers carry SpaPerfect or an equivilent product. If you want this type of product ask for an enzyme product. Some other names I have seen it go by:
Refresh
Purezyme
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We just cleaned our filters so maybe it's one of the other things you mentioned. Does anyone notice more foam directly after filter cleaning? That's what happened last night.
ABSOLUTELY. It is imparative to thoroughly rinse. I mean thorough. If you have 2 filters (I would recommend rotating) soak the filter in a cleaning solution. Rinse. Soak the filter again in clean water. Rinse. Let it dry.
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Yes I have some of the foam disperser and I do as brewman says. I mix it with water at the ratio of about 1 to 10, 1 part being the foam way stuff. But it only gets the form that is present and eventually the foam will come back. Also one thing to keep in mind is I was told the foam away stuff will raise your TDS. So you have to be watchful of that. The best is to find out what is causing the foam in the 1st place.
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We have found that by using Spa Perfect or Sea Klear while being different products both do an excellent job of allowing you to rinse your filters with a high pressure nozzle, we suggest every 2 to 3 weeks as on our spas it is a very simple thing to do....( not suggesting others are not ... ;)...).....the filters rinse amazingly clean and allows you to cut over night soaking down to every 6 months .....
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I was looking at the Sea Klear 4-1 Clarifier product. What does it do? Is it a Clarifier and Enzyme product all in one?
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The best thing I have found to get rid of foam is to get it out of your tub. I dont get it often but when I do this is how I get rid of it. I use(as recommended here) a pool skimmer. If there is a lot of foam it may take 20 -25 minutes of skimming but it will get it out. There are two corners of my spa where the foam builds up so I will skim one corner then walk to the other corner and skim and by this time the foam has built back up in the first corner. I go back and forth just skimming the top layer of foam off the water. It can be a pain but it will get the foam out if it is caused by soap residue. If your TDS is too high which may cause foaming, then this method obviously will not work.
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The rinsing the filter thing is something we will do from now on. We are newbies, only had the tub for a month, so I guess some things are going to be trial and error and some things are things that are dealer didn't tell us during our "lesson" .
I'm glad that there are solutions though because I was thinking it would really be a drag if the foam thing was a constant battle. I didn't think it was possible to have that much foam from one swimsuit.
Thanks all for this invaluable resource.. I love the internet, I don't know how I ever made a decision or got any answers before about 1993. It seems like the dark ages. We're planning a trip to Europe and are able to see every hotel room and restaurant and street corner in order to not make a misstep-last time I went was 20 years ago and I don't know how I did it. We're trying to be spontaneous but it's hard with so much info available..sorry, back to hot-tubs..
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Ok so, after sittin in the tub last night with 8" of foam again (because we didn't rinse our filters after cleaning) Do we need to dump and refill now in order to clear it up? or can we get one of the products mentioned above?
Won't do that again!
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We have found that by using... Sea Klear... allowing you  to rinse your filters with a high pressure nozzle... every 2 to 3 weeks... the filters rinse amazingly clean and allows you to cut over night soaking down to every 6 months
I have been using SeaKlear for the past 6 months and can back up Mendo. It works amazingly well! I haven't changed/soaked filters (or the water for that matter) in 5 months and everything is still sparkling clean. (One caveat: we only use the tub 2-3 times/week in the summer). We alternate SeaKlear with a stain and scale product weekly and also use it to get foam/scum out after "bad guests". I just rinse the filters off after application and an hour of filtering, and they look like new. It is cool stuff! 8)
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Foaming water will not disappear it can be masked by "foam down" or other similar products. The best way to treat the problem is drain the water and start over. The water was probably near the end of its lifespan if TDS are involved. Spa Perfect works but keep in mind it's an enzyme, that is alive if you add it to an overmedicated tub it will die. Dead enzymes are not productive.
I live by the old spa water credo ------ "When in doubt, throw it out!"
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When you tried the dryer sheet , did all your things come out SOFTER?????
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I don't really post here much but no one seamed to mention this. I have found that low calcium hardness will cause foaming too. Have you ever checked that? Do you use a water softner on your water?
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SOunds like your a new hot tubber. That also probably means that your water is not yet in balance. This is pretty common for many first timers and often does not have that much to do with "detergent" issues. Rather, you should make certain that your water is in balcance. Raise the calcium levels will probably help (as others have stated) but take your water to your delaer. Let them tell you what is right (or wrong) with it. If you've only had the spa for a month, the water probably does not need to be "thrown out". Test, re-test, then test again...
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What's the "dryer sheet thing"? do you place a new or used dryer sheet in the water to decrease the foam?
I too didn't get my filter rinsed enough the first time I cleaned it. I only use about 1/2 of the recommended amout of cleaner now and still it is a challenge to get all the soap washed out.
I used an anti-form from Spa Gard and it took care of the problem. I diluted it in a spray bottle and sprayed it as needed. Also I used an enzyme from Spa Gard.
;D
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I still have foam dispite using the dryer sheet, although I still am using it.
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What do you do with the dryer sheet?
Is it a new sheet of one that ran thru a dryer cycle?
Connie
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You need a water change. I have told my customers for two decades that a water change after the first month cures many ills.
Water is by far the cheapest chemical you can add to a tub, so shut off the power, drain and refill. From then on, once every three or four months is fine - but definitely only one month on a new spa.
Lots of reasons this is true, but I'm too tired to type 'em all.
Give it a shot, I'm sure you'll like the look and feel of the new water. And stop this 'bathing suit' nonsense.
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I also find it a useful anaology to compare a defoamer to an ant-acid.
Defoamer deals with the symptom not the cause.
If I have constant heart burn, taking an ant-acid helps me deal with the symptom. I made need a perscription or change my lifestyle to prevent the symptom from re-occurring.
Foaming is caused by:
1)detergents/soaps (from suits, hair, body) body oils, deoderant, moisturizers, suntanning lotions, self tanning lotions (results in yellow, orange or brown foam), cosmetics. You stop this by minimizing the amount of these things that get in your water.
2)water balance - you can adjust this easily
3)dirty filters - clean/rinse regularly
4)inadequate filtration - increase your filter cycles
5)TDS - as the water gets older it foams more
So while a dryer sheet may deal with the symptom, it will not cure consistent foaming
This is very great suggestions. We can stop this by minimizing the amount of sun tanning lotions, self tanning lotions and other moisturizers that get in your water. Thanks for this beautiful suggestions.
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Thank you for the spam