ET foam home

[iggythewetcat]

With my jets on I get a fair amount of bubbles/foam. Is that simple aeration, or is that what people refer to as a “foam problem”. I do have some foam remover that came with my tub. I might as well put some in—after all the worst that can happen is my skin melts off. However I would still like to know your opinions/diagnosis on this.
Thanks!

[wmccall]

Foam piles up above the water line.

[Spa_Tech]

Foam is a symptom of two things to my knowledge-


1) Detergent or soap in your spa water- This can be from shampoo, laundry detergent, or any oily residues deposited in the water.

2) Bad water chemistry.

The difference? Soapy foam can be lifted out of the water and has that rainbow sheen under sunlight. Bad H2O chemistry foam often will dissapate in your hands as you lift it out and is often accompanied with milky water and fizziness.

The foam 'remover' is a silicate fluid that releases the surface tension required to form bubbles-- so really, its effectiveness on anything other than soap is limited. Besides, if it IS a chemistry problem, you should test your water for its deficienies and correct them-- before you resort to adding more 'stuff' to your water.

[stuart]

Foam out is simply a "Band-Aid" in most cases. Like ST said let's check chemistry and balance first before adding it to make sure there are no other issues. Do you have any idea what your calcium hardness, Alkalinity and PH are?

[iggythewetcat]

I don’t have those numbers at this moment but I have a Taylor test kit (as I learned about on this forum) and I bring some water into my dealer periodically. Recently he said all I needed was some chlorine. On Wednesdays I check the TA and PH. I shouldn’t complain, compared to the lady with the white flakes that sounds like pestilence from the center of the earth I ain’t got a problem. It’s just that when you read about other people’s water issues you begin to get a little paranoid. The foam I was seeing didn’t look like the type you see near drainpipes dumping into rivers. Rather it was more like the foam men see when they dump into rivers!   It only occurs with the jets on.

[stuart]

Often many dealers don't test for calcium and it would be important to check at this point....

[steve771]

Well, there's foam and then there's FOAM.  I had added a moisturing product (velvet touch) and got FOAM like the kind you would have in a bubble bath.  I did a water change, but there was probably a little in the pipes that now causes a slight amount of foam when the jets are on full blast.  It dissapates quickly when the jets are off, and the water is very clear.  I don't think it's a problem as long as the rest of the chemistry is ok, but that's just IMHO.