Have you ever noticed foam in your hot tub? Whether it’s a one-time thing, or a daily occurrence, it’s important to know why these stubborn bubbles appear in your spa so you can fix, and prevent them, which is easier than you may think. To fully understand the cause of foam, you must first distinguish which type of foam you’re dealing with.

Organic Foam

Organic foam is caused by a buildup of contaminants, such as shampoos, conditioners, detergents, and lotions. To confirm you’re dealing with organic foam, try scooping some up in your hands. If it holds its shape, then you’re dealing with organic foam, as it mimics sudsy soap.

Treating Organic Foam

To treat organic foam, remove and rinse your spa filters, and keep running jet cycles to induce water circulation and filtration. The foaming will subside once the contaminants are filtered out. If you’re in a pinch, a defoamer product will eliminate foaming. Defoamer is a chemical in a squirt bottle that, when sprayed onto foam, dissolves it instantly.

Foam Caused by Unbalanced Chemistry

Foam can also be caused by unbalanced water chemistry, typically a high pH and alkalinity, or low chlorine levels. When you scoop it into your hands, this type of foam is more likely to dissipate.

Treating Chemical Foam

To fix this foaming, it is very important to ensure your sanitizer, pH and alkalinity levels are in range. Basic or unsanitized water can create a foaming environment, which needs to be corrected to make the foaming stop. Once your chemistry is corrected, a shock treatment may still be required to stop the foaming. Our store offers free water testing services, where we can keep a close eye on all of your levels to ensure your spa is foam free. For your convenience, use an at home testing product like test strips, or for more accurate results, a reagent test kit! Defoamer will dissolve this type of foam as well, but still will not correct the chemistry issue causing it.

Quick tips to Prevent Foaming

  • Use a scum ball to absorb dead skin & oils, keeping them out of the water.
  • Keep your filters clean! Proper filtration ensures no build up to form foam.
  • Internal cleaning: Cleaning gunk and biofilm out of the lines each time you drain your water cleans the parts of the hot tub you can’t see and prevents the buildup of contaminants that lead to foaming.
  • Stable chemistry: Maintaining proper sanitizer and acidity levels will create the environment best equipped for repelling bacteria and contaminants that lead to foaming.

Come on into The Pool Shoppe for any tips, tricks or guidance needed regarding hot tubs. We are always happy to help!