Can I Use Epsom Salts or Bath Products in an Air Jet Tub?

Yes. Plain Epsom salts are the one bath additive Ella approves for a jetted tub, including a tub with air massage, as long as you dissolve them completely before they go in, run the air therapy first and add the salts for the still soak afterward, then drain and rinse the chrome. Bath bombs, bath oils and bath beads are the products to leave out of any tub with jets, whether those jets are air or hydro. The rules for every Ella tub are in Can I Use Epsom Salts, Bath Bombs or Bubble Bath in My Walk-In Tub?, and this page looks at what changes when the jets in question are air jets.

What Is Different About Air Jets

An air massage system pushes air through the jets around the seat for a soft, bubbly massage, and the push control lets you change how strong it is. A hydro system works the other way around: it draws bath water in through an intake, pushes it through the pump and the in-line heater, and sends it back out through the jets, so anything in the water makes that trip. The air pump moves air rather than bath water, but the air lines are still open to the bath. Some water finds its way into them during a soak, which is exactly why Ella fits an auto purge. About 20 minutes after the air pump is switched off, the system starts on its own and blows air through the lines for 120 seconds to clear residual water. It is fully automatic, it cannot be stopped, and it is normal even if it starts while you are still sitting in the tub.

That changes two things for bath products. First, whatever is in the water while the air is running can end up in the lines, which is why Ella's best practice is to enjoy the therapy first and add anything to the water afterward. Second, air jets churn the bath constantly, so a foaming product produces far more suds than it would in a still bathtub and needs a much lighter hand. Oils are a problem in either kind of system, because oils, bath beads and fragrance products can get stuck in the jet and air pumps and damage the motors, and damage caused that way falls outside the warranty.

Epsom Salts in an Air Jet Tub, Step by Step

1. Dissolve the salts completely in a cup or bowl of warm water before they go anywhere near the tub. No crystals should be visible, so none can lodge in a jet.
2. Fill the tub and run your air massage first. On push controls the first press is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low and a fourth press turns the system off. If your tub also has hydro or microbubble therapy, run those first as well.
3. With the systems off, pour in the dissolved salts and enjoy a still soak. Dissolved Epsom salt will not harm the pumps, heater or jets, but keeping it out of the running system is the team's advice.
4. Expect the auto purge. Roughly 20 minutes after you turned the air off, the jets will blow on their own for about two minutes. Nothing is wrong, and you do not need to do anything.
5. Drain the tub as soon as you finish rather than letting salt water sit.
6. Rinse the whole tub with the hand shower, paying particular attention to the jet covers, drain plugs, handles, faucet and other chrome trim, and wash the residue down the drain.
7. Wipe the chrome and stainless dry. Salt water that dries on metal leaves spots that look like rust and can eat at the plated finish over time.

Bath Products in an Air Jet Tub, Product by Product

What the table means in practice is that the dividing line is not air versus hydro but soluble versus oily. Epsom salt and ordinary soap dissolve and rinse away with the bath water, so the air lines and pumps are left clean once the auto purge and a rinse have done their work. Oils, dyes, glitter and solids do not rinse away, and once they coat the inside of a pump or lodge in a line they are hard to clear. The foam column is the one place air jets behave differently from a plain tub: a normal capful of bubble bath becomes a mountain of suds under the air massage, so start small and add more only if you want it. The companion guides Is Bubble Bath, Bath Bombs or Bath Oil OK in a Jetted Walk-In Tub? and Can You Use Bubble Bath or Shampoo With the Jets Running? go deeper on the foaming products and the ones that can clog the jets.

Spots, Residue and the Vinegar Flush

If you already see rust-colored marks on the threshold, around the drain or on the jet trim after salt baths, they are almost always dried deposits rather than failing metal. Wipe the area with mild soap and water on a soft cloth, then dry it, and never use an abrasive pad or powder on chrome or stainless. Spots that lift were deposits; spots that stay, or trim that looks pitted, deserve close photos sent to the team at ellasbubbles.com/support or (800) 480-6850 with your model and serial number and a note on the bath products and cleaners used. Why Are There Rust Spots on My Tub's Stainless Threshold or Drain? covers that check in order, and Can Epsom Salt Damage a Walk-In Tub, Its Jets or Its Chrome? explains exactly where salt can and cannot do harm.

For the lines themselves, the vinegar flush is the reset. Combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub to one inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes and drain. Ella asks for this flush before first use and once a month, and it is the right move whenever the jets have seen scented salts, oils or a bath bomb. Flushing after every bath is not necessary, because the auto purge and the ozone sterilization that runs with the hydro system handle the routine cleaning on their own.

Soaking Tubs Without Pumps

If your tub is a soaking model with no air or hydro system, there are no pumps or lines for additives to reach, and the rules are much more relaxed. The chrome and stainless care still applies, because salt that dries on the drain, threshold or faucet will spot the finish in a soaking tub just as it does in a jetted one. Drain promptly, rinse and dry the metal, and the trim stays bright.

Related Guides

• My walk-in tub turned on by itself: the air massage Auto-Purge is normal
• Why Isn't the Auto Purge Running on My Tub?
• How Do I Clean the Air Jet Bubble Lines in My Walk-In Tub?

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