What Is Air Massage Therapy in a Walk-In Tub and How Does It Work?

Air massage is the walk-in tub therapy that uses a three-speed blower to push air through jets built into the tub, so the bath fills with moving bubbles around your seat, hips and feet. On an Ella tub it is chosen at order time as part of a therapy package, explained in What Is a Therapy Package on a Walk-In Tub?, either on its own or paired with hydro massage. It always comes with Auto Purge, which dries the air lines for you after every bath.

What Air Massage Is, and How It Differs from Hydro Massage

Every Ella therapy is defined by the equipment installed under the tub. Air massage adds a three-speed blower with Auto Purge. Hydro massage is a different system: it adds a water pump with the in-line heater and ozone, plus a push button and an intensity dial. One moves air through the water, the other moves the water itself, and that is why the two have separate buttons on the deck and can be combined in one tub.

The hydro intensity dial often causes confusion here. Turning that dial up introduces more air into the hydro jet stream for a stronger flow, and turning it down reduces the air for a gentler flow. That is still hydro massage. Air massage is its own system with its own blower, its own jets and its own three speeds.

Ella places air jets where many tubs have none. The air massage video on this page describes hip jets, feet jets and even bidet jets, and in practice the air jets sit low by the feet and up on the seat. If your interest is skin care and not massage, that is a third system: infusion microbubble therapy is a skin treatment and not a massage, and it is covered in What Is Thérapie par microbulles Infusion on a Walk-In Tub?.

How to Run an Air Massage from the Deck Controls

Ella walk-in tubs come with a choice of deck controls: on and off push controls or the digital touchpad. The push controls need only a gentle push, and the Air button cycles through the speeds in a fixed order:

1. First press: high speed.
2. Second press: medium speed.
3. Third press: low speed.
4. Fourth press: the system turns off.

The sequence starts at high, which surprises some new owners who expect it to ramp up from low. If the speeds ever feel out of order, count your presses from off. This order applies to legacy Transfer units too, and there is no reverse ramp on legacy units.

On the digital touchpad, touch the air bubble icon once to activate the air massage, touch the plus button to increase the intensity and the minus button to decrease it, and hold the air bubble icon down for two seconds to turn it off. The controls video on this page demonstrates both styles, including the press-by-press speed sequence on the push control and the plus and minus buttons on the touchpad. It also shows that the chromatherapy light works the same way on either control: one press for the full range of colors, another single press to select a specific color, and a two second hold to turn the light off.

How Much Water Air Massage Needs

Every air jet must be submerged before you start the air massage. Because the air jets sit both low by the feet and up on the seat, air massage needs a full-tub fill, unlike a foot-only session on a tub with independent foot massage, where only the footwell is filled. The simple rule from What Is the Water Line Before Running the Jets on a Walk-In Tub? is that if you can see a jet above the water and its system is about to run, keep filling. Running a system before water covers its jets can permanently damage it, and that damage is not covered. The upper limit is just as simple: never fill above the center of the drain handle, which is the overflow line.

A good habit for every bath is the same short sequence. Step in, close the door and the drain, fill, watch the highest jet you plan to use, and only then press the control. When you finish, switch the systems off before you open the drains, so nothing runs as the water drops below the jets.

Auto Purge: Why the Tub Runs Again After Your Bath

Air lines that stay wet are an invitation for mold and mildew, so Ella's air system cleans up after itself. Auto Purge activates automatically 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off, which works out to about 20 minutes after your bath, and it runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. It is fully automatic and cannot be stopped. It is also completely normal, even if it starts while you are still in the tub. The air massage video on this page describes this step and explains that it clears out the leftover moisture in your system to keep your tub as fresh as possible.

This is also why an air system asks so little of you. Care follows the therapy package: air systems self-clear with Auto Purge, and a soaker needs no system care at all. If your tub pairs air with hydro massage, the hydro side still gets the monthly vinegar flush. Combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub with water to one inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain.

What Comes with Air Massage, and What Does Not

The therapy package choices are Soaking, Hydro Massage, Air Massage, Air plus Hydro, Hydro plus Independent Foot Massage, Hydro plus Microbubble, and triple combinations on certain models. The package decides the jet count, the deck controls, whether the LED light and in-line heater are included, and how many dedicated electrical lines your electrician runs. A few points matter most when air massage is on your list:

• In-line heater. The heater sits in the hydro massage water line, so an air-only tub does not include one. It has a blower but no hydro water line. An Air plus Hydro tub includes the heater as part of the hydro side. The heater holds your bath temperature and does not heat cold water, and your home water heater still fills the tub. Details are in Does My Ella Tub Include an In-Line Heater?.
• LED chromatherapy light. The light comes with every dual and triple package, so Air plus Hydro includes it. The Front Entry does not offer the LED light with any package.
• Jet counts follow the package. Spec sheets print jets per package, not per model. A Transfer sheet lists 22 hydro jets for the Hydro package and 11 hydro plus 17 air jets for Hydro plus Air, and both are correct.
• Some models ship with air included. The ShaK and Big4One ship with the digital-controller Air plus dual Hydro package, and the Deluxe ships as a fixed Air plus Hydro package. The LayDown tubs take one therapy at a time.
• Decide before the tub is built. The package cannot be changed after the tub is built, so settle it with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before production.

For a wider look at how air fits beside the soaker, hydro, microbubble and foot massage choices, along with extras such as the heated seat and ozone sterilization, see Walk-In Tub Therapy Options and Features. If you already own the tub and are not sure which package you have, look at the therapy package on your invoice or order confirmation. You can also find your serial number on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door, then open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850.

Related Guides

• My walk-in tub turned on by itself: the air massage Auto-Purge is normal
• Hydro massage vs air massage: what each system does and how to use the controls
• Why Does the Air Massage Blow Cold Air? There Is No Heating Element

Related Videos

Questions fréquentes