Can I Use Epsom Salt and Bubble Bath Together in My Walk-In Tub?

Yes, you can use Epsom salt and bubble bath in the same walk-in tub bath, as long as you follow the rule for each one: dissolve the Epsom salt completely before it goes in, and use only a small amount of bubble bath, because the jets whip soap into far more suds than a standard bathtub. The product to leave out of the combination is a scented or colored bath salt, and bath bombs stay out of a jetted tub altogether. The full product list with verdicts is in Can I use Epsom salts, bath bombs, bubble bath, or oils in my walk-in tub?, and this page covers what changes when the two go into one bath.

Why the Two Products Are Treated Differently

A jetted Ella tub draws bath water in through the intake, pushes it through the pump and the in-line heater, and sends it back out through the jets. Anything in the water makes that trip too. Plain Epsom salt is a solid, so the concern is an undissolved crystal lodging in a jet, and the fix is simply to dissolve every crystal before the salt reaches the tub. Fully dissolved Epsom salt will not harm the pumps, heater or jets.

Bubble bath is a soap, and everyday soaps, shampoos and body wash are always fine in an Ella tub. Its only complication is volume. The hydro and air systems churn the water constantly, so a normal capful produces a mountain of foam that can climb the walls and over the deck. That is a nuisance rather than a hazard, but it is why bubble bath is used sparingly and why the tub is rinsed afterward so soap film does not dry inside the jets.

The products that do not belong in the combination are the ones that carry oils, dyes, glitter or floral material. Scented or colored bath salts, bath bombs and bath oils leave residue that coats the inside of the pumps and lines and is hard to flush back out, and oils and beads that lodge in the pumps can damage the motors, which is not a warranty matter. The reasoning behind each verdict is explained in Is Bubble Bath, Bath Bombs or Bath Oil OK in a Jetted Walk-In Tub?.

How to Run One Bath with Both

The team's best-practice advice for Epsom salt is to enjoy the hydro, air or microbubble therapy first and add the salts for the soak afterward. Bubble bath, on the other hand, can be used while the jets are running. Put those two rules side by side and the order of a combined bath writes itself: bubbles during the therapy, salt for the soak.

1. Before you fill, dissolve the Epsom salt completely in a cup or bowl of warm water. No crystals should be visible. Set the cup aside.
2. Fill the tub and add a fraction of the usual amount of bubble bath. Let the jets run for a minute before deciding whether you want more, because the foam builds quickly.
3. Run your hydro, air or microbubble therapy. If the foam gets ahead of you, switch the jets off for a moment and it will settle.
4. When the therapy is finished, pour in the dissolved Epsom salt and enjoy a still soak. Dissolved salt does not harm the system, but keeping it out of the running pumps is the practice the team recommends.
5. Drain the tub as soon as you are done soaking rather than letting the salt water sit.
6. Rinse the whole tub with the hand shower, run the spray over the jets so soap film does not dry inside them, and wipe every chrome and stainless surface dry.

The salt sequence on its own is laid out in Can I Use Epsom Salts, Bath Bombs or Bubble Bath in My Walk-In Tub?, and the foam advice comes from Can You Use Bubble Bath or Shampoo With the Jets Running?. Neither product needs the other to change its rule; the combined bath simply honors both.

Product by Product in the Same Bath

What the rows mean in practice is that the pairing works when the salt is plain Epsom salt and the bubbles come from an ordinary bubble bath or body wash. If the bath salt on your shelf is scented, tinted or sold as a fragrance product, it belongs in the not-recommended row with bath bombs, no matter what you pair it with, because the dye and fragrance oil are the problem rather than the salt. Read the label before you decide which row you are in.

Rinsing so Neither the Salt nor the Soap Stays Behind

Salt and soap leave different marks when they are allowed to dry, and the rinse at the end of a combined bath has to handle both. Salt water that dries on chrome or stainless leaves spots that look very much like rust, and prolonged use can discolor the finish. Soap film that dries inside the jets builds up over time and is the reason the jets are rinsed after bubble bath. Pay special attention to the jet covers, drain plugs, handles, faucet and other chrome trim, wash the residue down the drain, and wipe the metal dry.

If spots have already appeared on the threshold, drain or trim, wipe them with mild soap and water on a soft cloth and dry the area. Do not use anything abrasive on stainless or chrome. Spots that lift were deposits; spots that stay put should be photographed rather than scrubbed harder, as described in Why Are There Rust Spots on My Tub's Stainless Threshold or Drain?.

The tub also helps itself. The ozone generator runs with the hydro system to sanitize the water lines, and the air system's Auto Purge starts automatically about 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off and runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. Auto Purge cannot be stopped and is normal even if it starts while you are still in the room. Keep the monthly vinegar flush on schedule as well: combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub with water to 1 inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain. Between flushes, wipe the tub with a non-abrasive cleaner twice a month.

Soaking-Only Tubs and When to Ask for Help

If your tub has no pumps, the rules are much more relaxed. Bath bombs are fine in a soaking-only tub with a rinse afterward, and there is no jet line for foam or salt to travel through. The chrome still deserves a wipe after any salt soak, since spotting comes from the dried salt water rather than from the jets.

If spots on the metal do not wipe away, or the jets seem weaker after a run of additive-heavy baths, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model and serial number, close photos of the affected area, and a note of which bath products and cleaners have been used. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm what you are looking at and whether a part or a flush is the answer.

Related Guides

• Can You Use Epsom Salts in an Air Jetted Walk-In Tub?
• Can I use essential oils in a walk-in tub with jets?
• Can You Use a Bath Bomb in a Jetted Walk-In Tub?

Common Questions