How Do I Get Rid of Excess Foam in My Jetted Tub?

Switch the jets off for a moment and let the foam settle, then finish the bath with the air massage on its lowest speed or with the jets off altogether. Foam in a jetted walk-in tub is soap that the hydro and air systems have whipped into far more suds than a standard bathtub would make, so the fix is to stop churning it, and afterward to rinse the tub and run the hand shower over the jets so no soap film dries inside the lines. How Can You Make a Bubble Bath at Home in Your Walk-In Tub? walks through a foam bath from the first fill, and this page covers what to do once there is already too much.

Why a Jetted Tub Makes so Much Foam

Two things in an Ella tub turn a little soap into a lot of foam. The hydro massage draws bath water through a pump and sends it back out through the jets, so the water is in constant motion, and the air massage pushes air up through the water from jets in the seat and between the legs. Soap, moving water and air together are the recipe for suds, which is why a single capful of foaming bubble bath can produce a mountain of foam that climbs over the deck. The same amount in a standard bathtub would sit quietly on the surface. What Is a Bubble Tub and How Does Air Massage Work? explains the two systems and why only air moves through the air lines while the system runs.

Clearing Foam That Is Already in the Tub

1. Turn the air massage off. On the push control, keep pressing until the system stops. The sequence is high on the first press, medium on the second, low on the third and off on the fourth. On the digital touchpad, hold the air bubble icon for two seconds. Without air rising through the water, the foam stops building.
2. Turn the hydro massage off as well. The water jets keep the bath moving, which keeps the suds alive. With both systems still, the foam settles on its own.
3. Do not add anything else. More product only makes more foam. Give the water a minute to go still and the suds will collapse back toward the surface.
4. Finish gently. If you want the massage back, bring the air up on its lowest speed, which is the third press on the push control. There is no reverse ramp, so pressing through to the third setting is how you get the softest bubbles. Switch it off again the moment the foam begins to climb.
5. Drain and rinse. When you are done, open the drain, rinse the shell, the seat and the deck with the hand shower, and run the hand shower over the jets so soap film does not dry inside the lines.

Getting the Soap Film Out of the Lines

Foam that has already gone through the pumps leaves a soap film in the lines, and a film that dries is what brings a second round of suds the next time you bathe, even with no new soap in the water. Rinsing with the hand shower handles most of it. If the tub has seen a heavy dose of bubble bath, run the vinegar flush that Ella recommends once a month: 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. Flushing after every bath is not necessary, because the air lines clear themselves. About 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off, the Auto Purge runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. It is fully automatic, cannot be stopped, and is normal even if it starts while you are still in the tub. Can I Use Epsom Salts, Bath Bombs or Bubble Bath in My Walk-In Tub? has the full list of what travels through the jets safely.

Preventing Excess Foam Next Time

• Start with a small fraction of your usual capful, let the jets run for a minute, and only then decide whether to add more.
• Keep the air massage on low whenever soap is in the water, and watch the foam while the air is on.
• Better still, enjoy the hydro, air or microbubble therapy first and add bath products for a still soak once the systems are finished. That is the team's best-practice advice for Epsom salts, and it works for bubble bath too.
• Leave bath bombs out entirely. Their oils, dye and glitter lodge in the jets and can damage the pump system. Bath oils, bath beads and fragrance beads lodge in the pumps and jets as well, and damage caused that way falls outside the warranty.
• Ordinary body wash, soap and shampoo of any brand are fine every day.

Bubbles That Are Not Foam

Not every bubble in a jetted tub needs clearing. Air massage bubbles are air rising through the water from the air jets. They carry no soap and they stop the moment the system is off. Infusion microbubbles turn the water cloudy white with billions of tiny bubbles from a single port, producing up to 70 percent more oxygen than regular tap water; that cloudiness is the therapy working, not suds, and it leaves with the water when you drain. A short burst of bubbling from the air jets about 20 minutes after your bath is the Auto Purge clearing the lines. And a clean, slightly metallic smell while the hydro jets run is ozone from the sanitation system rather than chlorine, as Why Does My Walk-In Tub Smell Like Ozone or Chlorine During Hydro Massage? explains. If what you see is white foam piling above the waterline, it came from something added to the water, and the steps above will clear it.

Related Guides

• How Do I Clean the Jet Lines on a Tub Without Auto Purge?
• How do I clean a walk-in tub and its jets properly?
• Can I Use Epsom Salts or Bath Products in an Air Jet Tub?

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