Why Does Water Bubble Up Around My Tub Control Buttons and the Handheld Drip?

Water that wells up around a push button on the deck is nearly always bath water following the button past the rubber gasket under its collar, not a fault in the control itself. Ella push controls are pneumatic: pressing a button only sends a puff of air down a small hose to the control box under the tub, so there is nothing electrical at the button, and the fix is a thin bead of silicone around that gasket. A handheld shower that keeps dripping is a separate matter on the faucet side, traced by running the diverter through each position and checking every connection. Are Ella Walk-In Tub Controls Clearly Labeled and Easy to Use? explains what each button runs; this page covers what to do when water shows up around one.

Why Water Appears at a Button, and Why the Control Is Not Failing

Each push button sits in a collar on the deck with a rubber gasket beneath it. When you press the Air, Water or Light button, the button moves against that gasket, and if the gasket is not sealed to the deck, water standing around the collar follows the button down and bubbles back up when you let go. That is the whole mechanism. It has nothing to do with the door or the door seal, and it does not mean the control box is wet.

The reason it is not an electrical problem is the way the controls work. Behind the apron, each button connects to the control box by a thin air tube. A press sends a puff of air through the tube, and the control box reads that puff and starts the pump, the blower or the light. What Is an Air Bath Tub and How Do Air Jets Work? describes that sequence from button to bubbles. Because the button carries air rather than current, a little water at the collar is a sealing nuisance to correct, not a hazard. If a button has also stopped behaving, the usual reason is that its air hose has worked loose at one end, which you can check while the collar is off.

The Leak Prevention Procedure for a Push Button

The repair is done from the top of the deck and takes a tube of silicone caulk, a flat edge and some denatured alcohol. Work slowly around the acrylic so you do not scratch it.

1. Slide a flat edge under the button collar and lift it carefully. The collar snaps on, so it comes off with gentle, even pressure. Keep the edge flat against the collar rather than digging into the deck.
2. Remove the collar and the button so the rubber gasket underneath is exposed.
3. Lay a thin bead of silicone caulk around the rubber gasket and smooth it so the coverage is complete with no gaps. A thin bead is enough; a thick one squeezes out and has to be cleaned off.
4. While the button is out, confirm that the small air hose is seated firmly at the button and at the nipple on the control box. A loose hose is the usual reason a button stops responding, so this is the moment to fix both problems at once.
5. Replace the button, then snap the collar back on over it.
6. Smooth away any excess silicone and clean the area with denatured alcohol so the deck is left clean.

Once the gasket is sealed, pressing the button no longer gives water a path past it. Repeat the same steps for any other button that bubbles.

Where the Hoses End Up: The Control Box

The video on this page walks through a master control box and points out the row of connectors where the push button air tubes attach: one for the water pump switch, one for the air blower switch and one for the LED light switch, alongside the display connector that a digital touchpad plugs into. Seeing that row makes the pneumatic design plain, and it shows your installer which port to check if a hose has come off at the box end rather than at the button. If your tub has the digital touchpad instead of push buttons, the pad connects to the box by cable and performs the same functions. Cleaning and gesture questions for it are covered in Why Won't My Ella Digital Touchpad Respond When I Press a Button?, and the gasket procedure above applies to push buttons only.

Tracing a Handheld Shower That Keeps Dripping

Every Ella faucet set includes a backflow prevention valve on the handheld shower, as noted in Walk-In Tub Therapy Options and Features, and there is a small blue check valve inside the sprayer head where it threads onto the hose. A drip can come from the head, from the hose, from the diverter or from a supply fitting, and the way to tell them apart is to watch the faucet under pressure in each diverter position.

• Run the faucet with the diverter switched to the spout, then switch it to the hand shower, and watch where the water appears each time. Some fittings only see pressure in one diverter position, so a drip near the diverter lever that shows up only when the hand shower is selected points to a connection on the hand shower side.
• Check the connections under each faucet piece from below, with the access panel off.
• Follow the full loop of the braided supply lines with a dry paper towel and feel for moisture at every fitting, not just the ends.
• Look at the sprayer head itself. If water weeps from the joint where the head meets the hose, the head unthreads by hand so you can see whether the washer and the small blue check valve are in place.

Separate a true drip from normal draining. A small amount of water after a bath is often just water leaving the jet lines, and that stops on its own. A drip that keeps going while the tub is idle, or that pools on the deck or behind the tub, is the one to report. What is making a particular hand shower drip is not something the team can pin down without seeing it, which is why a photo or a short video of the drip is the most useful thing you can send.

When to Open a Ticket

If water keeps coming up at a button after the gasket has been sealed, or the hand shower still drips after the diverter and supply line checks, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850. Include your model and serial number, which button or which fitting is involved, and a photo or short video of the water appearing. The team can tell from that whether the head, the hose, the faucet or a button assembly is at fault and arrange the part. Ella does not send technicians; a replacement part ships under the warranty when it is covered, and a local licensed plumber handles any work on the supply lines.

Watch: Master Control Box Explanation with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Why Does a Deck Push Button Do Nothing on My Walk-In Tub?
• Why Do the Little Air Hoses Keep Falling Off My Tub Controls?
• Air Line Leaking Under the Tub: Cut Out the Hole and Rejoin With a Coupling

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