How to Get Rid of Hot Tub Foam

From Swim University

Anyone who has had or has been in a public hot tub is familiar with the scourge of Hot Tub Foam.  If one took the time to really think about what comprises that foam, one might never set foot into a Hot Tub ever again.  As Matt Giovanisci from Swim University points out in this informative post, hot tub foam consists of hair care products, body lotions, deodorant, makeup, laundry detergent, chemicals, body fluids, solids, etc. etc.  Luckily, the post also tells the reader how to remove and mitigate this disgusting by product of hot tub use.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

10 Easy Hot Tub Maintenance Tips

from Swim University

In many parts of the country during the Winter months, the hot tub sees the only swimming pool activity.  Until Memorial day, hot tubs serve many purposes for people, including relaxation, therapy, and recreation.  Unfortunately, because the vessel of water is smaller, and the water is super-heated, hot tub care and maintenance is very different than a regular swimming pool.  This post from Matt Giovanisci at Swim University presents a handy guide to hot tub care and maintenance, and shows that armed with the proper knowledge, the hot tub can be a great winter distraction, free from issues.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

from aquamagazine.com

Once any hot tub has been filled, an imaginary clock begins ticking, counting down to the day when the water will have to be replaced.

It's a costly but necessary process — costly due to the expense of sewering the old water and buying new, heating it to a user-friendly temperature and filling it with sanitizer and (in some cases) appropriate supplements. And then there is the cost of labor.

It's necessary because spa water contains more than just water. It's a high-performance solvent for a diverse set of compounds — some of these enter the spa in the sourcewater, others are added intentionally in water care products and still others unintentionally when the human body slides below the surface and begins to release dead skin, sweat and other greasy substances into the surrounding medium.

Over time the soup becomes imperceptibly thicker. This occurs partly due to evaporation as individual H2O molecules become airborne, leaving impurities behind in an ever more concentrated solution. But the primary cause is that over time, more and more bathers leave behind their wastes, and more chemicals are added to maintain pH, ORP, etc., and these simply build up.

At some point, water quality becomes difficult to manage. Its chemistry becomes unresponsive — sort of like driving a vegetable truck. Specific problems crop up, letting you know it's time to drain.