Have you ever lifted your hot tub cover and to your surprise discovered fluffy, puffy foam floating on top of your water?  Typically, the solution is relatively simple to fix.  But how do you get rid of the foam? Let's talk about it.

3 Common Culprits of Foamy Spa Water

There are 3 common culprits of foamy water:  personal care products, problems with pH and low calcium hardness. 

Using products to decrease the foam are a very short term solution.  We recommend you fix the underlying problem.

Personal Care Products

Let's talk about personal care products and soap residue on bathing suits or your skin. They can dissolve into the water and cause it to be frothy. 

Oil from lotions, hair products, makeup and sunscreen can be the culprit too. 

We know it sounds strange, but we recommend not using detergent when washing your swim wear and make sure to rinse it very well each time you use it.

On another note, avoid wearing t-shirts, regular clothing and even boxer shorts in your spa.  These fabrics tend to hold even more detergent than swim wear fabric.

High pH or Low pH

High pH in your hot tub/spa water can cause the appearance of foam on the water.  Testing your water regularly with test strips help determine if any balancers are needed. Balancers are products such as pH Up and pH Down.  You can find those by clicking HERE.

pH Decreaser or pH Increaser

To correct a high pH level in your spa water, add pH Decreaser such as our Waters Choice pH Down product. To bring pH back into the normal range, or if you hot tub water has a low pH level, use Waters Choice pH Up.

Low Calcium Levels

Low calcium hardness can also bring about foamy water.  As a matter of fact, low calcium is very hard on your hot tub equipment and plumbing.  Low calcium hardness also lowers the surface tension of the water which creates perfect conditions for lathery water.

If, after testing your water, you discover the calcium is low we find that using a calcium increaser will quickly bring your spa water back to healthy levels. As a side note, when your calcium level is too high it can be difficult to lower. 

We suggest simply draining your spa.  Trust us.  Afterwards, clean your spa using vinegar or other products that will remove calcium from the inside walls of your hot tub.

Ion Exchange Pre-Filter

When refilling the water in your hot tub, we recommend using our Ion Exchange Pre-Filter.  It'll filter out mineral including calcium. 

Don't forget that using test strips that include calcium hardness will help you maintain and check the levels in your spa. 

Always Start With A Test Strip

Whatever your water issues are, start with a water test strip.  Using one of these handy little sticks determines what your calcium, pH and Alkalinity levels are and lets you know how to correct it.

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Visit our Frequently Asked Questions section at waterschoice.com for more information and helpful blog posts.