Bubbles

[sharkshirt]

I was in my tub last night with no problems at all. I know I wasn't soapy because I had just gotten done playing basketball. Anyway - I get up this morning - flip on the jets and add some chlorine. After a couple minutes, I went back to turn the jets off and the tub was looking like a washing machine. I think someone may have put soap in my tub last night as a prank. I have an 01 Sumatran, and the only chemicals I have in there are Stain and Scale and Chlorine. Water is only about 10 days old. I've noticed a small amount of bubbling in the past, but figured it was simply from skin and hair products. This looked like a prank!

Looking for advice - empty tub or add something to take away the soap?

[gman]

You may want to try the following:

1. Replace the filter(s) as it/they may already be loaded with soap. Keep the old filter. Clean and rinse it, then use it on the next water change.

2. Try "shocking" or "super chlorinating" your hot tub, i.e., adding sufficient bleach to your tub to raise the chlorine level to about 10 - 15 ppm. Do not get in the tub with the chlorine level this high. Give the chlorine about 2 hours to interact with the soap. See if this eliminates the soap or reduces the amount of sudsing.

3. If you do #2 above, you will need to test the water to determine the amount of free chlorine still in the water, if any. If the sudsing has been eliminated, you want to make sure your free chlorine level is no higher than 5ppm before getting in the tub. If sudsing is reduced but still occurring, you may have to repeat this process a few times to get rid of all the soap.

4. Test the water prior to use to make sure there is free chlorine in the water but at a safe level for use. Recommended level is about 4-5ppm. You can use the tub when the free chlorine level is up to about 8 ppm, but at this level, the smell of chlorine will be present and, if you have sensitive skin, could cause skin irritation.

5. If the above does not work, you may have to drain, decontaminate the tub, and replace the water. See Nitro's decontamination procedure, which can be found on this forum.

good luck,

gman

[sharkshirt]

shocking now. We'll see if that helsp! Thanks.

[Dnepr Dave]

Good advice. You can also use a plastic dustpan to scoop the suds off the top of the water while you are waiting for the shock to work. Those bubbles contain the contaminants that are causing the foam, so scooping the suds helps get rid of the soap.

Dave

[sharkshirt]

not to get into specifics with my chem, but it would appear that my water was out of balance (who knows if soap was even put in there). Being a newbie does make it difficult to keep things in the right balance, but the folks at the spa store really take the time to explain things and help me out. Really appreciate their assistance. Took the advice of gman above and shocked..shocked..and shocked until the bubbles went away and the tub cleared up. Then I waited for the chlorine level to drop to a safe number before getting in. Used the tub for two days, but still noticed some foaming, so I went to the spa store for a full water test. Spa store folks told me my alkalinity was low and that would cause foaming - along with body oils, soaps, etc. I'm raising the alkalinity a bit and also picked up some defoamer. They'll test my water for me again for me next week to make sure I'm balanced.

Also picked up some Spa Flush to follow Nitro's decontamination process. If I can't keep things balanced - I'll go that route to start fresh. May even do so in the Spring anyway just for peace of mind.

Thanks for all the kind advice. As I said - newbie here - so still learning....and enjoying.

[gman]

A good source for information about good water maintenance and proper water chemistry is the Hot Tub Water Chemistry link under the Pool/Spa Water Care section on this forum. There's a lot of good information there. See "Nitro's approach to Water Maintenance", and "Dichlor/Bleach Method in a Nutshell"

There's a lot of highly educated contributors on this forum who have a terrific understanding of how to acquire and maintain safe and healthy hot tub water. I'm not one of them, mind you, but I've learned a lot because of their tutorage.

As for your specific situation, if you continue to have sudsing problems, it would be helpful to know your specific water chemistry. Therefore, when your dealer tests your water the next time, please have him/her provide you with specific test results, in parts per million (ppm) for the following:

Calcium Hardness (CH)

Total Alkalinity (TA)

Free Chlorine (FC)

Combined Chlorine(CC) and/or Total Chlorine (TC)

potens Hydrogen (pH)

Cyanuric Acid (CYA)

Bromine (Br), if applicable

It's also useful to know your water Temperature and whether you have an ozone.

If you don't have one now, you should get a proper drop test kit to test your water. Taylor Industries make a good test kit. The Taylor K-2006 for chlorine and the Taylor K-2106 for bromine are excellent. A good test kit will be the best investment you can do for your tub. You're making a mistake if you rely only on the dip strips to maintain your water balance. Those dip strips are not consistent and too variable to be reliable. With a proper basic understanding of water chemistry and maintenance (available info on this forum) and a good test drop test kit, you'll be able to maintain safe and clear water with confidence and minimal effort.

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

gman