What Causes Foaming ?

[Makofoto]

After a month our new 245 Jacuzzi is getting foam. What causes this and how does one prevent it ... as opposed to just buying Anti Foam additive

[MPurcell]

The most likely cause is soap residue from bathing suits. Anything you add to the water by bathing suits, suntan lotions, cosmetics, deodorant, bug sprays, and so forth can contribute.

If you get a little foaming when the air jets run, but it dissipates in about a minute or two when the jets are turned off, then that would be normal for many tubs. If the foaming or sudsing is persistant, then that is not normal. For the later case, one person suggested using a net to skim off the suds, and that that would reduce the foaming going forward.

If you have a serious foaming problem, you can eliminate most of the offending substances by raising the sanitizer to shock level and holding it there for a few hours. If the level of sanitizer is dropping quickly, then you need to keep the shock going for a little longer until all the foreign substances are neutralized. For this operation you need a good test kit which includes the FAS-DPD chlorine or bromine test.

To prevent foaming, bathe before entering the tub, use no swimwear or use dedicated swimwear that does not get run through the washing machine, and avoid carrying anything else into the pool on your body.

One suggestion I have heard for hot tub swimwear is to have dedicated suits that are not used for anything else. After you soak, remove the suits and hang to dry, but do not wash them in the machine. Since you are only using them for the tub, the sanitizer will keep them clean, especially if you shower first. Then when they do get washed in the machine periodically, maybe every month or two, run them through multiple rinse and spin cycles to remove the soap as much as possible.