Foamy hot tub

[Darla]

Hello I bought a used thermospa park avenue tub. I did a pipe flush following directions, then cleaned refilled and added chemicals the spa store suggested. 2 of us got in it, and tub started to foam a lot. Like a bubble bath. I think it was too much clothing detergent. It had A faint smell of detergent.  A  grey, bluish green sticky film also showed up. We got out & showered and also cleaned the film in tub, and filters. 

I don't know if I should just shock the pool, or redo the whole heavy duty cleaning/water dump and start over. The sticky stuff was gross and I don't want to get in now:( 

[MPurcell]

If the tub itself is completely clean, including the plumbing, and you do not add soap or detergents or other foreign materials from your bodies or swim clothing, then you should have no foam at all, and of course no sticky film.

You may be able to remove all of that foam and film from the existing water by shocking and holding at shock level for as long as it takes to oxidize all the detergent and other foreign material. In swimming pools, usually when dealing with algae, it is called SLAM, Shock Level and Maintain. Depending on how much material there is to oxidize, it could take anywhere from a day to more than a week. But a hot tub is such a small body of water, it may be easier and more cost effective to just drain and refill again. That's your call.

You didn't say what product you used, but the best product to purge the plumbing is ahh-some. After you put ahh-some in the water, treat and drain, it might be a good idea to fill or at least partially fill with fresh clean water to rinse everything, and drain again before final fill.

Also, you didn't say what sanitizer you are using. You definitely need to have the water properly balanced with pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness at proper levels, and keep your sanitizer at or above minimum level at all times. In my opinion, chlorine is the best sanitizer for hot tubs, using the dichlor then bleach method, and I have used both chlorine and bromine.

[Darla]

Thank you for your reply. I shocked it, but foam remained after few hrs. So I decided to deep clean/drain/refill -because of the sticky scum. The clothing detergent left on clothes was accident.

I'm brand new to all of this. Less than a week. I don't quite understand the whole shock -with chlorine or bromine. I was under impression chlorine shock is for a deep clean, and can hurt pipes if used too much. And bromine is for every week/after use? 

I got a water read out from spa store. Followed directions for chems they suggested 1x week.  Add stain/scale, then water clarifier, then alk increaser, then pHdecrease, then chlorine concentrate all amounts written on print out. All chems had wait times after adding each one. Thank you.

 

 

[MPurcell]

Just shocking the tub once in a situation like yours usually wouldn't be enough to correct the problem anyway. You would have to bring the water to shock level (22.5 ppm for bromine, and 10, 12 or 14 ppm for chlorine depending on how much CYA) and then keep adding sanitizer periodically to keep the sanitizer at shock level. To do this effectively, you would need to have your own test kit. So I think refilling was a good decision.

If you plan to rely on the pool store for test results and advice, you may experience some frustration as your water goes out of balance periodically. The best way to manage your tub yourself is to learn what is needed, and then get the tools and supplies you need, including a good test kit. There is plenty of information on this forum in the sticky posts at the top of the forum, and also on the Trouble Free Pool forum.

I won't go into detail here, but if you want to read an extended discussion about taking care of a hot tub with chlorine, then read through this fairly long thread.

[Darla]

Thank you for the reply. I cleaned/refilled tub. No bubble bath now lol. I plan on learning everything I can on this great forum. I don't want to depend on the spa store. I also have the recommended test kit, and am reading up on that. It just seems very complicated right now. 

 

[dlleno]

I commend you and others like you for learning and not depending on the spa stores, who too often are trying to sell you something.  hot tubs are especially easy to contaminate with lotions, oils, detergents, etc.  and you may have to implement some techniques or even rules if you will, to keep things under control.  the other technique I have learned is to purge with ahh-some on EVERY drain until you get a feel for whether or not a purge is needed every time.  you will know :-)