Showering Before and After Using Hot Tub?

[Dirk]

I am a shower-at-night-before-bed kind of person. I can't really get to sleep if I don't...

I was traveling in Africa years ago, and we got to a remote border crossing too late. They had closed up for the day. So we had to spend the night in one country's dirt parking area, to wait for the customs agents of the other country to open up in the morning. There was a tall fence between the two countries, that ran off into the dark in both directions.

After a day of dusty roads and sweaty truck seats, I was desperate for a shower. Almost panicked! How was I going to get to sleep?! I paced up and down the fence. Formulating a plan to get over it and sneak into the other country's very nice facilities. Bathrooms, showers, the works. We could see them through the fence. So close, yet so far! The side we were on was a poorer country, and barely had a toilet. Back and forth I paced. And then I made up my mind.

Luckily my friends caught me halfway over the fence and dragged me back down off of it. Our guide was not happy and chewed me out good. I guess that's the kind of thing that gets you shot in some places! Or at least banned from getting in.

Ah, but I was not to be denied. I ended up finding a hose and took a cold "shower" with it, under the stars. Hey, you make do.

Even then, had there been a hot tub... I wouldn't have gotten in!!

 

[AndyTN]

Any tips on reducing the foaming once the lotions and detergents are already in the water? I can start wearing the same suit without washing it but my wife and 2 boys have eczema so they have to put on a lot of lotions, especially in winter. I don't see it practical to keep this stuff from getting into the water. I have tried the floating mesh animals which are supposed to absorb some of the stuff but those have done very little. This morning I was scooping out the foam with a plastic plate after running the air jets for 15 minutes.

 

[Mdragger88]

Any tips on reducing the foaming once the lotions and detergents are already in the water? I can start wearing the same suit without washing it but my wife and 2 boys have eczema so they have to put on a lot of lotions, especially in winter. I don't see it practical to keep this stuff from getting into the water. I have tried the floating mesh animals which are supposed to absorb some of the stuff but those have done very little. This morning I was scooping out the foam with a plastic plate after running the air jets for 15 minutes.

The best thing is to have them rinse off before getting in if they have recently applied lotion.
I try to avoid using lotion until after tubbing.
I also use baby wipes to remove my deodorant & such if it has been recently applied.
Generally if I have used lotion in the am & worn clothes all day that cover those areas I don’t have any issues using the tub without rinsing in the evening.
I use a rolachem scumbug which is some kinda strange foam & it does absorb film/oil from the top of the water. I just squeeze it out outside of the tub & put it back in several times when using the tub. Each one lasts me a year before it starts to break down.
You may try upping your ch a little to reduce foaming as well if its on the low side. Some find they need to go as high as 150ppm.
After a few fun bouts with teen girls & hair conditioner & other products I learned to rinse the filter & up the fc right after. Things seem to go away pretty quickly. The higher fc eventually breaks it down.
The aqua clarity is also a helpful addition as it contains a surfactant which breaks down the excess “scrud” if you will.
It helps with the greasy residual that my hubby can’t seem to scrub off from his job & hobbies unless he were to scrub every part with lava soap every day which is impractical.
If you’re already using the aqua clarity & doing the full dose you may need to cut it back a dab. Too much gives a bit of foam.
Usually the lotion/conditioner/self tanner/sunscreen etc. doesn’t really foam - it leaves more of a murky oily sheen & there may be some bubbles that form but not foaming persay. They are mostly comprised of oils, fats, & silicones so you may want to degrease your filters more often if they are a regular occurrence in your tub. Foaming sounds like detergent.
More fc & rinsing the filter is the answer for that.

 

[Gebo]

The best thing is to have them rinse off before getting in if they have recently applied lotion.

You may try upping your ch a little to reduce foaming as well if its on the low side. Some find they need to go as high as 150ppm.

If you’re already using the aqua clarity & doing the full dose you may need to cut it back a dab. Too much gives a bit of foam.

My experience as well. I went to CH 150. And 1/4 of an oz of the Aqua Clarity is no joke. I can tell a difference is 1.75 and 2.0 oz. I'm supposed to use
1.75 oz and I figured, what the heck, I'll just round it up to 2.0. My wife got in the same night and asked me why the water was so foamy. I will stay between
1.5 and 1.75 oz from this point on.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If foaming is a real problem that CH increases doesn’t fix, then I would suggest using a hot tub defoaming agent but look for one that use polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), or more generically called “siloxane oil and water emulsions”. Siloxane’s are very effective at reducing foam, they are resistant to chlorine oxidation and they are hypoallergenic so they will be less likely to aggravate any skin conditions. Use only as-directed and never overdose.

 

[phonedave]

You may try upping your ch a little to reduce foaming as well if its on the low side. Some find they need to go as high as 150ppm.

Some of us keep theirs in the 300+ ppm range. Just sayin'

 

[Mdragger88]

Some of us keep theirs in the 300+ ppm range. Just sayin'

He’s near me on city water from the same aquifer - likely has a lowish starting ch.

 

[phonedave]

He’s near me on city water from the same aquifer - likely has a lowish starting ch.

My starting CH is in the 100 - 120 ppm range. 320 ppm is where foaming stops for me. I think it is because of the type of jets I have in my tub. Many of them break the surface and froth in a lot of air.

 

[Gebo]

My starting CH is 50 on town water. You ought to see how the dishwasher etches glass.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My starting CH is 50 on town water. You ought to see how the dishwasher etches glass.

Switch to liquid detergent like cascade, use half as much in the automatic dispenser, and stop using any rinse aid / finishing aid. When softened water is used in a dishwasher, the combination of the detergent and demineralized water will act as a powerful etchant for certain types of glass. Shorter wash cycles and lower temperatures help too. My dishwasher doesn’t allow much control over the heating element and so the hot soft water is very corrosive to glass. I have to use about a 1/3rd of the recommended detergent and no rinse aid or else my glasses with frost over in just a few wash cycles. It’s nice not having scale buildup to deal with but there are downside effects. You could also wash glasses separately on a shorter cycle with little or no detergent.

Dishwasher pods/packs/pucks are the Devil’s tool!!!

 

[Gebo]

I’ll see if we can switch to liquid. Depends on what she says.

 

[Dirk]

No pods for me. How about Cascade powder? (I'm old-school.)

So with very soft water I shouldn't use the rinse aid? I don't actually have any issues with my glasses. I don't even seem to notice when I run out of the aid.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

No pods for me. How about Cascade powder? (I'm old-school.)

So with very soft water I shouldn't use the rinse aid? I don't actually have any issues with my glasses. I don't even seem to notice when I run out of the aid.

Powder works too. I like the liquid but it’s basically the same.

The rinse aid is really unnecessary unless you don’t use some kind of drying cycle. Most machines nowadays will either do a heated drying cycle at the end with a fan that moves the air around OR, in the case of Bosch and a few others, those machines pop the door open at the end to let out the humid air and dry the dishes. With a drying cycle, the rinse aid really doesn’t do much. It’s basically a surfactant that keeps the water from beading up making water spots less likely. I don’t find it necessary in my machine and so I don’t use it.

 

[AndyTN]

Foaming sounds like detergent.
More fc & rinsing the filter is the answer for that.

Believe it or not, scooping the foam off with the plate actually worked as I had zero foam this morning. It was tedious so not practical but if I occasionally get a lot of foam, I am going to get out the ShopVac to remove a lot of it.

Good point about rinsing the filters. That is easy to just shake them for a few seconds under the pool water and pop them back in.

 

[Gebo]

Believe it or not, scooping the foam off with the plate actually worked as I had zero foam this morning. It was tedious so not practical but if I occasionally get a lot of foam, I am going to get out the ShopVac to remove a lot of it.

Good point about rinsing the filters. That is easy to just shake them for a few seconds under the pool water and pop them back in.

I probably would not rinse them in the pool. I'd take them and rinse them outside the tub with a sprayer. No sense in just reintroducing the "bad" gunk in your Tub.