The destabilization of foams by electrolytes with tetraalkylammonium ions has been investigated. The presence of large tetraalkylammonium ions at the oil/water interface perturbs the packing of surfactants, producing noncoherent films of low stability. A comparison between the foam destabilizing efficiency of tetraalkylammonium bromide salts with tributyl phosphate and 2-ethyl hexanol, which are used in many commercial antifoaming formulations, demonstrated that the organic salts have a potential for being useful in technical applications involving foam inhibition.