How do I run the one-time vinegar flush on a new Ella walk-in tub?

To run the first flush on a new Ella walk-in tub, mix 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, close the drains, fill the tub to 1 inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain completely. You do this once before your very first bath, and the same recipe becomes your monthly flush. The Printable First Bath Checklist for a New Walk-In Tub lists it as a tick-box item. This page covers the flush itself: what to confirm first, each step in order, what you will hear while it runs, and what comes next.

Before You Start: The Checks That Come First

The flush is the first time you, the owner, run the tub full of water with the pumps on. A few items on the first-bath checklist belong ahead of it:

• The installer's water test is done. The published test is water 3 inches above the highest jet, 30 minutes standing and 30 minutes running. Your installer performs it, and it comes before anything you do.
• The tub sits firmly. Every leveling leg touches the floor, and the door closes smoothly into a watertight seal.
• The door seal is ready. If shipping left the seal stuck, it is restored first and then wiped with rubbing alcohol.
• The GFCI works. Pressing TEST should cut power and pressing RESET should restore it. If it does not, turn the power off and call a licensed electrician before running any pump.
• Both drain handles open and close fully. You will close them to fill and open them to empty, so check their travel while the tub is dry.
• The surface is clean. Wipe off construction dust with a mild detergent, and use no abrasives on the acrylic. Keep electric appliances at least 3 feet from the tub.

With those confirmed, the flush takes little more than a fill, 10 minutes of running and a drain.

The Flush, Step by Step

1. Mix the solution. Combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water and set it within reach of the tub.
2. Close and lock the door. The door has to close into its watertight seal before any water goes in.
3. Close both drains completely. Turn each drain handle fully to the closed position.
4. Fill to 1 inch above the highest jets. This height matters. It makes sure every line is submerged, so the mixture reaches all of the plumbing and no jet runs dry.
5. Add the mixture to the water.
6. Run the tub for 10 minutes. Each therapy system is switched on by its own push control, and nothing runs until you press it, so start each system your tub has. The hydro massage starts when you press its control. On three-speed air massage, the first press is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low, and a fourth press turns it off. Running the pumps circulates the mixture through every jet, including the microbubble lines and the air jets.
7. Turn the systems off and drain completely. Open both drain handles fully and let the tub empty before you open the door.

That is the whole procedure. Your tub is now ready for its first bath, which follows the published order on the checklist.

What the Flush Does Inside the Tub

The air and hydro systems on an Ella tub are fully plumbed, so anything in the bath water can travel through the lines. The vinegar and water mix helps prevent mineral deposits and calcification, and it loosens soap and oil residue in those lines. Running the pumps carries the mixture through every jet before it all goes down the drain. The published routine calls for this flush before first use and then once a month. It is the canonical way to clean the jet lines, and What Is the Vinegar Flush on a Walk-In Tub? gives the background on the recipe.

The flush applies to every Ella walk-in tub with a hydro massage, air massage or microbubble system. The recipe is the same across the range, so you do not need a different routine for a different therapy package.

What You Will Hear and See on the First Run

The flush is often the first time a new owner runs the pumps, so a few normal behaviors are worth knowing in advance:

• A light hum and a faint hiss on hydro tubs. The ozone generator is wired in line with the hydro pump, so it starts and stops automatically with the hydro massage. When it runs it makes a light humming noise, and a faint hiss from its check valve is air being drawn in. Both are normal, as What Is Stérilisation à l'ozone on a Walk-In Tub? explains.
• The air system restarting by itself later. If you ran the air massage, Auto Purge activates automatically 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off. It runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. It cannot be stopped and it is normal, so expect it after the tub has drained.
• Discolored fill water. If the water arriving at the tub looks rusty or brown, the tub is almost never the source. Its own water path is about five feet of stainless steel supply line, and the cause is on the house side. See Why Is the Water From My Walk-In Tub Rusty or Brown? for how to pin it down.

After the First Flush: Your Monthly Routine

The flush before the first bath is done once, but the recipe stays with you. Once a month, repeat exactly the same steps: 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, the tub filled to 1 inch above the highest jets, 10 minutes of running, then drain. Flushing after every bath is not necessary, because the air and hydro systems are fully plumbed.

A few points keep the monthly routine effective:

• Clear hair and debris from the pump inlet cover each month, at the same time as the flush.
• Ozone sterilization sanitizes the water lines during use, but it does not replace the monthly vinegar flush and surface cleaning.
• Keep up the flush even if you mostly soak with the jets off. A jetted tub has plumbing behind the shell whether or not the pumps run, as Can I Use My Jetted Ella Walk-In Tub as a Plain Soaking Tub With the Jets Off? explains.
• Bleach is not part of Ella's instructions. Avoiding bath bombs keeps the lines clean between flushes.
• Nutra-Max, a cleaner made for jetted tubs, has been confirmed by Ella's technical support as safe to use in place of the vinegar and water mixture. Vinegar remains the standard routine.

If debris keeps coming from the jets after a flush done exactly as written, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850. Have your serial number, a photo of what is coming from the jets and a note on which bath products have been used.

Related Guides

• Before Your First Bath: The Initial Vinegar Flush and First-Use Checklist
• Printable Monthly Maintenance Checklist for a Walk-In Tub
• Black Flakes, Brown Slime, or Debris Coming From the Jets: Cleaning Steps That Work

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