Can I Use Cleaning Vinegar Instead of White Vinegar to Flush My Tub?

Stay with plain white vinegar. The published jet flush for every Ella walk-in tub is 2 cups of white vinegar mixed with 2 cups of water, and that is the only vinegar Ella's instructions describe, so the stronger cleaning vinegar sold for household use has no published guidance behind it and cannot be confirmed as safe for the acrylic or the plumbed systems. The full recipe and schedule are in What Is the Vinegar Flush on a Walk-In Tub?, and this page explains why the type of vinegar matters, what the one confirmed substitute is, and what to do before anything else goes into the water.

Why the Recipe Names Plain White Vinegar

The vinegar flush is a dilution as much as it is a cleaner. Ella's routine combines 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, adds that mixture to a tub already filled to 1 inch above the highest jets, runs the tub for 10 minutes and then drains it. Mixed that way, the solution circulates through every jet line, including the air jets and the microbubble lines on tubs that have them, and it does two jobs. It helps prevent mineral deposits and calcification in the lines, and it loosens the soap and oil residue that collects when bath products get into the plumbing.

Cleaning vinegar is sold as a stronger product than the white vinegar in the kitchen cupboard. Ella has not published any guidance on it, which means the team cannot confirm how the acrylic shell or the plumbed air and hydro systems respond to a stronger solution. The recipe was written around plain white vinegar, so that is the ingredient to use. Changing the strength of the vinegar changes the solution, and a flush that does not match the published recipe is the first thing the team asks an owner to rule out when a flush seems not to have worked.

The Flush, Step by Step

1. Fill the tub with water until it sits 1 inch above the highest jets. The recipe does not call for a particular water temperature, so fill the tub the way you would for a normal bath.
2. Mix 2 cups of plain white vinegar with 2 cups of water and add it to the tub. This is the whole amount for a full tub of any size, and the recipe is the same on every Ella model, including microbubble tubs.
3. Run the tub for 10 minutes so the solution circulates through every jet line.
4. Drain the tub completely.

Do this once before the first bath and once a month after that. Flushing after every bath is not necessary, because the air and hydro systems are fully plumbed and self-contained, and two built-in helpers keep the lines fresh in between. Ozone sterilization runs whenever the hydro jets are on, and on tubs with air massage, Auto Purge starts automatically 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off and runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. The whole routine, from the surfaces to the intake to the jets, is laid out in How Do You Clean a Walk-In Tub, From the Surfaces to the Jets?.

What Ella Has Confirmed as a Substitute, and What It Has Not

One product has a published verdict. Ella's technical support has confirmed that Nutra-Max, a cleaner made for jetted tubs, is safe for an Ella walk-in tub and can be used to cleanse and disinfect the hydro massage system in place of the vinegar and water mixture. It will not harm the tub, and it does not change the schedule of one flush before the first bath and one flush a month after that. Vinegar remains the standard routine. The details of that confirmation are in Can I Use a Store-Bought Jetted Tub Cleaner Instead of Vinegar?.

• Cleaning vinegar: no published guidance, so it is not confirmed for the acrylic or the plumbed systems.
• Bleach: not part of Ella's instructions for the jet lines, so a bleach-based cleaner is not covered by anything Ella has published.
• Other jetted tub cleaners: the confirmation names Nutra-Max, not the whole category on a hardware store shelf.
• Abrasive cleansers: they damage the surface of the tub and are never used anywhere on the acrylic.

If you would like to use something other than plain white vinegar or Nutra-Max, keep it out of the tub until you have checked. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with the product name and your serial number before it goes in the water, or ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, and the team will advise for your tub.

Where Plain White Vinegar Is Used on the Rest of the Tub

White vinegar also appears in Ella's surface care, and again it is diluted. A film from soap, bath products or hard water can make a white shell read as pink or yellow under warm bathroom lighting, and the first step is to wipe the area with mild dish soap or a 1 to 1 white vinegar and water mix on a soft, non-abrasive cloth. If a ring forms on the walls after the jets run, that is buildup being pushed out of the lines, and the fix is the same flush, repeated until the water runs clear. Why Does My White Walk-In Tub Look Pink, Yellow or Stained? walks through the causes and explains when to stop cleaning and photograph the shell instead.

Between flushes, about twice a month, wipe the acrylic with a non-abrasive cleaner and a non-abrasive towel. Dawn dish detergent is an approved cleaner and is the one the team names for wiping the pump inlet cover, which should be cleared of hair and debris once a month. Keep bath bombs, oils, salts and beads out of the water, since their residue is what eventually comes out of the jets as black flakes or slime, and keep the tub door open when the tub is not in use to protect the door seal.

If the Flush Seems Not to Work

The usual reason a flush seems to fail is that it did not match the recipe: too little vinegar, too little water above the jets, or too short a run. Check that the water really sat 1 inch above the highest jets, that the full 2 cups of white vinegar and 2 cups of water went in, and that the tub ran for the full 10 minutes. Reaching for a stronger vinegar is not the published fix. Repeating the flush exactly as written is. If flakes or slime still appear after a correct flush, clear the pump inlet cover and run the flush again, and if debris persists open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your serial number, a photo of what is coming from the jets and a note on which bath products have been used. How Do I Clean the Jet Lines on My Walk-In Tub? lists what to check, in order.

Related Videos

Common Questions