If your clearance tub was sold with a door leak and you are asking can it be fixed, the honest answer is that a Handyman Special is sold as is because its door leak is a manufacturing defect that cannot be repaired or covered. The first thing to check is your listing: a unit labeled Handyman Special was sold specifically for shower style use where a watertight door is not required, while every other clearance tub is fully working with cosmetic blemishes and carries the coverage stated on its listing. If your tub was not a Handyman Special and the door leaks, that is a normal leveling or seal check, not a permanent condition. Our guide to clearance walk-in tubs explains each category.

Likely Causes

• A Handyman Special, where the door leak is a known manufacturing defect disclosed on the listing and is not repairable.
• A regular clearance tub with a cosmetic blemish whose door leak comes from leveling, a shipping deformed seal, or weight on the door, all of which are correctable.
• Expecting a clearance unit to be modified or upgraded, when clearance and fixed units are sold as configured and never changed.
• Reading the standard Lifetime Limited Warranty into a listing that states its own warranty line.

What to Check, in Order

1. Reread the listing you kept with your invoice. If it says Handyman Special, the door leak was disclosed, is a manufacturing defect, and cannot be repaired or covered. The unit suits a walk-in shower installation with a shower screen, where the door never needs to hold water.
2. If the listing describes only a scratch, blemish or off color shell, the tub is fully working and the door should seal. Run the checks in door leaks, what to check: level with every leg touching, no gap under any leg, seal cleaned with rubbing alcohol and reshaped by hand if shipping flattened it, and no weight on the door.
3. Fill to the seat and watch for 20 minutes to see whether the door is watertight after the adjustments.
4. Check the warranty line on your listing. Some clearance listings carry a limited parts warranty of a stated number of years, and some carry none; that line governs rather than the standard Lifetime Limited Warranty. Lifetime tech support comes with every Ella tub regardless.
5. Judge the scratch from the listing photos and video. Cosmetic marks on a clearance tub do not affect performance and are not modified or refinished before shipping, because clearance and fixed units are sold as configured.

When to Open a Ticket

Open a ticket if a regular clearance tub still leaks after leveling and seal checks, or if you are unsure which category your unit was sold under. Include a copy of your listing and invoice, the serial number from the label inside the removable panel, a photo of the door seal, and a short video of the leak with the tub filled, then reach your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 or ellasbubbles.com/support.

Common Questions