How Do I Get Out of My Walk-In Tub Quickly Before It Finishes Draining?

A walk-in tub holds its water behind the door seal, so the door stays closed and latched until the tub has emptied, and the quickest way out is to make the drain as fast as it can be. On an Ella walk-in tub that means opening both 2-inch gravity drains as soon as your bath is over. A tub connected to a proper 2-inch drain line typically empties in two minutes or less, as explained in Drainage and Fill Time.

Why the Door Waits for the Water

A walk-in tub works like a conventional bathtub with a watertight door built into its side. You step through the door, close and latch it so the door seal holds the water in, and fill the tub from the faucet. When you are done, the tub empties by gravity through its 2-inch floor drains before you open the door and step out. The seal that keeps bath water inside the tub while you bathe keeps holding it back for as long as any water is left. That is why opening the door is the last step of the bath.

On Ella's outward-swing doors, turning the handle works a gear-and-shaft mechanism that drives the latch pins into openings in the striker plate on the door frame. The handle engages and disengages easily, so once the water is gone the door itself takes only a moment. Our guide to how walk-in tubs work, from the door seal to the drain covers the door, the latch and the seal in more detail. Ella tubs are built so that the wait between the end of your bath and an open door is short.

The Fastest Exit Routine: Open Both Drains Right Away

Most Ella walk-in tubs carry two independent 2-inch drains with an overflow. Each drain operates on its own, so you only get full drain speed when both are open. Here is the routine that gets you out soonest:

1. Stay seated and reach for the drain controls. The drains are on the opposite side of the tub from the door. As you face the tub, a right-side door tub has its drains on the left, and a left-side door tub has its drains on the right.
2. Open the first drain.
3. Open the second drain straight away. Do not wait to see how the first one is doing, because the second drain is what takes the tub to full speed.
4. Stay comfortably seated while the water level drops.
5. When the tub is empty, turn the door handle, open the door and step out.

The dual drain video on this page shows this. An installer takes the door off an Ella tub so you can see the two 2-inch drains and explains that each one operates independently. They describe opening drain number one, which drains the tub at a nice fast speed. Opening drain number two puts the tub into what they call turbo speed. They also point out that standard bathtub plumbing in a house is an inch and a half drain, and that a two inch pipe carries four times the volume of water of an inch and a half pipe. That extra capacity is the reason the wait is short.

One model is different. The Ella Standard is configured with one 2-inch gravity floor drain with overflow and an emergency pull-up chain. On that tub there is one drain to open instead of two.

How Long You Will Actually Wait

Ella publishes two figures, and they agree. A tub connected to a proper 2-inch drain line typically empties in two minutes or less. In Ella's own video about staying warm, the dual oversized 2 inch drains empty an average size tub in approximately 80 seconds under ideal conditions. "Ideal conditions" means the plumbing in your home is doing its part. The tub can only drain as fast as the house drain line lets it.

Draining is gravity-driven. Water flows straight down through the 2-inch openings and out to the house drain line, and no pump is involved. That matters when you want to get out promptly. Powered drains can be faster, but they put stress on house plumbing and stop working when the power goes out. A gravity drain has no motor to start or wait for, and nothing in it can trip a breaker. You open the drains and the water leaves.

If Your Tub Takes Longer Than That, Here Is What to Check

When an Ella tub drains slowly, the cause is almost always in the house plumbing and not in the tub. A local licensed plumber can check these points, which are explained more fully in our article on sewer line size and drain speed:

• Number of ports connected. The Dual Drain uses a 2-inch, four-port drain body under the tub. Connecting two ports is common, and connecting all four gives the fastest gravity flow.
• Size of the house drain line. The branch line the tub ties into should be 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches in diameter. A smaller or partially blocked line slows the tub down.
• Condition and venting of the existing drain. An old, clogged or poorly vented house drain is the most frequent reason a new tub drains slowly. A properly vented drain lets the water leave without gurgling or backing up.
• The sewer main is not the problem. A 3-inch sewer line drains the tub about as fast as a 4-inch line, because every pipe downstream of the tub connection is already larger than the pipes carrying water out of the tub.

If getting out promptly matters in your household, ask your plumber at installation time about connecting all four ports and confirming that the house drain flows freely. If the tub is already installed and your wait has grown longer over time, the same checklist applies. The condition and venting of the existing drain is the first place to look.

Staying Comfortable During the Last Minute

Many people want to leave early because they expect to sit cold and wet while the water drops. Ella designed the tub around that worry. The interior of the glossy acrylic tub acts like an insulator, and the inside walls help maintain a comfortable temperature as the level falls. If your tub has the optional heated seat and backrest, the seat heater turns itself off after 20 minutes. A simple push of the button turns it back on, so you can have a warm seat under you while the tub empties. Our article Will I Get Cold While the Tub Fills or Drains? goes through each of these comforts one at a time.

If your tub takes much longer than two minutes to empty and your plumber has confirmed the house drain is clear and vented, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850. Have your model and serial number ready and tell the team how long the drain takes. It also helps to know how many drain ports your plumber connected.

Watch: Walk-In Tub With 4-Port Dual Drain System for Fast Draining: Voted Safest Tubs 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Do I Adjust the Drain Cable Tension When the Drain Will Not Open or Close Fully?
• My drain will not open or close: replacing the drain cable and adjusting drain height
• Why Won't the Drain Open When I Turn the Handle?

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