How does a walk-in tub work, and how do you use one?

An Ella walk-in tub works by putting a watertight door in the side wall of the bathtub. You step in through the open door, sit on the built-in seat, close and latch the door, and fill the tub around you from the faucet. When the bath is over, two 2-inch gravity drains empty the tub, usually in two minutes or less on a proper 2-inch drain line, and only then does the door open again. Drainage and Fill Time gives the fill and drain figures; this page follows a single bath from the door to the drain and explains what each system is doing along the way.

Step by Step: Using a Walk-In Tub

1. Open the door and step through the opening into the tub. Keep your weight off the door; it is not a handhold and should never be used to lower yourself into the seat.
2. Sit on the built-in seat, then swing the door shut and latch it with the handle.
3. Fill the tub. The faucet fills at about 16 gallons per minute, so a tub with a capacity of around 60 gallons fills quickly rather than making you wait before you begin bathing.
4. Turn on the therapy systems your tub was ordered with, if any, and bathe.
5. When you are finished, turn the therapies off and open the drain with the handle on the deck.
6. Wait for the tub to empty completely, then unlatch the door, open it and step out.

The order matters at both ends. The door closes before the water goes in and opens only after the water is gone, which is why drain speed is a comfort feature on a walk-in tub rather than a convenience.

How the Door Seals

Ella makes two door styles, and both are designed to be closed before filling. The stainless steel inward-swing door on the Elite, Petite, Royal, Deluxe, Ultimate, Companion and Escape, and the acrylic S-shape inward door on the Standard, Zen and Zen60, swing into the tub. You close the door toward you and turn the interior handle to lock it, which pulls the door into its seal. As the tub fills, the weight of the water presses the door more firmly into place, so the door stays shut on its own and will not open until the tub has completely drained.

The outward-swing door on the Capri, Monaco, Front Entry, Mobile, Lounger, Shak, Big4One and the two-seat Tub4Two is a plastic composite frame with a tempered glass panel, held shut by a three-latch gear and shaft mechanism rather than by water pressure. The Transfer family uses an oversized L-shaped outward door whose lower door line lets a bather slide onto the seat from a wheelchair while seated. An outward door needs clear floor space in front of the tub to swing, and with either style the rule is the same: drain the tub completely before you open it. Leave the door open between baths so the seal can dry.

Filling the Tub and Running the Therapies

The Ella Standard, as an example, ships with the 5-piece Ella Fast-Fill faucet with a pull-out hand shower. If your tub was ordered with an Ella thermostatic faucet package, it includes a built-in thermostatic control valve that mixes hot and cold water to a set temperature, so the fill arrives at the temperature you chose. That valve carries its own 1-year limited warranty, separate from the lifetime parts warranty on the rest of the tub.

Therapy systems are built into the shell at the factory, so what the tub does after it fills depends on the package you ordered:

• Hydro massage pumps bath water through jets in the shell. The Standard, as shipped, carries 18 hydro jets with a push control to start the pump and an intensity dial to set the strength, and an in-line heater keeps the circulating water warm.
• Air massage pushes air through a separate set of jets. On Ella's three-speed push controls the first press is high speed, the second is medium, the third is low and a fourth press turns the system off. About 20 minutes after the air pump is turned off, Auto Purge starts on its own and runs for 120 seconds to blow residual water out of the air lines. It cannot be stopped, and it is normal for it to begin while you are still in the tub.
• Other options include microbubble therapy and a heated seat and back, each with its own control. Tell the team which therapies interest you before an installer visits, because the electrical work depends on those choices.

Jetted tubs need a monthly vinegar flush: fill to one inch above the highest jets, add 2 cups of white vinegar mixed with 2 cups of water, run the tub for 10 minutes and drain. A soaking tub with no jets has none of this equipment and simply holds the water at the temperature you fill it.

How the Drain Works

Every Ella tub drains by gravity through two 2-inch drains rather than through a pump. Connected to a proper 2-inch drain line, that empties the tub in two minutes or less, which matters because you are sitting in the tub while it drains. The drains sit on the opposite side of the tub from the door: a right-side door tub has its drains on the left, and a left-side door tub has its drains on the right, as you face the tub.

You open and close the drain from the deck. Turning the drain handle operates a cable that runs down to the drain body and raises or lowers the stopper, so you never reach into the water or press the stopper by foot. Turn the handle fully to its stop; a handle that has not been turned far enough is the most common reason a tub seems not to drain. The emergency pull-up chain does the same job by hand and is the backup for a moment when the handle cannot be reached or does not respond. Never step on the stopper or push it down by hand, because that can knock it off its seat. How the Cable-Operated Drain Works and What to Check When It Will Not Open covers the handle, the set screw and the cable in detail.

What the Tub Needs from Your Bathroom

Ella builds the tub but does not install it and does not send technicians. A local licensed plumber and electrician remove the old tub, make the plumbing and electrical connections and set the new one, and Does Ella Install the Tub? How to Get Connected With a Local Installer in Your Area explains how the team can introduce you to a partner installer near your installation address. Ella provides the specification sheets, the electrical diagrams for your chosen therapies and free technical support for whoever does the work.

On the plumbing side, the tub needs a 2-inch drain line to reach its published drain time and hot and cold supply lines for the faucet. On the electrical side, a tub with pumps needs dedicated GFCI-protected lines, and it plugs in with two cords: one ends in a standard household plug and the other, on the control box cord, ends in a 20 amp, 120 volt plug with one blade turned sideways. That plug fits only a 20 amp receptacle, so the electrician installs a 20 amp GFCI receptacle on a 20 amp line, as T-Shaped Plug Does Not Fit the Outlet: The 20 Amp Plug on Your Walk-In Tub Cord explains. The grounding video on this page shows that Ella tubs come with ground wires on every electrical component and on the tub frame, and it reminds the installer to secure a proper ground connection following local and state electrical codes. A plain soaking tub with no pumps drains by gravity and needs no dedicated circuit.

Related Guides

• How fast will my walk-in tub fill? Fast-fill faucet expectations and operation
• How to Take a Bath in Your Walk-In Tub: The Sequence From Stepping In to Stepping Out

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