How Do You Clean a Walk-In Tub, From the Surfaces to the Jets?

Cleaning an Ella walk-in tub comes down to three easy habits: wipe the acrylic surfaces about twice a month with a non-abrasive cleaner, clear the pump inlet cover once a month, and run the vinegar flush through the jet system once a month. The flush is 2 cups of white vinegar mixed with 2 cups of water, added to a tub filled to 1 inch above the highest jets, run for 10 minutes and then drained. How Do I Clean the Jet Lines on My Walk-In Tub? focuses on the lines alone, and this page puts the whole tub, surfaces, intake and jets, into one routine you can follow from start to finish.

What the Tub Already Does for Itself

The good news is that your tub shares the work. The air and hydro systems on an Ella tub are fully plumbed and self-contained, and two built-in helpers keep the lines fresh between your own cleanings.

• Ozone sterilization. Whenever the hydro jets are running, ozone sterilization is active and keeps running for as long as the hydro jets are on. Ozone is a natural disinfectant.
• Auto Purge. 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. It is fully automatic and cannot be stopped, and it is completely normal even if it starts while you are still in the bathroom.

These two features are the reason you do not need to flush the system after every bath. The published routine is one flush before the first bath and one flush a month after that, which leaves the surfaces and the intake as the only other jobs on your list.

Cleaning the Shell, Seat and Other Surfaces

Every Ella walk-in tub is made of acrylic, and acrylic stays bright with gentle care. About twice a month, wipe the tub surfaces clean with a non-abrasive cleaner and a non-abrasive towel. A non-abrasive cleaner cleans without harming the finish, while abrasive cleansers will damage the surface of the tub, so leave scouring powders and rough pads out of the bathroom.

Dawn dish detergent is an approved cleaner and is the one the team names for wiping the pump inlet cover, so it is a comfortable choice to keep on hand. Bleach is not part of Ella's cleaning instructions.

Two small habits protect the rest of the tub while you are at it:

• Keep the tub door open when the tub is not in use. This protects the door seal.
• If hair tends to reach the drains, a silicone pop-up drain protector from a hardware store is the team's suggestion for keeping it out.

The Walk-In Tub Cleaning and Maintenance Guide video on this page shows the surface wipe with a non-abrasive cleaner and the cleaning around the intake screen, so you can see exactly where your towel should go.

The Monthly Session, Step by Step

Once a month, set aside one session for the parts of the tub that move water. Doing the intake and the flush together means every part of the system is cleaned at the same time.

1. Clear the pump inlet cover. This is the suction cover inside the tub where the hydro massage pump draws water in before sending it to the jets. Remove any hair and debris from it, then wipe it with a non-abrasive towel and an approved cleaner. What Is the Pump Inlet Cover on a Walk-In Tub? shows why a clean cover matters: as material builds up on it, less water reaches the pump and the jets lose strength.
2. Fill the tub. Add water until it sits 1 inch above the highest jets, so every line is submerged. The recipe does not call for a particular water temperature, so fill the tub the way you would for a normal bath.
3. Mix and add the solution. Combine 2 cups of plain white vinegar with 2 cups of water and pour the mixture into the tub. That is the whole amount for a full tub of any size, and it is the same on every Ella model, including microbubble tubs.
4. Run the tub for 10 minutes. This circulates the mixture through every jet, including the air jets and the microbubble lines.
5. Drain completely. Your tub is ready for its next bath.

The vinegar and water mix helps prevent mineral deposits and calcification, and it loosens the soap and oil residue that can collect in the lines. The very first flush is done before your first bath, using the same recipe. What Is the Vinegar Flush on a Walk-In Tub? explains the flush in more depth.

One helpful note on the videos here. The How To Clean Your Walk-In Tub video shows the initial cleanout, filling to about an inch over the highest jets before the first bath, and the maintenance guide video shows the monthly flush. Both videos quote older vinegar amounts and an older run time, so enjoy them for the demonstration and use the recipe written above for the amounts and the 10 minutes.

Which Vinegar and Which Cleaners to Use

The published routine is built around plain white vinegar, and that is the only line cleaner the manuals and support pages describe. If you are holding a different type of vinegar, such as one labeled cleaning vinegar, the routine does not name it, so the simple path is to use plain white vinegar. If you would like to use anything else, check first with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with the product name and your serial number.

There is one confirmed alternative. 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. That confirmation covers Nutra-Max by name, not every jetted tub cleaner on the shelf, and it does not change the schedule. Can I Use a Store-Bought Jetted Tub Cleaner Instead of Vinegar? lays out what has and has not been confirmed.

What you put in the bath matters as much as what you clean with. Ella cautions against bath bombs of any kind, because their ingredients can damage the pump system. Residue from bath bombs, oils and salts is also what usually shows up later as black flakes or slime from the jets, so keeping them out of a jetted tub keeps the lines cleaner between flushes.

Soaking Tubs, and What to Do When Cleaning Is Not Enough

If your tub is a soaker, your routine is even shorter. A soaking tub has no jets, pumps or therapy lines, so there is no monthly vinegar flush, and bath salts and oils rinse away with the drain. Care comes down to the acrylic, the door seal and the drain: clean the acrylic with approved non-abrasive cleaners and keep the door open when the tub is not in use. Soaking Walk-In Tub vs Jetted Tub: Which Is Easier to Maintain? compares the two kinds of upkeep.

On a jetted tub, a flush that seems not to work is usually a flush with too little vinegar or too short a run, so the first thing to check is that you followed the recipe exactly. If the jets feel weak or you see gunk coming from them, work through these checks in order:

1. Look at the pump inlet cover and clear it of hair and debris.
2. Run the vinegar flush exactly as written above.
3. If flakes or slime still appear, repeat the flush.

If the jets are still weak or debris keeps appearing after that, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support. Have your serial number, a photo of the inlet cover, a short video of the jets running, a note on when the last flush was done and a note on which bath products have been used. With that in hand, the team can point you to the right next step quickly.

Watch: How To Clean Your Walk-In Tub | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Which cleaners are safe for my walk-in tub, and which chemicals should I avoid?
• Soaking-Only Walk-In Tubs: No Jets, No Pumps, No Electrical
• Black Flakes, Brown Slime, or Debris Coming From the Jets: Cleaning Steps That Work

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