In the building, rehabbing, and condo conversion boom of the last decade, a lot of whirlpool tubs were installed in bathrooms. Some people seem to love them and use them daily. Others just see them as an added cleaning burden. Whichever side you fall on, keeping the jets clean is both sanitary and just plain better looking. So consider setting aside some of your spring cleaning energy to give your tub a scrub.
What You Need
½ cup bleach, 1 tablespoon powder dishwasher detergentAdditional Materials For an extra deep clean, you may need an old toothbrush
Instructions
1. Fill the tub with hot water, ½ cup of bleach, and a tablespoon of dishwasher detergent powder.
2. Turn on the jets at full capacity.
3. Run jets with bleach/detergent/hot water mixture for 15 minutes. The dishwasher detergent helps loosen up anything greasy in the jets (bubble bath, soap residue) and the bleach helps disinfect.
4. Empty bathtub.
5. Refill tub with cold water.
6. Turn on jets at full capacity.
7. Run for fifteen minutes, flushing all the remaining bleach and dishwasher detergent from the jets.
8. Empty bathtub.
9. Grab a magazine and a glass of wine and have a soaker in your freshly cleaned bathtub.
Additional Notes: On newer whirlpool tub models, the jets are removable. If you haven’t flushed the jets in awhile, you may be surprised how dirty they are when you remove them. Unscrew the covers and remove the jets. Then, use an old toothbrush and a little detergent to clean all the pieces — and maybe around the spots where the covers screw onto the tub, too. Rinse all pieces well before replacing them.
Images: Jason Loper
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When I was having my condo inspected during the purchase process, the inspector suggested adding white vinegar and baking soda to hot water once a month. That's worked really well for me.
I've had the hardest time getting my jets clean, so thanks for this. My usual method is to spray them with white vinegar, let it sit for 15 minutes, and scrub, but that doesn't get them completely clean, so I'm going to try it your way.
I've been hating --and not using--my whirlpool tub because of the cleaning issues, so I hope this works!
While researching killing mold in my basement, tea tree oil diluted in water came up a lot as a non-bleach alternative. I bet it could be used in this application too, and a bathroom is not a weird place to have a tea tree oil smell (but my entire basement was another issue, so I went - successfully - with straight vinegar.) Vinegar would be good for hard water calcification too.
A whirlpool tub was speced for our new house as part of the basic plan. When we modified the builders' plan, we changed ours to an air tub. Instead of jets of water cycling through, this tub has jets of air blowing into the water for a similar effect. However, the water remains in the tub, not in the jets, so practically no special cleaning. (If you run the air cycle a lot, it does have a tendency to cool the water a bit, but that's the only drawback I have noticed, and I can add more hot water if I want to soak.)
If I had known when I redid my bathroom, what a pain in the neck a jacuzzi is to keep clean, I never would have had it installed. If I could, I would take it out in favor of a plain tub. The jets have to be cleaned often, even if you never take a bath, to stay ahead of the mold issue. Big waste of water, too.
if junk blows out of your jets then cover the intake vent with cheese cloth while you do this cleaning process.
Did you know that even after you clean your jetted bathtub it may still contain dangerous bacteria and may be unsafe to use? Jetted bathtubs have plumbing lines that contain stagnant water; these plumbing lines are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and other dangerous microorganisms. Eventually a microbial buildup known as biofilm will form exposing who ever is using the tub to dangerous bacteria and putting them at risk of infection. In addition to being dangerous, biofilm is also difficult to clean. Because of its biological properties biofilm is far less susceptible to traditional cleaners like Chlorine and Bromine. We at Scientific Biofilm Solutions have made it our goal to create a product that will clean disgusting biofilm from your jetted bathtub making for a clean and safe bathing experience. Our product ‘Oh Yuk’ is a specially formulated chemical designed to get rid of dangerous biofilm lurking inside of your jetted tub. By cleaning your jetted tub with ‘Oh Yuk’ after every use your jetted tub will be cleaner, safer and easier to take care of. Please visit our website for more information about ‘Oh Yuk’.
http://www.scientificbiofilmsolutions.com/