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Ivan G.
- September 20, 2022
Did you know that there’s almost 6 million hot tub owners in the United States. These are enjoyed by people in not only cold climates like Alaska, Maine, Montana, but also in places like Georgia, Texas and Florida.
If you are like most owners, then you had yours installed by a professional company that knew how to assemble and connect everything. This process is often done by professionals that not just know how to assemble a few things here and there, but also they have electrical knowledge.
When the time comes and you need to finally remove a hot tub, what do you do?
Let me show you exactly how you can remove your own hot tub, answer some of the most frequently asked questions, and even give you a shortcut to avoid all the headache.
Table of Contents
Different Sizes of Hot Tubs
Hot tubs usually come in a few different standard sizes. They are:
- Small Hot Tubs: 2-4 people
- Medium Hot Tubs: 5-6 people
- Large Hot Tubs: 7+ people.
- For additional specs, here are the standard dimensions for the most popular sizes:
- Small Hot Tubs: 5’4” – 7” (Length) x 5’4” – 6’8” (Width) x 29” – 35” (Height)
- Medium Hot Tubs: 6’6” – 7’9” (Length) x 6’4” – 7’9” (Width) x 33” – 38.5” (Height)
- Large: 7’ – 9” (Length) x 7’ – 9’2” (Width) x 36” – 38” (Height)
At the larger end of the scale, hot tubs can weight up to 1,000 pounds empty and over 5,000 pounds when filled with water. Removing a hot tub from your back yard can certainly be a task, even at the smaller end of the spectrum. If you want to take on the task, you need some tools.
Location and Tools are KEY
Where your hot tub is located makes one of the biggest differences in getting the job done. Most people have their hot tubs in their back yard with little to no terrain change. In some rare cases, you can slide the empty hot tub to anywhere you want. This can happen due it being light enough and having a short enough distance to where the hot tub is going.
If it’s located on a deck or in a corner somewhere that has uneven terrain, such as steps, rocks or other things in the way, taking it apart piece by piece is really your only option.
Properly disconnecting the electrical connection and cutting it apart in a few pieces and having a few people haul these pieces into some kind of dumpster would be the majority of the battle.
The tools necessary to get this job done are as follows:
- Goggles
- Electrical Gloves
- Reciprocal Saw (Sawzal, ideally corded to ensure necessary power)
- Hammer
- Drill (with bits and sockets)
- Box Cutter to Cut Any Necessary Wires and Tubes
How to Remove a Hot Tub or Spa Step-by-Step
Exit Strategy
If you have decided to remove your hot tub, before you touch the hot tub itself, you need to outline your exit strategy and how to go about getting the hot tub out.
Since the vast majority of hot tubs are located at back yards, see where it would be easiest to haul the pieces away. Are they big enough walk ways and door ways for you to squeeze through with the broken down hot tub?
If you have a clear sidewalk and a 4 to 5 foot wide fence door that gives you access to the front of the house (assuming that’s where the hot tub will be going), you should be good to go with clearance.
Disconnect and Drain
The next step is to drain the hot tub of all liquids. If there’s no clear way to drain the hot tub and you have to puncture a hole in the tub, be sure to disconnect the hot tub first.
Disconnecting hot tubs can be as easy as disconnecting the power cord from an outlet, OR, you might have to flip the breaker temporarily while you cut the power wires and seal off the ends with wire nuts (temporarily) to avoid shock.
If you don’t feel like using YouTube university for hot tub disconnection, it would be wise to hire an electrician to get this done quickly for you.
Once the hot tub is empty and power has been completely disconnected, you are ready to start taking this thing apart, piece by piece.
Gutting the Hot Tub
Start unscrewing the side panels off the hot tub and expose the interior guts. Place these into their own pile and do this until you can see the insides of the hot tub.
To avoid hangups when cutting through a hot tub, cut as many wires and tubs as possible so the hot tub can be cut across in 4 pieces minimum.
To lighten the tub even more, unscrew and disconnect any motors. These motors often weigh 20 pounds of more (each). The bigger the hot tub, the more motors they tend to have.
After cutting through all the wires, pvc and nylon pipes, removing the motors and making the tub as barebone as possible, it is time to start cutting it into pieces.
Cutting the Hot Tub Apart
Connect your sawzal into an outlet and start cutting the tub from the outer edge, going towards the center and ending up on the opposite outer edge.
Essentially cutting it in half.
After the cub is but in half, you can start cutting it in half the other direction, make 4 pieces in total.
When all four pieces are cut in half, cut through any remaining wires and tubs that prevent everything from falling apart individually.
Cut Through Remaining Wires, Hoses and Metal
At this point, you should be able to grab one piece at a time and carry it away. In some instances, there’s a metal base or a plastic base that is connected to the tub itself. Break that connection with a sawzal, hammer or anything else that can do it.
Finish up by cleaning up the mess and that is how to remove a hot tub, by yourself.
Want to avoid the headache and have this done for you?
If you are somewhat of a novice and you read those steps, you may have become overwhelmed by the whole task. Well, we did too until we removed a few dozen of them for our customers, now it’s just second nature.
If you need to remove a hot tub in Fort Myers, Naples, or anywhere in Lee and Collier county, 239 Junk Removal can provide you a free estimate via text or call.