· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Junk Removal
A hot tub is one of the most common single-item removals, and one of the least straightforward. It weighs several hundred pounds empty, more if it has been holding water, it is usually in a spot that was chosen for privacy rather than access, and it is connected to a dedicated electrical circuit that has to be dealt with before anyone touches it. Done in the right order it is a morning; done in the wrong one it is a hazard.
The electrical comes first
Almost every hot tub runs on a dedicated high-amperage circuit with a disconnect box mounted nearby. Before removal, the circuit has to be shut off at the breaker and at the disconnect, and the wiring at the tub disconnected and made safe. A licensed electrician should do that and cap the conductors at the disconnect, or remove the circuit back to the panel if it will not be used again.
Removal companies will not, and should not, cut a live line. Have the electrical done a day or more ahead, and confirm with the removal crew that it is done when booking. A hot tub that still has a connected line when the crew arrives is a job that gets rescheduled.
Draining and getting it out
Drain it fully, including the plumbing lines, which hold more water than expected. A submersible pump or the drain valve, then a wet vacuum for the lines and footwell. Water left in the shell adds weight and comes out on the way through the house. Where it drains to matters: chemically treated water should not go on the lawn or into a storm drain, and the owner is responsible for that.
Then the route. A tub that was craned onto a deck or walked through a gate that has since been fenced needs the same access going out. Crews either walk it out on its side using a dolly and enough people, or cut it into sections with a reciprocating saw, which is the common approach for a tub that is being scrapped anyway. Cutting is messy, loud, and fast, and it turns a heavy lift into pieces two people can carry.
- Electrical disconnected and made safe by an electrician
- Shell and lines fully drained
- Clear route to the truck, gates measured, deck steps checked
- Decide whether it goes out whole or in sections
Sell, donate or scrap
A working hot tub has resale value and there are buyers who will collect one, though the buyer takes on the same moving problem and many back out when they see the deck. A tub that runs but needs a pump or a heater has some value to someone who repairs them. A tub that has been dead for years, with a cracked shell or a rotten cabinet, has none, and pretending otherwise delays the removal by a season.
For a dead tub the destinations are the landfill for the shell and cabinet, scrap for the pump motor, heater and any copper, and separate disposal for the cover, which is foam and vinyl. A removal company sorts that; a homeowner hauling it themselves is making several trips.
What is left behind
Under the tub is a pad or a section of deck that has been out of the weather for years and looks it. Deck boards under a hot tub are often rotted, because the space stayed damp and the boards could not dry. A concrete pad is fine but a different color from the surrounding surface. Expect a repair or a refinish, and expect the disconnect box and conduit to need removing or capping neatly.
If the tub is being replaced rather than removed, the new one needs the same electrical checked, the pad or deck assessed for the weight, and the access route confirmed before it is ordered. The removal and the delivery are usually two separate companies and two separate days.