Help! What’s that floating in my whirlpool?
As a leading home inspection company in Buffalo, NY and throughout the Western New York area, our professional home inspectors have seen their share of whirlpool or jetted bathtubs.
As a part of our home inspection procedure, it is the home inspector’s job to fill the whirlpool or jetted tub with water and activate the motor to ensure it is operational. The inspector will also check to ensure the motor is connected to a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt protected outlet and there is ready access to the motor for servicing.
More often than not, during the process of operating the jets we see a lot of crud or nasty looking black or brown stuff floating around in the water. Not exactly a pleasant and inviting sight. When this happens, what you are actually seeing is a fungi growth; mold and mildew bacteria from organic materials such as human skin, bath oils and soaps and other organisms allowed to germinate and grow in water left in the jets from the last time the tub was used.
Keep in mind, when a jetted tub is used, all the water does not completely drain. An amount of water will remain in the jets and as a result may allow for this bacteria to develop into fungal growth such as mold and mildew.
Therefore, it is important to routinely clean the jets of your whirlpool bathtub, especially if it has been recently used. There are a number of ways to accomplish this home maintenance task including using a commercially available cleaner found at many major home improvement centers, dishwasher soap (to avoid a lot of suds), regular household bleach or white vinegar.
Here’s how to do it:
- Fill the tub with warm to hot water, to about an inch or two above the jets.
- I prefer the least expensive and most organic method so I would add about a half of a gallon or more of white vinegar to the water.
- Operate the whirlpool tub jets for about 15 minutes.
- Turn the jets off and let the water sit for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Drain the tub
- Re-fill with cold water and run the jets for about 5 minutes.
- Drain and wipe down.