<p>Our house was built in 1993, with a nice whirlpool tub in the master bath. We used it a lot the first few years, but not so much anymore. Mostly it is a good place for baskets with DH’s biking clothes.</p>
<p>Last night we had a home decorator looking at our bathrooms, with thoughts of renovation. She mentioned that these older models had a tendency to keep water in the lines and possibly get moldy. Her suggestion was to run a lot of hydrogen poroxide through it before using again.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of running hydrogen peroxide in the tub but lots of people use chlorine bleach. Chlorine is what is used in hot tubs and spas to keep the water clean.</p>
<p>I had a whirlpool tub in my last house. I take lots of baths and started getting bladder infections. It was because of the moldy water in the lines. I started pouring bleach into the tub after I got out and ran it through the lines with the whirlpool on (my doctor’s suggestion). It seems to have help as I stopped getting infections. I purposely did not get a whirlpool tub when we recently remodeled our bathroom for this reason.</p>
<p>We put a packet of this into the whirlpool once it is near full and let the turbine run for about 5 minutes before we put the patient in. Then, afterwards, we run the turbine again for 5-10 minutes before draining it…</p>
<p>I found this online a while ago when I was also thinking of cleaning our tub jets. I also use the tub for storage! I went so far as to buy the Cascade and put the bottle next to the tub, but that is as far as I’ve gotten.</p>
<p>I use a cup of bleach in mine with the tub full before turning it on. Make sure you flush the bleach out really well when you are done. This was per an article I read on the internet.</p>
<p>Yuk. Sounds like a lot of work to clean the tub… but a good idea. </p>
<p>We use the tub only ocassionally. Now that I know all of the work I should be doing to be safe, perhaps I won’t use it all. We hope to be in this house a long time, but we still try to do smart things for resale where possible. </p>
<p>When we renovate this bathroom, should we consider swap with a soaker tub? (This was the recommendation from the bathroom designer based on other customers, but perhaps she has a profit motive too).</p>
<p>I have a soaker tub with an in-line heater, so if I want to soak for a long time I can keep the water hot without having to add to it.</p>
<p>They also make tubs called air baths that are basically like taking a bath in bubbly champagne. I tried one out at the store but it didn’t do much for me. It’s suppose to be relaxing but the noise is too much for me. The air baths are actually more expensive than the whirlpools, I think because they are newer and in more demand.</p>
<p>You can also get a combo air bath/whirlpool…the most expensive option.</p>
<p>If you are remodeling and want to replace the current tub but you don’t really use it much, I would just get a soaker (that’s the cheapest option). OTOH, if you don’t really use the whirlpool tub anyway, you could just leave it if it’s in good condition and fits in with your remodeling.</p>
<p>We have a 20 year old whirlpool that was used a lot when the kids still enjoyed bubble baths, and we washed the dog in it during the winter. Hasn’t been used in at least 10 years, (except as a clothes hamper) and we will replace with a soaker tub when we finally get around to renovating. The heated soaker sounds great.</p>
<p>“If you are remodeling and want to replace the current tub but you don’t really use it much, I would just get a soaker (that’s the cheapest option).” - Well the cheapest option is to just keep it. The we would either use the whirlpool feature (with some new maintenance tasks) or continue to just store things there. But perhaps we would be sorry down the road.</p>
<p>I am considering an Amazon order for “Ahh-Some Jetted Tub Bio Cleaner”. </p>
<p>When we occassionally use the tub, we have not seen much gunk. But now I wonder if there is some lurking there after 17 years of ignored maintenance. (The dry CO climate is hopefully in our favor here).</p>
<p>I have a Pearl jetted tub. The jets are different from most brands. For cleaning, it is recommended to use 2 tablespoons of low sudsing automatic dishwasher detergent once a month. Every other month use 1/2 cup of household bleach for cleaning the system, along with the detergent powder. Operate whirlpool for 20 minutes when cleaning. The jets in my tub are removable for better cleaning. I never use any oils or soap in the tub when the jets are on.</p>