9 Ways to Get Sand Out of a Hot Tub

When you have a hot tub, particularly if it is outdoors in your yard, inevitably sand, sediment and other debris will be carried into the water either on people’s feet or blown in by the wind. It will then end up on the bottom and collect on the seats where it will settle.

So, how do you remove sand from a hot tub?

There are several ways hot tub owners can remove sand and dirt from the bottom of a hot tub or spa, ranging from quick to labor intensive, high-tech to low-tech and obvious to surprising.

How to get sand out of a hot tub

Sand is relatively dense, so even when the hot tub jets run at full power, the sand does not normally move around in the water. Therefore, it doesn’t get trapped in the pool filter as smaller, lighter dirt particles would. Instead, all the sand congregates on the bottom of the hot tub and in the low points of the seats and loungers.

These are my suggestions for how to get sand out of hot tub water.

1. Drain and clean

Since you will need to drain, clean and refill your hot tub now and again, if it has been a while since you have done a water change, then it may be an ideal time to drain it to remove sand from the bottom once it is empty.

There are several methods to empty a hot tub, which are covered in my post – How to Drain a Hot Tub

2. Specialist hot tub vacuum/spa vacuum

Some good and easy-to-use hand-held vacuums on the market have been developed for the spa industry for use in hot tubs to remove debris using suction. These are my top picks of hot tub bottom cleaners available quite cheaply on Amazon:

Intex Rechargeable Spa Vacuum

The Intex 28620EP Handheld Rechargeable Spa Pool Vacuum is a highly-rated device for spa cleaning. It comes with extension poles so you can easily reach the bottom of the hot tub to remove debris.

Grit-Gitter

The Grit-Gitter Hot Tub and Spa Vacuum Cleaner for Spot Cleaning Sand and Dirt from Pool Blaster is purpose-built to remove sand and grit from a hot tub or spa.

3. Siphon using a hose

I often used a garden hose with my first hot tub to remove sand and grit, and I also used it to drain it.

How to siphon the sand out:

• Put one end of the hose (or some other tube) into the hot tub water
• The bottom of the hose may start to float, so I had a small metal weight I used to tie to that end to keep it down at the bottom of the footwell. You could also get someone to hold it at the bottom.
• Run the hose to a convenient garden area where the water can drain out or into a sewage input/drain. As you will not remove too much water, you can use a bucket to catch it. (Make sure the end of the hose is below the level of the other end in the tub; otherwise, the siphoning effect will not begin.)
• Suck on the hose to get the water flowing but make sure you do not raise it above the other end.
• Move the end of the hose gently around where the debris has settled and it will be sucked up.
• When you have removed it all, lift the hose out.

4. Spa wand

Suppose you don’t feel like sucking on a hose to start the siphon (so you won’t get a mouthful of dirty water). In that case, you can buy a self-starting siphon hose (spa wand), which, as well as being used to empty a hot tub, can also be used as a hot tub vacuum to remove dirt and other heavy debris.

The Shake-a-Vac Spa & Pool Water Vacuum & Self-Starting Siphon Drain for Hot Tubs shown below is available on Amazon.

5. Pool vacuum

If you have a swimming pool close to the hot tub, you may be able to use this method.

Fortunately, my hot tub is right next to my pool, so I have used the pool’s pump system a few times to remove sand and also drain the hot tub (very quickly).

To do this:

• connect your pool hose to the skimmer port (or dedicated vacuum port)
• turn the multiport valve to waste (as you do not want the sand ending up in your pool)
• switch on the pump with the other end of the hose in the hot tub
• quickly move the hose around the bottom and the seats if there is sand on them too

Water will be removed quickly, so you must work fast. You must then top up the water level, which needs to heat up.

6. Shop vac

Some types of vacuum cleaners can pump water. These are normally known as shop vacuums or wet/dry vacuums.

You can use one of these to suck up the sand from the bottom. Just push the hose down into the hot tub and suck up the sediment as you would when vacuuming your home. Pump the water into a convenient drain if there is one nearby.

Tip: You should work quickly as the water level will drop quickly when cleaning this way.

7. Water blaster for kids

Many children will already own a pool toy like these, particularly if you own a swimming pool, as they provide kids with lots of fun. They can also be used to suck up sand and grit from a hot tub.

You immediately put the bottom of the water blaster over the sand and quickly pull the handle up to draw in the water. The sand will get sucked up, too, so it can then be squirted out with the water outside the hot tub.

If your hot tub is indoors, you had better keep these away from your children, though, as the floor will likely get soaked.

You can buy a 6-pack of these Max Liquidator Water Blaster from Amazon.

8. Turkey baster

Many people have a turkey baster in their kitchen, which they use at Thanksgiving to baste the turkey while cooking.

Since they can suck up oil and fat, they can also be used to do the same with water from a hot tub and any sand there may be with it. See here.

9. Silly putty

This is probably the strangest method to remove sand, but it is low-cost and works.

Silly putty works underwater, so borrow some from your children. Push it onto the sand and then it will stick to the putty. Just rub the sand off and repeat until all the sand and small pieces of dirt have gone. Easy!

How to stop getting sand in the hot tub

If you live in a windy, sandy area, you can do little to prevent sand from entering your hot tub, except keep the cover on as much as possible.

The easiest way to prevent debris from getting on bathers’ feet is to have a bowl of water next to your hot tub, and bathers stand in it before getting into the spa. This will eliminate any debris on their feet that remains in the bowl.

How to get dirt out of a hot tub

Getting dirt out of a hot tub can also be done through the various methods detailed above.

But if it is particularly fine dirt, I would suggest you do the following:

1. Drain the tub completely.
2. Use a soft brush or vacuum to remove loose dirt.
3. Scrub the surface with a mild cleaner and rinse thoroughly.
4. Clean the filter and sanitize the tub.
5. Refill the hot tub and balance the chemicals.

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