I'm new to the hot tub universe, and wondering what's the best way to get the sand and dirt that always seems to collect at the bottom of my tub. I know I really need to set up a little foot rinse for people to use before getting in, but alas.

I've heard stories of a big syringe type vacuum?

Wondering if there's some gizmo that people particularly recommend?

Thanks for any help.

A battery powered spa wand works well.

Scott

I have a "grit gitter"

http://images.spadepot.com/shop/images/ ... c1033f.jpg

I saw the grit getter, do you recommend it? Again, I'm only using it for a hot tub, not a pool, and strictly for sand at the bottom.

As far as the spa wand, I'm seeing a bunch. Which one exactly?

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q= ... CDkQrQQwAA

It works for me - however it would depend on how much sand you need to suck up.
Barry

I have a spa wand similiar to the one above that I got at Leslies for around $40.

It works great. Pretty small nozzle though so only good for real fine sand and dirt.
Anything larger I turn on the spill over and push into the pool

The only drawback of this wand is that it uses 8AA batteries and they do not last long at all in there. Every few weeks I am replacing them batteries. Once those suckers lose a bit of juice it doesnt work well anymore.

I keep promising to get a charger but I still havent done it.

Anyway, if you have a Leslies by you, check it out.

My Solution:

Boat hand pump with a nylon stocking over the end of the hose. The end of the hose does not have to be out of the water for this to work. Suck the stuff off the bottom and the water returns to the spa while the debris stays in the stocking.

This is an old'ish post but I might be of use to someone looking through the history for an answer to this problem for zero cost. I cut a few metres of hose pipe from the garden hose (dont tell my wife!). Grabbing both ends of the cut pipe I fill full of water. Then you quickly drop one end onto the floor (or drain), and at the same time place the other end into the tub. This creates a syphon and starts the water flowing. Then simply vacuum up the debris on the bottom of the tub... easy.

PS. I use a slightly larger flex pipe (1.5") that I have from my pool to drain the tub when needed. Syphoning this way is rapid.

PPS. Of course you need a slight head (or drop) between one end of the pipe and the other.

PPPS. You could simply suck from the lower end to get the syphon working.

Does this help anyone?

Simple really......Silly Putty....water wont break it down, and when it gets dirty, you simply break off the dirty part. Why someone hasn't packaged this for the Spa Industry is beyond me. Also you can use Detailing Clay, works amazing at picking up annoying particles and will remove any scum in a jiffy.

What is detailing clay?

Used in Auto Detailing, for removing grime and the like from paint.

I use a turkey baster. My tub is a small two person tub though. The turkey baster works great, never breaks, and is cheap.