By The Junk Lord · Updated
Why the trash truck won't take it
If you're figuring out how to get rid of a hot tub, the first idea is usually the curb. It won't work, and it's not just because the thing is big. Local bulk-item rules are built around what two people can lift into a truck, and plenty of them name hot tubs outright.
- York Township allows one large item a week with regular trash, and it has to be liftable by two people. Anything heavier isn't collected.[1]
- The City of Lancaster uses the same test: an oversized item can't weigh more than two people can lift and load into the trash truck.[2]
- East Manchester Township's hauler lists hot tubs among the building materials it won't take as bulk, and it won't take anything longer than 4 feet or over 75 pounds without its approval.[3]
- Ephrata Borough names hot tubs on its not-accepted bulk list. For any oversized item over 50 pounds, the borough tells residents to contact a private hauler.[4]
What's actually in a hot tub
It helps to know what you're dealing with. Strip away the cover and an ordinary hot tub is a molded shell, a cabinet or skirt around it, a frame underneath holding it up, and a bundle of equipment: one or more pumps, a heater, a control box, plumbing, and wiring. Add the cover and usually a set of steps.
That mix is why there's no single place to drop one off. A few pieces are worth knowing about:
- The pump motors aren't e-waste. York County's free electronics recycling doesn't accept electric motors or devices containing liquids.[5]
- Metal parts can be separated out. York County's Small Load Drop-Off sends metal items to a local scrap yard.[6]
- The cover is usually the heaviest-for-its-size piece once it's soaked up years of rain, and the first part to fall apart.
Shut it down and drain it
Before anyone cuts, lifts, or drags anything, the tub has to be dead and empty. Here's the order.
- Turn it off at the breaker. If there's a disconnect box near the tub, switch that off too. A plug-in spa just gets unplugged.
- Get an electrician for a hardwired tub. If the wiring runs straight into the house, have a licensed electrician disconnect it and make the wires safe. Same idea for a gas heater: that's a job for a gas technician.
- Drain it. Most tubs have a drain spout near the base, and a cheap submersible pump speeds it up. Where the water goes is a local question, so check with your municipality before you send a few hundred gallons of treated water anywhere.
- Pull the chemicals. York County's free household hazardous waste days, one in spring and one in fall, take pool chemicals for registered county residents. The Resource Recovery Center won't take pool chemicals with an everyday load.[7][8]
- In Lancaster County, pool chemicals can go to LCSWMA's household hazardous waste facility, free for county residents. Adams County, East Berlin included, has no county program of its own.[9][10]
Your three real options
Once it's off and empty, every route comes down to one of these.
- Sell it or give it away. If the tub still heats and holds water, somebody may want it badly enough to come get it. Be honest about its condition, and be clear that the buyer handles moving it. A tub that doesn't work rarely finds a taker, even for free.
- Cut it up yourself. Doable with a reciprocating saw, a free weekend, and a truck or trailer. More on that below.
- Hire it out. Someone else does the cutting, lifting, loading, and hauling. This is the usual answer for tubs on decks, in sunrooms, or in basements.
If you cut it up yourself
Most do-it-yourself jobs follow the same path. Take off the cover and steps. Unscrew or pry off the cabinet panels. Cut the shell into sections a person can carry, working around the plumbing and equipment. Then pull the frame apart. Wear gloves, eye protection, and a dust mask, because cut fiberglass and foam get everywhere. Keep kids and pets well away.
Then you need somewhere to take it. York County residents can bring small loads of waste, the kind of thing the county's own examples describe as furniture and large quantities of trash, to the Small Load Drop-Off at the Resource Recovery Center. You check in at the scale house, and a fee applies to waste loads. Call ahead and tell them it's a cut-up hot tub so you know what they'll take.[6][11]
In Lancaster County, waste that can't go curbside can be brought to LCSWMA's facilities, though disposal rates apply and not every facility takes every type of waste. Open loads have to be tarped and secured.[12][13]
Plan on more than one trip. A full-size shell, frame, and cover rarely fit in a single pickup bed, even cut down.
If the pieces are headed to York County's Resource Recovery Center, size matters: the county authority accepts a hot tub there only when it's been cut into pieces no larger than three feet by three feet. An uncut tub has to go to a landfill.[14]
The cover and the steps
If the tub is going, the cover and steps go with it. If it's only the cover you're replacing, check your hauler's large-item rules first. York County tells residents to contact their own hauler about large-item pickup, and each one sets its own size and weight limits.[15]
East Manchester's rules, for example, say items longer than 8 feet have to be broken down and bundled. A soaked cover may be more weight than two people want to lift, so letting it drain and dry out for a few days in the sun makes it easier to handle.[3]
When hiring it out makes sense
A ground-level tub, a clear path to the driveway, and two people with a free weekend can handle this. A tub boxed in on a deck, wedged in a sunroom, or sitting in a basement is where most people stop and call.
That's the work our hot tub removal covers. Once you've cut the power, we drain what's left, cut the shell down if it won't fit out, haul every piece including the cover and steps, take it to licensed transfer stations, and clean up the spot. William gives you the price before we start. Text a few photos to (717) 654-6138.