Hot tubs provide years of therapeutic relaxation and joy, making them valuable investments that homeowners may want to take with them when they move. When you decide to move a hot tub, the task goes far beyond simply renting a truck and gathering a few helpers. The complex process involves detailed electrical disconnections, draining the water, and transportation planning that must be addressed very specifically.
How do you move a hot tub, really? We’ll break down everything you need to know about moving a hot tub, from planning checklists to essential tools and materials required to move successfully.
Why It’s Important to Move a Hot Tub Properly
Hot tubs are one of the heaviest home appliances, with standard models weighing up to 800 to 1,000 pounds when they’re empty. Therefore, if you plan to relocate a hot tub, you should be extremely careful about your property and personal safety.
Below are the main reasons why it’s crucial to move a hot tub correctly.
- Prevents property damage: Hot tubs scratch hardwood floors and crack tiles when dragged across the floor. These heavy units also damage walls when pushed through narrow doors without protection.
- Electrical safety: Hot tubs have complex electrical systems that must be safely disconnected and reconnected to avoid shock risks. Damaged wiring during transportation can create lethal electrical risks and costly system failures. So, the safest way to move a hot tub involves following proper electrical safety protocols at all times throughout the process.
- Minimizes transportation risks: An unsecured hot tub can shift around dangerously during the move, causing accidents..
- Prevents personal injury: Moving a hot tub puts tremendous stress on your back, knees, and shoulders due to the weight. The heavy size and shape make these units very difficult to grasp and manage safely. Even professional movers require multiple people and excellent coordination to avoid accidents.
Tools and Materials You’ll Need to Move a Hot Tub
In order to move a hot tub safely without damage or injury, you need the right tools for lifting, transporting, and protecting your spa. The following are the tools you’ll need.
1. Plywood
To make it easier to roll the hot tub through the yard, you need to build a walkway. You can use plywood and build the walkway as you move the hot tub. While walking, you can move the back pieces of plywood to the front. If the entire walkway is constructed ahead of time, you can also add a carpet or a sled on top to reduce friction even further.
2. Piano Dollies and a Grand Piano Board
You’ll typically use a steel frame four-wheel piano dolly and a grand piano board rather than standard future dollies. The grand piano board has built-in pads to prevent scratching and damage to your hot tub. The process involves tipping the hot tub onto its side, upright, onto the piano board, then securing it with ratchet straps. Once secured, you lift one side of the board and place the dolly into the center, allowing you to roll the hot tub to the truck. This method provides superior stability and protection compared to standard furniture dollies.
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3. Pallet Jack
The other method for moving heavy items, such as hot tubs, is by using a specialized pallet made for hot tubs. You tip the hot tub on its side onto the pallet, then use a pallet jack to move the item. These specialized pallets have a top that allows you to slide the board off more easily while unloading.
4. Moving Straps
If you’re securing your hot tub to the piano board or specialized pallet, ratchet straps are essential for preventing dangerous movement. You should strap the hot tub to the board or pallet with ratchet straps after positioning it on its side. These adjustable straps can be tightened gradually until the hot tub is locked in position. The ratcheting mechanism gives you precise control over tension levels.
5. Lifting Straps
When you’re manually lifting your hot tub, professional lifting straps will save your back from serious injury. You should position these padded straps on your forearms or shoulders to redistribute weight from your spine to your stronger leg muscles. The best way to move a hot tub involves using these straps with clear communication between team members.
6. Plastic Wrap or Moving Blankets
If you want to protect your hot tub’s finish, moving blankets provide thick padding that absorbs impact when you navigate through doorways and corners. You should combine these with plastic wrap, which creates a waterproof barrier that keeps dirt and moisture away from your tub’s surface. Both covers protect your investment from scratches and weather damage.
7. Measuring Tape
Before you start moving, measure the length, width, and height of your hot tub to ensure it fits through all planned pathways. You should also measure doorway widths, gate openings, and corridor spaces along your route. Check your truck’s capacity and dolly specifications to confirm it can handle the hot tub’s dimensions and weight. Take down these measurements so you can reference them when you call moving service companies for assistance.
8. Tools
You’ll need basic hand tools to disconnect electrical connections and plumbing fittings before moving day. A multi-bit screwdriver handles the various types of screws you’ll find in hot tub panels and access covers. An adjustable wrench handles nuts and bolts on mounting hardware and utility connections.
9. Safety Gloves and Boots
You should always wear protective work gloves when moving hot tubs because they improve grip on slippery surfaces while protecting your hands. Safety boots are essential too because they shield your feet when equipment shifts unexpectedly during the moving process.
Pre-Move Checklist: Preparing the Hot Tub
A hot tub relocation must be well-planned to avoid damage. Preparing to move a Jacuzzi becomes so much easier when you follow these essential steps in the right order.
- Disconnect the power: Begin by switching off the main electrical breaker that supplies power to your hot tub. After turning off the power, carefully unplug the electrical cord and wrap it securely to keep it safe during transport.
- Drain the hot tub completely: The next step is to remove all water from your hot tub, as it adds a significant amount of weight that makes moving nearly impossible. Start by locating the drain spout at the bottom of your unit and connecting a garden hose.
- Remove and clean filters: Once your hot tub is drained, you will need to remove all the filters so they don’t get damaged during movement. Find the filter compartments in your owner’s manual, then carefully lift or unscrew each filter from its housing.
- Disconnect and drain the plumbing lines: Find all the plumbing connections between your hot tub and external water systems and disconnect them carefully. Be prepared with towels and containers to catch any water that may flow during disconnection. Drain any remaining water from the lines and internal plumbing using a wet/dry vacuum to prevent damage.
- Let the hot tub dry and wrap it for protection: Your final preparation step before move day arrives is to make sure that your hot tub is dry. Use clean towels to dry all surfaces, including those where moisture normally remains hidden.
Step-by-Step Instructions: How to Move a Hot Tub
If you’re confident that you can handle the heavy job of moving a hot tub by yourself without professional help, then it’s time to move forward with the detailed process that will make everything go smoothly from start to finish. Follow these steps:
1. Lift and Tilt the Hot Tub Upright
Begin by gathering all the help you can and arranging people evenly around the hot tub for balanced lifting support. On three, have everyone lift one side of the unit while someone quickly slides a solid 4×4 wooden board underneath. You’ll have to do the same thing on the other side to establish a stable base for your equipment. The wooden boards provide temporary support that keeps the hot tub from shifting as you position your moving dollies. Communicate well with your team at this point to ensure coordinated movements and prevent accidents.
2. Slide Dollies Underneath
Once the wooden supports are in place, you can now put your furniture dollies on both sides of the hot tub to get maximum weight distribution. The easiest way to move a hot tub involves using sturdy dollies that won’t buckle under the unit’s weight during movement. After both dollies are firmly positioned, you can safely remove the 4×4 boards that provided temporary support. Secure the hot tub to dollies using heavy-duty straps, which will not allow any shifting or movement during the relocation process.
3. Roll to the Transport Vehicle
With your hot tub now secured to the dollies, you can move toward your transport vehicle. Place people on each side of the unit so they can assist and control its movement effectively along the way. The dollies will help you roll the hot tub smoothly while your team maintains a consistent, controlled pace.
4. Load the Hot Tub Into a Truck
Before loading, make sure that your rental truck has enough interior space and a strong loading ramp or lift gate that can support the hot tub’s full weight. Once the hot tub is inside the truck bed, hold it in place with multiple ratchet straps to attach it securely to the vehicle’s built-in anchor points. You must also wrap moving blankets around the whole unit to shield it from potential damage.
5. Transport and Unload Carefully
Lastly, once your hot tub is loaded and secured, drive carefully by avoiding sudden stops, fast accelerations, or sharp turns, which can cause shifting. Before unloading at your destination, ensure the ground is level and strong enough to support the hot tub when it’s filled with water. Reverse the loading process with the same safety measures and team coordination to position the unit in its final location.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Hot tub moves can go wrong quickly if you leave out important steps or use poor judgment. Here are the main mistakes that cause problems and how to steer clear of them.
- Not draining the hot tub completely: Leaving water inside your hot tub creates unnecessary weight that makes the move much harder and more dangerous for everyone involved.
- Skipping measurements: Assuming your hot tub will fit through spaces without measuring first often results in getting stuck partway through doorways or gates with no easy way to back out.
- Using the wrong type of dolly: Standard furniture dollies aren’t made to bear hot tub weight and will buckle under the pressure. You need strong appliance dollies that can actually support the load without breaking or tripping over during the move.
- Not securing the hot tub during transport: An unsecured hot tub will slide around in your truck bed and potentially fall out, creating damage to your property and serious road hazards. Proper strapping keeps everything stable and prevents costly accidents that could have been easily avoided.
- Attempting to move the hot tub without enough help: Hot tubs are extremely heavy and awkward to handle, so trying to lift one with only a couple of people may cause injuries.
How Serenity Moving Services Can Help
It’s not an easy task to move a 1,000-pound hot tub through tight spaces and staircases. That’s why Serenity Moving Services provides professional hot tub movers who have the equipment and expertise required to relocate your huge units safely. Our expert team has moved hard-shelled hot tubs, inflatable hot tubs, swim spa combo tubs, and other hot tubs in Norman, OK. Contact us now for your moving quote and let our professionals handle the heavy work.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Start by measuring both the hot tub and the space to ensure it will fit through. Then, use dollies and take your time maneuvering slowly, while having helpers guide each corner through the narrow area.
You’ll need to angle the hot tub onto a stair-climbing dolly for this challenging task. Have one person at the top and another at the bottom to control the movement, while others provide stability. Professional movers are often worth considering for stair relocations since they require special skills and equipment.
Most home hot tub moves don’t need a crane. You can handle the job with dollies and enough people, though cranes become necessary when you’re dealing with high walls, second floors, or other significant barriers that can’t be addressed on ground level.
You should plan on having at least four strong adults for moving a basic hot tub. Bigger models or tricky situations with stairs and high slopes will require more helpers to keep everyone safe.
Start by placing wooden boards or plywood across the grass to create a firm surface for your equipment. This prevents the dollies from sinking while keeping the hot tub level and protecting your yard from wheel marks.
