First Things First: Drain the Spa and Disconnect the Power
Two jobs have to be done before a hot tub removal crew can touch the tub, and both belong to the owner. The water has to be out, and the electricity has to be off and disconnected. We don't do electrical work, and we can't move a tub that's still full.
Power comes first. A small plug-in tub is easy: flip the breaker off and pull the plug. Most full-size spas are different. They run on their own 240-volt circuit and are hard-wired through a disconnect box mounted near the tub. Shut that breaker off at the panel, then have an electrician disconnect the wiring at the tub and make the ends safe. Don't drain a tub with the power still live. A heater that kicks on dry can burn out, and water plus live wiring is a bad mix.
Then drain. There's a spigot near the bottom of the cabinet that takes a garden hose. It works, but it's slow. A submersible pump dropped in the footwell is much faster. Either way some water stays behind in the seats and the footwell, so bail it or hit it with a shop vac.
- Breaker off at the main panel, and the disconnect box off too.
- Hard-wired tub: an electrician disconnects it. Plug-in tub: unplug it yourself.
- Drain a day or two ahead so the ground around the tub isn't mud on pickup day.
- Run the hose to a part of the yard that can soak it up, away from the foundation and the neighbor's lot. Not sure where spa water is allowed to go? Check with your town.
- Stop adding chemicals a few days before you drain.
- Pull the cover off and set it beside the tub. It's going too.
Hot Tub and Spa Removal in Waukegan and Lake County IL: What Goes on the Truck
Lakefront Junk Removal hauls hot tubs and spas out of Waukegan and every town in Lake County IL, plus nearby Kenosha and Racine counties in Wisconsin. Working or dead, cracked or just unwanted.
Swim spas and anything much bigger than a standard backyard tub get a free on-site look first. It takes about 15 minutes and beats guessing from a photo.
- Acrylic spas with wood or composite cabinets
- Molded plastic tubs
- Inflatable and soft-sided tubs
- Covers, including waterlogged ones
- Cover lifters, steps and handrails
- Pumps, heaters and control packs that have already been pulled
How a Hot Tub Actually Leaves the Yard
There are really only two ways. It rolls out whole, or it comes out in pieces.
Whole means the tub gets tipped up on its side, set on dollies and walked out. Stood on edge, the part that has to clear the gate is the height of the tub, not the width of it. That's why a tub that looks far too wide can still make it through. It takes a clear, fairly flat run from the pad to the driveway.
Pieces means cutting. The cabinet panels come off, the pumps and heater get pulled, and the shell is sawed into sections two people can carry. It's loud and it throws foam and fiberglass dust, so we sweep the spot when we're done. For a lot of tubs it's the only way out.
| Where the tub sits | How it usually comes out |
|---|---|
| Ground-level patio with a wide gate | Tipped on its side onto dollies and rolled out whole |
| Behind a narrow gate or a tight side yard | Cut into sections on the pad and carried out in pieces |
| Sunk into a deck or boxed in by one | Stripped from above, shell cut down and lifted out in sections |
| Raised deck or balcony | Cut up top and carried down the stairs piece by piece |
| Sunroom, basement or screened porch | Cut small enough to fit through the doorway |
| Inflatable or soft-sided tub | Folded or rolled once it's dry and carried out by hand |
Narrow Gates, Side Yards and Soft Ground: What Makes Spa Removal Hard
The tub itself is almost never the problem. The route is. Fences go up after the tub is delivered. A deck gets built around it. A shed lands in the side yard. Trees grow. The tub came in one way and that way is gone.
Before you text us, walk the path from the tub to the street and look at it like you're rolling a refrigerator on its side. Measure the gate opening. Count the steps. Notice the air conditioner, the gas meter and the window wells along the side of the house.
Lake lots are their own case. On a narrow lake lot near Antioch, the tub often sits on the water side of the house, and the only way to the road is a tight side yard or a set of stairs up a slope. Tubs like that tend to come out in sections.
Soft ground matters too. A tub on dollies sinks in wet grass, which is one more reason to drain early and let the yard dry out.
Deck Tubs and Cottage Spas Around the Chain O'Lakes
A tub set into a deck looks like the worst case and usually isn't. We strip what we can reach, cut the shell down below the deck boards and lift it out in sections. What we leave is the hole. We don't reframe or patch the deck, so plan on a carpenter or a weekend of your own for that.
Raised decks and second-story balconies work the same way, just with more stairs. Around Fox Lake, where plenty of homes are built to face the water, a spa on an upper deck gets cut up top and carried down a piece at a time. Stairs don't add a fee.
Sunrooms and screened porches get the same treatment. If the tub went in before the walls did, it's coming out through the door in pieces.
What Hot Tub Removal Is Priced On
Truck space. That's the whole formula. Your load fills a quarter, half, three-quarter or full truck and the price follows. A full-size spa is bulky, so it takes a real share of the bed, more so once you add the cover, the steps and the cabinet panels.
The cutting, the carrying, the sweep-up and the disposal are inside that one number. There's no hourly clock running while we saw, and a soaked cover doesn't cost more for being heavy. You see the price and approve it before work starts. Here's how our flat pricing works if you want the truck tiers spelled out.
Inside Lake County, distance doesn't change the quote. A tub in Lake Villa is priced the same way as one here in Waukegan.
Where an Old Spa Goes After We Load It
Back off the truck, a hot tub breaks down into a few separate streams.
A tub that still heats and holds water is worth mentioning when you text. A tub that's past that point gets broken down for recycling and disposal.
- Pumps, heater housings and other metal parts go to scrap recycling.
- The control pack and the topside panel go to an electronics recycler.
- The shell, the spray foam and a rotted cabinet go to a licensed transfer station.
- Steps or a cover lifter with life left in them can go to donation.
Hot Tub Removal Mistakes That Cost People a Weekend
Draining it the morning of. The pad is flooded, the grass is soup and the dollies won't roll.
Leaving the wiring connected. Breaker off isn't the same as disconnected. If the electrical whip is still tied into the tub, the tub can't move.
Cutting it up yourself with whatever saw is in the garage. The shell is acrylic backed with fiberglass and packed in foam. It eats blades, it itches for days, and it leaves you with a dozen awkward pieces and no truck.
Trusting the gate. Measure it. A tub that came in before the fence did has no reason to fit back out.
Forgetting the cover. A soaked cover is far heavier than a dry one, and most haulers limit or charge for bulk items like that.
What We Don't Do on a Spa Job, and What Else Can Ride Along
We haul. We don't disconnect or cap electrical, we don't repair decks or pour over the old pad, and we don't demolish buildings. Leftover spa chemicals stay off the truck. SWALCO runs household chemical waste collection for Lake County residents, and that's the right place for them. Wisconsin owners should take them to their county's household hazardous waste collection.
Plenty else can go in the same trip. If the deck around the tub is already torn out, we'll take the boards as torn-out deck and remodeling debris. Overgrown shrubs you cut back to get at the tub can go as brush and yard waste. The dead patio fridge can leave with it as an appliance haul. It all gets priced together as one load.
Hours are Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm, with Sundays by appointment. Text a photo of the tub and the path out to (224) 944-8652, or request a quote online.
