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8 Ideas On How To Dispose Of Your Old Hot Tub Cover

Many hot tub owners decide to replace their old hot tub cover due to the fact it’s becoming heavier and heavier. Now it’s the question on how to efficiently dispose of the that cover. 

Here are a few ideas on what you can do:

  • Take your hot tub to the junkyard
  • Keep the rigid foam and dispose of the vinyl cover (to junk)
  • Grind them up in a wood chipper
  • Give the foam to a homeless person in winter
  • Throw it in a dumpster
  • Give it to the dealer
  • Take it to a landfill
  • Take it to an archery club 

In case you need a new, affordable insulation foam, you can check this price on Amazon (Less than $50)

Now, let me give a bit more details about these since you can generally go three ways: 

  1. You can reuse it and maybe try to squeeze another year or so out of the cover
  2. You can try to repurpose it for something else
  3. You can have it destroyed

How Much does it Cost to Haul Away a Hot Tub?

The usual cost for removal is from $100 – $150. There are several factors that can affect the price such as the size of the hot tub and how accessible is it physically. Considering that the cost of moving the unit is less if the job is easier, hot tub owners should do all they can to prepare it for the removal company. Then the company might decide to take it as a junk or repurpose it for something else.

Squeezing Another Year Or So Out Of It

When disposing of a hot tub cover, you pretty much have two main components, insulation foam that can be as think as 4 inches, and a vinyl cover that surrounds them. Before you get rid of your old hot tub cover, you should closely inspect these components. It just might be that the foam is in good condition whereas the vinyl needs a replacement

In this case, one should consider re-sealing the existing insulation foam and simply putting a new vinyl covering over them.  It is possible that after 6 years of usage, your old hot tub cover is starting to separate and that now you are seeing the plastic inside that is starting to deteriorate to the point it will need to be replaced.  

You could do this yourself. Go and find some silver duct tape in a hue that will closely assimilate the light of the current cover until a more “formal” approach can be reached.

Repurposing Your Old Hot Tub Cover [Upcycle]

The next approach is kind of similar to the previous one in a way that it will make use of the foam. People also take the rigid foam out of the vinyl cover and dispose of the vinyl cover, while re-purposing the foam for something else.

  1. Before you do anything, you need to let the foam pieces dry out. If you happen to have bought a new boat lift for your boat and you need to get it from point A to B, then the best way to float it there is on the two pieces of foam.  It works incredibly well.  
  2. Next, you can really grind them up inside the wood chipper and mix the foam into garden soil. It will be incredibly beneficial to your garden.
  3. There are examples where people used to cut the foam into squares, stock them and use them for archery practice. If you are into archery, you would have to spend money on it anyways. This makes is good use and saves you money.
  4. During the winter season, a lot of homeless people build shelters in alleys. Regardless of how ridiculous this might sound, it is equally helpful to these people.
  5. Also, the rigid foam can be used as a filler under ice rinks in the winter.
  6. Build a backyard pond
  7. Turn it into a real garden
  8. A dog would be happy and comfortable in his new dog house
Old Hot Tub Cover Costing You A Lot Of Money

Destroying Your Old Hot Tub Cover For Good

If you do decide that you can’t really use it for anything and that it would just be a distraction for you, you can then do the following:

  1. Cut it in half, or quarters, the trash service will usually pick it up.
  2. Pile them in your parking lot until the pile is at least ten or twenty feet high. Then load them onto the truck, and take them to the landfill. The cost to leave them at the landfill is about $22 for up to one ton, but usually, people have never had a pile of covers go over one ton.
  3. Give it to the dealer once they come to install a new cover. Many of them might decide to take the old one from you and dispose of it for you.
  4. Remove inserts, break up, throw in a dumpster

How to Transport a Hot Tub?

In case you decide to move your own hot tub, here are the steps you need to take before you can take it away:

  1. Disconnect the power.
  2. Drain all water from the hot tub.
  3. Dismantle all parts of the spa, such as a hot tub pump, heater, power lines, and water lines.
  4. Pack hot tub accessories separately.
  5. Clear a path wide enough for the tub to pass through.

Transporting a hot tub is more than a one-man job. There are junk services that you can call to transport your old hot tub.

How Much Does It Cost To Dispose Of Hot Tub?

In case you want to dispose of your hot tub, the typical removal cost that you can expect to pay is usually around $150. It will go up or down depending on how big the hot tub is and how difficult it will be to move it. The cost of disposing of/moving the unit is generally less if the job is easier. This means that the homeowners could prepare the hot tub as much as possible to be moved before the removal company comes.

Do I Need A Hot Tub Cover Lifter?

Yes really, every hot tub owner should have one. The hot tub cover lifter is fitted right onto the side of the hot tub. 

Most cover lifters have a bar located in the fold of the cover. All you need to do is to fold the cover back over the bar. When you fold it back one more time, the cover will lift off the hot tub and stay in place. 

Some lifters will act as a privacy wall for you and your guests since it will rest higher than the hot tub itself while others will end up alongside the hot tub.

The main reason why someone would want to have a hot tub cover lifter is to access their hot tub easily and conveniently. And really, if you are in the best shape of your life and don’t have any physical limitations then you can probably save your budget and get a cover lifter in a few years. 

chainsaw, they then cut out the dog door and place a utility lamp inside to provide heat during the winter. This is another practical way on how to turn your old hot tub into something useful and not only throw it away.

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Emily Williams

Emily is a passionate Hot Tubs researcher who loves writing about all things Hot Tubs! She has years of experience and a knack for simplifying complex concepts, these articles are here to answer all your burning questions in a simple and easy to read style.
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