Hi Xrdirthead:
I saw this post earlier, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. All the traffic is in the "Artic" post, but that's getting a little BORING.
I recently moved my tub from my old house to my new house and it was sitting in the garage for about 3 months, empty. Here's what I did:
Using a LIGHT mixture of Dawn dishwashing detergent and water, I completely scrubbed the interior with a soft brush, followed by a good rinse. Following this, I mixed a 10% solution of bleach and water in a 5 gallon bucket and using a spray bottle, completly sprayed the interior shell, including the filter area (filters removed).
I then poured the remaining solution down the suction pipes where the filters were until water drained from the suction inlets and circ pump outlet in the footwell. I again sprayed the shell with water and let the bleach solution stay in the pipes overnight. The next day I flushed everything, rinsed again and filled.
I didn't get any detergent foam using this method. The tub ran "clean" and smelled good too.
Hope this helps...
Drewski