I just saw an ad for one of those walk-in bathtubs. My sister once mentioned she’d like to have one.
Really? The more I thought about it, the more I was repulsed by the whole idea. Granted, if you have mobility issues or an extreme fear of falling, you might think these tubs are the answer to your problem. But have you considered that in order to bathe in one, you’ll have to enter an empty tub and sit cold and naked while the tub fills. When you are finished, you’ll have to sit there cold, naked and wet, waiting until the tub drains completely before you can walk out. Yuck. Who wants to do that?
I’ve been strictly a shower person since my college days. I can’t imagine for a second wanting to “bathe” while sitting in a tub of soapy, dirty, rapidly cooling water that will still be all over me when I get out of the tub. But that’s just me.
Give me a big shower stall, limitless hot water, great water pressure, and I’m good. Sorry, you environmentalists, but I always take those flow restrictors out of my shower heads. I deal with little enough pressure and flow as it is. A barely trickling shower is no shower at all.
I like the ad where the installer/plumber stands in the shower trying it out before he leaves the house. That’s my dream shower — multiple shower heads all around in a gorgeous slate tiled stall with steam rising and music piped in.
It’s interesting that I ran across your post, today of all days–Sunday is bath day in our house. My mom is 86, and is unable to live alone, so my partner and I and my mom all live together (which is another story completely.) About a year ago, we invested in a walk-in tub. Believe me when I say invested. They are quite expensive. But, they are quite worth it for someone with mobility issues. Granted, your points about having to sit in a cold, empty tub while it fills and empties are valid, but, not quite as horrible as it sounds. They fill up rather quickly, and drains exceptionally fast. The water-jets for the whirlpool bath are better than any regular tub I’ve encountered. Ten to fifteen minutes in the bubbles, and you come out feeling like a new person! And, they come with a hand-held showerhead, so you can rinse off when the tub is about empty (because, I’m with you, why take a bath to get clean when you’re just sitting in dirty soapy water.)They aren’t for everyone, of course, but, for me, they make life easier, as it’s much easier for me to get mom in and out of the tub than it was in the old-fashioned tub.
I’m sure they were thinking of people just like your mom when they invented tubs like this. And, who knows, one day that may be what I have to have, too. I think the ideal solution would be a big walk-in shower with no lip on it so a walker or wheelchair could be rolled right in, if necessary. With a built-in bench in it, of course. I don’t have a five-piece bath and so help me, one of these days I’m going to have the tub ripped out and replaced with a great walk-in shower.
For cleanliness, I definitely prefer the shower. But there’s something to be said for the occasional long soak too. Your poll didn’t include the age-old bath-shower combo. 😕
Actually, that’s what I have. But I use it strictly as a shower and would prefer to have just a really nice walk-in shower in its place. I’m going to break my neck one of these days, stepping in and out of that tub. And could lie there for days before anyone found me. I’ll recast the answers and see if that helps.
I’ll certainly agree Pied that a walk-in shower with about 54 shower heads sounds quite wonderful (well, maybe 54 might make you drown, but you get the idea.) Showers are very invigorating! And, like IzaakMak says, I prefer a shower for cleanliness. I’d be lost if I couldn’t shower ever again. It’s the best way to wake up in the morning too. But, also like Izaak, a good long soak is a good thing, though mainly in the evening, to relax. A good book and a long soak in the tub, and I sleep like a baby! 🙂 And, on a really cold evening, a soak in the tub warms the ol’ bones quite nicely.
But, ultimately, if I had to make a choice between one or the other, the shower would win hands down.