Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls OT: Bath versus shower

Actually, no. Showers use less water than baths, which is why our water authorities want to encourage more people to take showers than baths.

Thanks for all the good advice! I'm reading avidly all your opinions on to bath or not to bath.

Oh, and Wendy? You can tell the Sub-Chief Bathroom Consultant that his superior agrees on the subject of carpets in bathrooms, so together you have talked me into installing a horrible cold surface in my bathroom instead of a nice, cosy carpet <g>.

Yvonne

I think I might be late for the party, but I'm going to chime in any way.

I never take baths but I still would advise (if I only had one bathroom) installing a bathtub with a shower. Reason being is that the minute you install a shower only, you'll find a need for a bathtub. Maybe not for bathing reasons but for a myriad of other uses. I actually dyed a pair of stained trousers in the bathtub (I have photos of this experience <g>). And sometimes, for medical reasons, a bath is an absolute necessity, for soaking, sitz baths and that lovely oatmeal bath for when you run into a nasty patch of poison ivy.

What I'm saying is that there is no substitue when you really need one, unless you have good friends who will "lend" you theirs should you find need.

And, too, there is the resale factor. While I do agree with Wendy that your own personal needs should take precident over resale considerations if you intend to live there a good long while, if it is no hardship to step over the tub rim, then why take that chance?

Lynn

I watch a show from the UK and there is an American lady on it who does the designing advice for those selling their house. She can never understand why pple put carpet in their bathrooms. LOL

Carpets in bathrooms - icky!

Think of the fun you can have by getting different colours or fabric/textures with bath mats! Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it! LOL!!!

Have you considered floor heating?

Cork doesn't get as cold a tile or stone.

I hate nothing more than getting out of the tub/shower and having to step on cold tile. UGH! Especially on those winter mornings. Now that's where Clark could come in handy! "Warm up those tiles boy!"

Why not just add a steam room in the back yard, along with a pool house.

See, the thing is, it's more than just having to step over the bath rim into the shower. A shower cubicle means you don't have to worry where the water is going, because it's contained. You can dispense with the awful shower curtain that never quite looks right and that horrible pole across the room to hold it up. Even if you install one of those glass shields instead, I'd worry that it would leak, and that it wouldn't be wide enough to prevent water escaping onto the floor. Finally, the geography of my bathroom means that the shower is at the opposite end of the bath to the taps - you know, the sloping end where you lean back? That means you're actually standing some distance away from the showerhead, so if you want a decent deluge, you have to lean forward into the stream of water descending from the showerhead.

On the other hand, I do worry where I'm going to lay my sweaters for drying after I've washed them. And where I'm going to fill the bucket for washing the floor...

Argh! Am I spending too long agonising about this?

Yvonne

Being a microphobiac, I never take baths. While having a bath the water remains in the tub, meaning that the microbes remain in the tub while you are supposed to be being "cleaned". (Don't hurry to correct me, I know I'm being irrational. But I can't help it.)

However, I can't take a proper shower in a shower cubicle. It's really uncomfortable (and it doesn't look very nice, to me). So I'd rather have a bathtub.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Bah, Yvonne - the solution is simple. Install the jacuzzi.

You can always use the sprinkler on the lawn to do any extra work.

Personally, I prefer showers, but after a hard days work, I love to take a quick shower first to remove the top layer of (fill in the blank) and then soak in a nice hot bath.

On the other hand, a bath came in handy with RoseMary's birth. We had her at home and Elisabeth was so tired from all the contractions, the doctor recommended that she sit in a nice warm bath to help her relax. It worked wonders. With an hour RoseMary was born.


James

Well, I wouldn't take out the bath because a soothing soak after a long day (at work or at the gynm)can always come in handy. I mean, baths just feel so much more luxurious and they're the perfect remedy for stress!

That said, I don't take baths that often myself because I don't have the time and hate to scrub the tub after every use.

So! If you're positive that you're not ever going to have the time to take a bath or that you don't want to scrub a tub again, I'd suggest installing one of those fantastic "Mr. Burns-style" showers with a millions showerheads! (or two, at the very least) Those are great because you barely need to move in the shower, and they're so comfy! The only thing is, they also mean using twice the water (bad for the environment and your wallet because of the water bill). But before you install a short stall though, I'd consider the fact that stepping out of stalls is a lot colder than stepping out of a tub shower, and that can be quite unpleasant.

Anyway, take your time, good luck, and keep us posted!

Mirage

I think we're going to have to charter a flight to the UK to check out whatever it is Yvonne decides to finally do. We'll all bring our own towels and give her choice (whichever it turns out to be) a try.

At the very least, she'll have to post some before and after photos.

Lynn

LOL, Lynn! Yep, you're all invited to the grand opening of Yvonne's Bathroom. Date to be confirmed, but probably sometime in 2006 - considering the current state of my decision-making <g>.

Yvonne

Ooooooooh. So...who have you booked to cut the ribbon?

LabRat

Someone who looks good in a towel, of course: Clark Kent.

Yvonne
(or I'd make do with Dean Cain if Clark's busy)

Well, after a month spent pestering everyone I know about this vexed question (amazingly, they're still speaking to me <g>), and drawing up a weighted table of pros and cons, I finally made my decision.

And the final choice is...

<insert drum roll>

A Bath!

You know when you've made a decision, and immediately you just know it's the right one? Well, that's exactly how I feel.

Thanks again for helping me.

Yvonne

Nope, sorry, you've made the wrong choice.

Did you consider that when you get to be old (like me) climbing over the tub walls is not only difficult, but downright dangerous! "Splat"

Tank (who can't even imagine someone thinking that they've made a correct decision if it doesn't coincide with his own)

I haven' taken a bath since my GYN told me not to take them anymore. That was over 32 years ago. He also said when you bath your setting in dirty water Maybe if I had my own tub I might think about seating in the tub and relaxing I feel like I can relax just as well in the shower.

Well, technically I could live without a bathtub, but I really like to take a good bubble bath once in a while. There's nothing quite like it.

Or you can do like me and never wash! No I'm just kidding!! I take a shower in my tub. I think I may have taken a bath once in the 6 years that I've lived here. The dang drain won't close properly in our new tub. But usually I never think about it because I don't ever have that kind of time. I shower in 5 to 10 minutes at the most. My husband on the other hand takes a good 20 minutes to a half an hour. What the heck is he washing in there? LOL Laura