Whirlpool Bathtubs Are A Dead Trend?

[cheesewonton]

Taking a bath is kind of bad manners where I live in the desert. The aquifer is seriously over drafted and water use has to be reduced because we are just pumping the aquifer dry. Short showers are the rule. We have a big whirlpool bath but never use it. It has become a playground for our two cats.

 

[fromadifferentplanet1996]

Taking a bath is kind of bad manners where I live in the desert. The aquifer is seriously over drafted and water use has to be reduced because we are just pumping the aquifer dry. Short showers are the rule. We have a big whirlpool bath but never use it. It has become a playground for our two cats.

You could always get it removed.

 

[cheesewonton]

You could always get it removed.

I've thought about it but don't know what I would put there in its place. The big windows for our bathroom are right over the whirlpool tub. I am spending a fortune building a huge garage in our back yard for my motorcycles, restored vintage Audi and the vacuum collection so that is where all my extra money goes for the foreseeable future. The garage project has been going on for quite a few years. The electrician will finally be out this week and then I can get the final signature on the permit. After that comes fire sprinklers, plumbing, drywall, workbench and cabinets. It's endless. The cats can enjoy their fiberglass playground for a few more years I reckon.

 

[vacerator]

Except the walk in types for seniors.

 

[cheesewonton]

Except the walk in types for seniors.

I have a big shower recess separate from the tub.

 

[fromadifferentplanet1996]

I tried to tell my mom that air tubs are easier to clean and cheaper to run and buy, but she wouldn't believe me even with proof.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Some people like to use what they used many years ago I have noticed. Habit sells things really.

 

[fromadifferentplanet1996]

Some people like to use what they used many years ago I have noticed. Habit sells things really.

For all the maintenance a whirlpool bathtub requires, you have to wonder how the companies can stay in business selling a product that is said to be a hassle-oh wait, they sell other things too.

 

[centralsweeper63]

It probably costs them more to get rid of the equipment then to keep selling a few.

 

[fromadifferentplanet1996]

It probably costs them more to get rid of the equipment then to keep selling a few.

Also, my mom considered a walk-in tub years ago, but she opted not to due to being overpriced.

 

[centralsweeper63]

What on earth is a walk in tub?

 

[cheesewonton]

What on earth is a walk in tub?

https://www.magnushomeproducts.com/...-40-height?Door+-+Drain+Orientation=Left-Hand

It's for disabled or elderly people who can't climb over into a normal tub safely.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Thank you for that.

 

[vacerator]

A walk in tub has a sealed leakproof door, a seat, and usually heat and or jets.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very cool.

 

[Alan]

I looked at a walk in tub for my Mom, and I always thought of having to sit there while it drains and get chilled. The best I've seen is the handicap or hospital type showers that are at floor level with a slight dip down to the drain and a rubber lip a wheelchair could roll over. That seems most practical.

 

[Alan]

Also, those fiberglass tubs do not hold heat from the massive amount of water they take. I had a garden tub and used it twice in 26 years. The rest of the time was the shower that was separate.

 

[fromadifferentplanet1996]

I looked at a walk in tub for my Mom, and I always thought of having to sit there while it drains and get chilled. The best I've seen is the handicap or hospital type showers that are at floor level with a slight dip down to the drain and a rubber lip a wheelchair could roll over. That seems most practical.

That's cool.

 

[centralsweeper63]

That point about heat makes sense.

 

[cheesewonton]

Also, those fiberglass tubs do not hold heat from the massive amount of water they take. I had a garden tub and used it twice in 26 years. The rest of the time was the shower that was separate.

There are fiberglass tubs with insulation underneath.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Insulation, in a bath, who'd have think it.

 

[cheesewonton]

Insulation, in a bath, who'd have think it.

The insulation is sprayed on the underside of the fiberglass tub. Steel tubs have insulation too.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very interesting. I have never seen anything more than a relatively thin plasticy material. Sometimes a porcelain bath, only once though. Jet tubs are seen sometimes too.

 

[huskyvacs]

I have a Kohler bathtub from 1988 and I do not think it has a foam coating underneath. It might just have that spray on rubber coating to deafen sound of water. I am not sure what its material is, porcelain or porcelain glaze over metal? It's always freezing as F--- if you try and sit down in the water in winter, and the water gets cold fast and does not hold heat. I think a professional company put it in, but they did not think to insulate it - maybe because of mice. This was before sprayfoam existed. I'd love to give it a sprayfoam coating or something under there to make it a bit more insulated, I think it would make a world of difference.

 

[Alan]

The old iron tubs that were enameled would retain heat as the metal base heated up from the water, allowing the water to stay hot/warm for longer.
Like the actual old tubs you can see out in a field being used as a cattle watering device.

 

[joan]

The old iron tubs that were enameled would retain heat as the metal base heated up from the water, allowing the water to stay hot/warm for longer.
Like the actual old tubs you can see out in a field being used as a cattle watering device.

Exactly, Alan. Thanks for your valuable contribution. Now if only I could get out of my head the image of 89-year-old me bathing in a pasture as the Holsteins of my youth vie to quench their thirst.

I owned a 4 bed/1 bath 1898 Victorian for 26 years. Its bathtub was enameled iron and original to the house. It retained heat well, even in Minnesota winters. The enamel still looked good when I sold the house in 1992. My current home is a 2 bed/1 bath 1941 Cape Cod, which also has its original enameled iron tub. The enamel has worn enough that I had it epoxyed.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very cool. It will probably outlast a modern bathtub.