How much did your walk in bath cost?

[SerialCerealKiller]

I can't find any prices online, they all want to send a brochure. I just need a general price.
Also were there any cons to having a walk in bath you hadn't previously thought of?

My grandma needs a new bathroom and is desperate to keep her bath but she can't lift her legs any more. Her children are keen to get a shower in but she's not too sure. Any advice would be much appreciated

[NewNameNoFace]

Downside is you have to sit in while it fills up. And then wait until empty to get out.

When redoing her bathroom my grandma was talked out of one and got a walk in shower with a chair in instead.

No idea about prices though sorry.

[bigredboat]

I am an OT and I always advise people against walk in baths. There is usually quite a high step to negotiate to get in and out, you have to sit and wait for it to fill and empty, the doorway is usually quite narrow and the door needs a fair amount of dexterity and grip to open/close. Would she be able to manage a powered bath lift or is lifting her legs over the side the issue?

I would usually advise level access shower facilities as the best option (they're generally quite future proofed incase of deterioration in mobility etc) but you can get bath hoists etc if she's really keen on bathing although they're probably more expensive.

[PurpleWithRed]

Look on eBay for a second hand one and phone a plumber to ask about fitting costs. But like everyone else says they are a pretty grim and inadequate experience. Can she try out a shower with a seat in it somewhere? Or a local care agency might be able to offer a bathing help service?

[loinnir]

Don't do it! They are awful. My Great Aunt got one and absolutely hated it - it was very expensive to buy and fit as well. I agree with the others above - a level access shower with a bench/chair is much preferable. My GA desperately wanted to keep having baths as she loved them but a walk in bath is nothing like an ordinary bath. There is the step into it to negoiate - my GA's sight was failing so tripping over this on the way in and out was a worry for us. It is very deep, more like a tub than long and thin so takes an absolute age to fill up using vast quantities of water whilst you sit on the plastic "shelf" getting very, very cold and a really good hot water system is needed (an old tank won't do it). You are not immersed in water (like in a normal bath) up to your neck. The height of the walls of the bath made showering awkward my GA bruised her arms very badly hitting the top of the bath whilst trying to wash her hair.She also got very cold waiting for the water to empty so she could open the door and get out. As she got more infirm and needed carers it was also useless - they hadn't the time to wait for the bath to fill - they ended up using a bucket to wash her down inside the bath and the shower for her hair - it was the pits. We kept trying to persuade her to let us pay to have her bathroom made into a wet room but I think she felt bad for wasting so much money on having the walk in bath installed and wouldn't. I don't understand how they are still being sold they seem totally useless for any purpose.

My GA would have been better when she just had trouble levering herself out of the water with the system where a plastic sheet fits under you in a standard bath and then a button is pressed to help it move up and lever you out as she was quite light, then a level access shower as she grew more infirm. It would have been cheaper in the long run too.

[HipsterHunter]

@Izzybella17 if you read the thread you would see that people think walk in baths are totally shit and to get a walk in shower instead.

Have reported as SPAM given the posting style and username history.

[venys]

Would she able to get out of a sunken bath with the aid of the water? Sorry I struggled to get a good picture but if you look up Japanese Soaker baths which have a smaller footprint but are deeper and you could build a platform with stairs up the side to get in? To get out she could sit on the top step and swivel around? I also found this beastie which raises and lowers a platform inside the bath www.abacushealthcare.co.uk/aquanova-bath/gemini but I am not sure if you can operate it alone. Once again you could build steps up the side to aid getting in? Obviously the easiest option is walk in shower with a seat but I get the not being able to have a bath thing.

[Rollercoaster1920]

Relative of mine had a regular bath with a chair that raises and lowers electrically. Works for her, no alterations to the bathroom suite.

[cushioncreeper]

I've worked in residential care homes, both elderly and people with disabilities as well as day care. It's funny because despite these being for different local authorities, all three establishments had bought into the walk-in-bath scenario - and all three were using those bathrooms as dumping grounds.
I see a new company flaunting their tat on facebook 'UDOOR' www.udoor.co.uk/
They actually carve a hole in your existing bath & insert a door - their advert is very careful to show every step of the process aside from the fact that the user has to sit & wait for their bath to fill / empty.
I commented on their facebook advert & it was promptly removed, as was every comment I made! Surely, if you have nothing to hide...?
Of course, if you are having problems climbing over the side of the bath, would you also not have problems sitting/standing in a standard bath?

Can I also advise against using one of these shower companies who advertise (in magazines aimed at elderly or disabled) that they will convert your bath into a walk in shower - they are way overpriced & will take a huge, non-refundable, deposit.
Contact a local firm who will be able to give you a decent wetroom or walk in shower for a fraction of the cost.

[user1517400193]

I want a shower, my husband wants a bath. No room for both, so we have a shower attachment in the bath. But now with age I (unlike my husband) find huge difficulty getting in and out. A walk-in bath sounds fine, since there isn't the problem of sitting in it while it fills and empties, but they are horrible. A new company Udoor offers to cut a door in your existing bath. Their website quotes £1290, expensive but cheaper than installing a walk-in bath. Has anyone any experience of them?

[Boo2yah]

Just wanted to say thankyou for advice and knowledge re walk-in baths, invaluable ...thanx so much

[KittenKong]

I know it’s a 🧟‍♀️ thread but I am looking for one of these!

I know the baths aren’t coming out too well here, but it will be used as a shower (I think it’s more of a practicality of installing a whole side of the bathroom vs a new bath she wants). Plus I guess when the grandkids stay they can still use the bath.

Did anyone find the holy grail of bathtubs?

[MrsWobble3]

My parents had a shower installed where the bath had been using one of the companies that aims at the elderly. Based on their experience I would recommend using a builder/plumber you trust instead.

[KittenKong]

That’s what my concern was! I have seen adverts for ‘elder/disabled’ things and they just look like schemes to get grants.

[BlueMongoose]

My parents got one because one of them still wanted the option of having a bath. (I had suggested they remodelled the bath and loo which are separate into one room and had a really good big walk-in shower, with a strong fold-down seat, but they didn't want to do that.) It was expensive, and the door was very stiff to close and kept coming open. It was 'fixed' (not) by the plumber, then once or twice (I forget which) by the manufacturer. Still stiff, and as my parents don't trust it not to open and the one that wanted the bath seems now not to, they don't use it for a bath anyway. So all they have ended up with is a very awkward shower, which is a real pain to use, and even with the help of a carer, isn't easy. You can;t have a fold-down seat in it, and the best in-bath seat we have found it still very awkward to use, as you have to shuffle round 90 degrees to sit down or get up. IMO they are a waste of money, and not a good long-term option for anyone who is getting frail. I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

[KittenKong]

She doesn’t want to actually use the bath (she hates them) just have a shower with access (she is quite short and the batch aides are reasonable high. A bath with a little door seems to be a reasonable alternative.

[AfternoonToffee]

kitten are you in the UK? If so I would advise to contact your local council and ask for an OT assessment, she would still need to get over the side of the bath so it may not be a long term answer. A walk in shower or using an over bath shower with appropriate equipment is likely to be a more suitable option. She will still need to step into the bath as well.

[KittenKong]

Yes I’m in the U.K. what’s OT? She is just worried about tripping I guess - absolutely fine and steady but just wanting to be sure that she won’t fall getting in or out of the bath (or rather the shower as she doesn’t like baths)

[AfternoonToffee]

Sorry Occupational therapy, they can do an assessment in regards to how she is managing in her home, they can look at equipment or minor adaptations such as grab rails or larger adaptations such as a level access shower (though these are generally funded through a means tested grant).

[BlueMongoose]

@KittenKong

She doesn’t want to actually use the bath (she hates them) just have a shower with access (she is quite short and the batch aides are reasonable high. A bath with a little door seems to be a reasonable alternative.

A dedicated shower is a lot easier to get into than a bath with a door. They are awkward for the able-bodied, and a nightmare for anyone with mobility problems. The door on my parents' bath is very hard to close if you have weak hands too. I suspect that installing a shower and the associated tiling won't cost any more than a bath with a door- they are ridiculously expensive; I'd suggest that you get a quote or two for a shower and the same for a walk-in bath rather than assume a bath would be cheaper.
They are also a pain in the neck when it comes to a shower screen if you want the shower at the door end. I really, really wouldn't go there. If I'd known before my parents got them what I know now, I'd have been a lot firmer about my opinion that a shower was a better option. I struggle to shower the more disabled of the two, getting them in and out of the bath for a shower means I have to lift them and help them turn twice to get them in, and twice again to get them out. The other parent can't do the lifting and shouldn't try to, so we have to have a carer in to help. If they'd simply got a shower, that wouldn't have been necessary. In the lockdown when we couldn't have a carer in for a long period of time, it was hell on wheels.

[KittenKong]

Oooh - good idea! She is generally pretty ok (a lot better than most I’d say - she is older than my mum was and mum could barely walk at all).