Are free-standing baths a pain in the arse?

[Gallathea]

Looking at redoing the bathroom and while I might day-dream of stunning, luxurious large bathrooms with baths which cost more than a car and beautiful tiles, I don't have the budget!

I am thinking about splashing out in a double-ended free standing bath for my otherwise-ordinary bathroom though it occurred to me they might be a massive pain in the arse when it comes to cleaning...

Suddenly I'm picturing puddles of water, soap scum and dust bunnies between the bath and wall.

So, tell me, are free standing baths worth it for ordinary mortals?

No.

I had one. Was so annoying to clean that we never used it and instead used the non free standing one in the other bathroom.

Looked nice though. Provided you didn't look too closely behind it.

Had one in my old house. It was no bother to clean under/behind.

not sure why you think there will be puddles of water.

I miss that bath….

I have one. It’s quite uncomfortable because you sit quite upright. You can’t get water over you in a deep bath because the outlet is too low.

Yes to dust bunnies, lost soap and grime. It’s easy to mop underneath. But there’s a bit I can’t get to. Also you can’t rest shower gel or similar on the side of the bath.

It looks good, but it’s style over substance.

Should have said - the shower is over the bath hence the puddles of water down the back!

The key is to not put it hard against the wall so you can get a mop around behind it and also to install a tap system that has a hand held shower wand thingy as well as the taps (so much easier to clean when you can sluice it down with the wand after scrubbing it).

the freestanding taps are almost as expensive as the tub itself, so price them out before you commit

sit in it before you get a huge one, if its too long, it wont be comfortable as you will keep slipping down, if its too narrow it will squash your shoulders

plan where you will put the taps, you dont want them to drip on you when you are sitting in the bath.

Ours is beautiful but a pain to clean under / beneath the pipes. Regular old bath much easier. Would probably choose it again though.

Much food for thought here, thanks for your replies.

I'm leaning towards a back to the wall bath so I can have some of the shape you get with a freestanding bath without the hassle of getting behind it for cleaning (probably need a bigger bathroom for that).

My free standing one is fine, I don’t have the issues mentioned, the fitters were very firm on leaving enough space so as to be able to clean behind, we have a free standing tap and shower attachment, and it has an over flow hole thingy, it’s just the same being in it as one shoved up against the wall. I don’t get the whole you have to sit different if it’s not shoved up against the wall . It’s as likely to slosh over the sides as one which has one or two sides not up against a wall

we have a bath tray over ours which holds bath foam, scrubber etc and also a little stand bit to hold your book up and a wine glass slot.

works fine for us and it is much nicer to look at.

I pretty much bought my first house because of the freestanding bath. Yes to dust bunnies, puddles, nowhere to put anything around the side, too straight to sit in comfortably, took ages to fill etc etc. Don't miss it one bit. Would never install another.

No - had a couple. They’re fine.

You need to sit in one and try it out before buying - ive had 3 freestanding baths all slightly different. Some have straighter sides/ends than others and the length is important depending on how tall you are.

ive never had too many problems cleaning underneath them. You should be able to have a lovely deep bath as they are normally narrower than normal baths.

I'm doing my bathroom at the moment. I was planning a "back to wall" free standing bath, but my installer put me off. It would have been a lot more complicated for him to install than a straight bath.

I cannot stand ours! DH wanted it, I wanted a wall one. Yes it looks great but it's so uncomfortable to lie in, so we never use it! Takes too much water to have a really good soak. When the kids go in it, yes water gets everywhere and it's a bugger to get to the floor that is by the wall. The hand held shower that we have , despite been a good one, allegedly a better make, leaks from the hose after you use it.

I can't tell you the number of times I really stuck up my guns and got a wall mounted bath!

However if you have a larger bathroom you are planning on putting the bath far enough away from any walls, then the cleaning is less of an issue.

I had this a few years ago. It was beautiful, but the rounded ends (which looked lovely) made it too narrow for my shoulders, and my goodness it took a lot of hot water to fill, or basically meant bathing in a puddle! Filling it also took ages. It essentially became a very attractive tchotke as no one ever used it

Very pretty, but impossible to use with a shower.

No! Mine was all style, no substance. Massive and looked incredible - it was in an alcove with lights that made it look stunning. However, bloody difficult to get in or out plus no where to store toiletries etc; it just stood there alone in its magnificence. I'm the end, I boxed it in, added a step and side handles. Completely lost the ascetic but at least can use - safely!

I have one, and I don't get the issues with cleaning, it's absolutely fine, no worse than cleaning the rest of the bathroom floor. The dyson head and my mop fits in there just fine.

But mine is just a bath though, no way would I do freestanding with a shower over the bath.

I haven’t really noticed it being worse than a normal bath

When it comes to cleaning behind it, yes.

Watch out for the depth of them for getting in but maybe that's just me getting old!

I looked down the very small gap between our free standing bath and the wall last week and it was horrific. I had no idea as you can’t see it unless you stand with a torch and squint. Managed to squeeze a mop down the side and swish it out but it’s a pain.

I wouldn’t have a shower over one… I feel like the water would literally go everywhere

I’d never be able to get out of one! I struggle if there aren’t handholds to grab (no fun being older!)

I have this bath (although this is not my bathroom). In my bathroom, the long side is parallel to the wall and quite close. It’s easy to hoover underneath with the nozzle of the vacuum (it can get dusty underneath) and then pass a mop under. It is a bit achy on the back to clean inside the actual bath, but it’s a five minute job. We never have issues with water getting behind, but we don’t shower in it. It’s worth knowing it moves if you push it/lean hard on it. My friend works in a hotel with roll tops and drunk guests often break the drainpipe being careless. I haven’t had a problem at home.

It’s comfy and very deep. I guess it’s narrower than your usual bath so perhaps try it for size. Probably not ideal for bathing children or less mobile people. We have a wooden tray that goes over it that holds the gin and candles soap.