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?

If I was housing viewing, a freestanding bath would be a negative, and I'd be mentally calculating the cost of removing it and getting a bath, that worked as a bath. I recently had a bathroom refitted and went for a normal 1700 bath. Zero regrets.

Freestanding baths can take a lot of water to fill, be a pain to get in and out of, awkward sitting position, lose heat, puddles of water with shower attachment, no where to put book, drink etc, awkward to clean around. But they look nice. Don't do it to yourself.

Suddenly I'm picturing puddles of water, soap scum and dust bunnies between the bath and wall.
This is exactly my experience! Never have one close to a wall - or indeed at all!

I only stayed in a holiday house with one for a week and agree with all the above! My mum said it shattered her dream of having one.

I love freestanding baths. Just get either a bath shelf, or a niche or shelf on the wall - looks nicer than having bottles around the side of a bath. Haven't had any issues cleaning them or around them.

Wouldn't have a shower over one though, unless it was something like this maybe https://indulgentbathing.co.uk/products/charlotte-edwards-belgravia-acrylic-freestanding-single-ended-bath-painted-finish-1700x700mm?currency=GBP&variant=39974420086963&utmmedium=cpc&utmmsource=google&utmcampaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1tTV68D55gIVh4hoCR0j1g4FEAQYAiABEgL2hvD_BwE

Or you can get the floor underneath the bath tanked and a full size shower screen to the floor to the side of it. Otherwise think it would risk leaks.

I have a Burlington admiral 1650 - they tried to get me to get the longer one but I refused as I don’t want to be floating about in a bath that costs eight million pounds to fill.

it has a rim around the bottom so no mess underneath. I didn’t buy a cast iron one as I heard it’s hard to get and keep hot - mine is insulated so stays cosy.

basically it’s pretty but not so precious that we can’t use it. Have separate shower though.

They look lovely.

I'm far too much of a mess monster to have a shower over one. I'd need a separate walk in shower.

And I'd only have one in a large bathroom where you can walk around it, like the one in the picture Goat posted.

it's my personal opinion that they look daft if they have to be squeezed into a bathroom.

Absolute pain in the arse! Ours was metal and lost heat really quickly, and there was nowhere to put things apart from the floor. Leaning over to grab said things was not only extremely uncomfortable, but also created puddles on the floor when the water ran down your arm. Needless to say, we ripped it out, sold it, and replaced it with a sensible bath!

There was one in this house when we bought it. Loved it briefly. After a couple of years we ripped it out, due to all the issues already mentioned. And an additional one - we had toddlers who were forever standing up under the roll top and banging their heads. 🙄

Would it not have been easier to get a little side table or shelf to go over it 😂

I have an apothecarial number of lotions and potions and free-standing baths have rubbish storage so it's a no from me

We have a back to wall with a shower , I love it. So does DH he's 6'4 and says it's the first bath he can float in. These were taken before we'd finished decorating, for me to look at when I went shopping for accessories etc.
It's easy enough to clean one if those flash mops gets under it no problem

Definitely get a bath tray

They are absolutely fine. One bonus is you don't have horrible sealant between the bath and the wall. You just need to make sure you've got enough space behind it to clean. We've had them in 2 of our houses (put them in). One was a cast iron one and the second is a heavy plastic double walled thing.

I tried a free-standing rack thing, but all the bottles just fell over constantly! I lost the will at that point, to be honest

We've fitted five in various houses over the years - and apart from a slipper style which was too short/narrow - they've all been great, no issues with cleaning or puddles of water etc. The second one we had we opted to have a shower over and that was a mistake (style over substance) which ended up never used as we had a separate shower too.

The first we had was an original cast iron one which was a bugger to get up the stairs so going forward (apart from the too small one which was from Clearwater), we've always chosen Sottini which are decent quality and imho hold the heat well too.

We have a small table next to ours for wine glasses/book as well as a rack over for soaps and lotions etc.

Admittedly they do take masses of water to fill, but I love ours.

I’ve always loved the way they look. And then we stayed in a boutique hotel that had one and I was really excited. But I’m only 5 foot 1, and the bath was way too long for me. Most baths are, but this was really long and I kept slipping down and I had to keep my legs rigid to keep my position in the bath and not slip under. Not at all relaxing. Which has really changed my mind about wanting one!

I think any bath can be comfortable or uncomfortable.

We just stayed in a holiday let with a bath like @Goatinthegarden posted.

Comfy enough but the water pressure was insane and so the shower hose kept actually shooting off all over the place! Then when it was on the stand it kind of loomed over and looked like it would drop on you any minute.

I've stayed other places where low water pressure meant a deep bath was impossible to fill at a suitably hot temperature.

On balance I think they're just a bit of a waste of space and create extra cleaning! They do look good though.

I've got one which is flat to floor. So no issues cleaning under it. Behind is fine with a mop. We also have a walk in shower. This was it just after it was finished. Have since filled the bathroom with lots of plants, it's very lush 😊

I'm having one fitted this week 😂I've just text the fitter about the gap. It's a flat to the floor double ended slipper bath so no underneath to worry about. I did sit in it in the shop to make sure it was comfy and I can't bloody wait for a bath!!

Not if you direct the water into the bath!

I use the shower head when I was my hair.

Neither of mine have been against the wall - there’s been room to manoeuvre around. I keep toys between the wall and bath!

My last one you could properly walk around but I don’t have such a big bathroom now - you can still comfortably mop and clean between the wall and bath though.

I thought of another point. When we installed it we were child free. Then when we had a newborn I couldn’t wash them in the bath, DH had to do it as he has longer arms. My arms didn’t reach that far. Health Visitor didn’t understand when I said I couldn’t use the bath to wash DC. Had to explain. In my newborn muddle I didn’t think lower sided normal baths are really easy for washing DC.

@KnittedCardi @NCforpictures I have bathroom envy - your bathrooms are beautiful! I do love the traditional roll tops and noticed @NCforpictures you have sealed yours against the wall.

@Goatinthegarden I keep seeing those baths and they look lovely but I'm most strongly drawn to the contemporary ones like in @KnittedCardi 's picture. I like hearing that a mop will take care of most cleaning issues- still need to think through the shower and space for bathroom bits!

Oh God yes - absolute pain in the arse. Mine was on a plinth - looked amazing but basically, unusable. Had to risk life and limb to get in and out plus there was nowhere to store toiletries or even a towel - it was basically an installation! Some of those 'egg' baths can tip!

We put one in the kids' bathroom and it looks lovely BUT the kids hate using it because there is no 'edge' for them to play with toy cars on.