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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to get rid of bath from bathroom?

53 replies

Mishfit0819 · 03/11/2019 17:30

My bathroom is tiny and badly in need of an update...before DS arrived we had planned a new suite and replace the current bath and shower combo with a large shower. Neither DP or I like baths so this made sense pre baby, as it was never used and a pain to clean.

DS is 3 months so still in baby bath for a while, but would we be daft to take the bath out now??

I know it will be possible, but want to hear experiences of those with older DC and whether its worth it/advisable...

So -
YABU- it's not worth it/pain in the backside/will put future buyers off of our family home in future sale?

YANBU - its worth the extra space/baths are useless wastes of water/its easy enough to get a baby used to showers etc..

Help and advice appreciated before we spend £££ one way or another Confused

OP posts:
PhannyMcNee · 03/11/2019 19:09

We got rid of ours in January and no regrets so far. Dc are 18 down to 10 so we’ll past toddler years and hopefully a while until grandchildren start appearing...

FuzzyPuffling · 03/11/2019 19:12

PP said "duvets" not "duvet covers"

NoParticularPattern · 03/11/2019 19:18

I’m about to take a bath out of our house, but I don’t think it’s a daft idea here since 1- we have another bathroom with a bath in that is accessible to all the occupants of the house and 2- it’s an en-suite that we are taking it out of. However in your position (and especially so if you were planning to move any time in the next say 10 years?) I wouldn’t pull a bath out. I’d put the shower over the bath instead.

TheStaff · 03/11/2019 19:23

Yes duvets in the bath, covers are washed (weekly) in the washing machine. It's the actually duvets, my 8kg machine manages single duvets, but I wouldn't risk bigger ones in it. Do others use launderettes?

PurpleCrazyHorse · 03/11/2019 19:27

I would do what suits you best for your bathroom but be prepared to put a bath back in if you're selling as a family home. Depends if you're planning on staying for a while.

My mum ditched her bath and has a wet room instead (toilet is separate). It suits her much better. DS is now 4.5yo and he has been okay in her shower since about 3.5yo. Before that, when he was about 1-2yo he went in a big plastic tub but there was a while when he was too big for the tub but too small to stand in the shower that was a bit tricky. Plus it was only when we visited, so he might well have got used to the shower quicker if it was all time.

I guess I'm saying you might need to invest in a large plastic box for a year or so Grin but it's perfectly possible.

bridgetreilly · 03/11/2019 19:28

I would not buy a house without a bath and I don't think I'm unusual in that, especially if it's a house you're likely to be selling to young families.

totallyradllama · 03/11/2019 19:29

A lot of kids hate showers esp for washing hair. I shudder at the memory of trying to wash hair in a shower at the pool after lessons and getting totally soaked.

Bath time can be a really nice time with toys for little kids and then when they are a bit older it can be a chill out time

Also I don't think a shower is easier to clean than a shower-over-bath

rattusrattus20 · 03/11/2019 19:30

first post nails it - if you're thinking of selling anytime soon [e.g. within the next 10, even 20 yrs or so], don't do it.

otherwise, fill your boots, it's your home.

DaffodilsAndDandelions · 03/11/2019 19:30

See how you LO gets on with the shower first. My 10month old loves them and quite happily holds onto the bath handles while I wash his hair and i actually find this easier and much drier for me than the splashing in the bath. My 6yo DSS however screams like he’s being tortured!

Sammy867 · 03/11/2019 19:33

I would wait a bit first. My dd hates the shower with a passion and is very scared of it. She’s 4 now and still won’t go in (she gets 121 swimming lessons and is just naturally fearful of water). We redid our bathroom and put a small bath in (it’s a lot narrower but deeper than a normal bath - I can use it but my husband can’t for example) so she can still have her baths but we got a massive walk in shower in a better position

Pinkarsedfly · 03/11/2019 19:34

I’d have really missed bath times with mine when they were small. Lovely, happy, chill-out time, singing songs, playing with bath toys, then coming out all warm and relaxed ready for bed.

My eldest used to call his bath his ‘rowrowrow’ because we used to sing ‘Row Your Boat’ in it.

I’m all nostalgic now...

AnotherEmma · 03/11/2019 19:35

As PPs have said, it depends.

If you have a 2 bedroom home (flat or small house) and just one bathroom then a large walk-in shower would probably be better than a bath with a shower over it. You could get a large baby/toddler bath (if you have space to store it).

If you have 3+ bedrooms, it's a family home and I think it would be wise to keep a bath. If your bathroom isn't too small you could consider a separate shower and a 3/4 size bath. We have this in our bathroom - it wasn't our choice (installed by previous owner) but we like having a separate shower and the bath is handy for DS. We don't use it ourselves though as it's not particularly comfortable - probably better if you're short! The ideal, space permitting, would be one large bathroom with full size bath and separate shower, or two separate rooms: shower room and bathroom with full size bath.

SafetyAdvice0FeedWhenAgitated · 03/11/2019 19:38

Watching with interest. Tiny bathroom, we rarely take bath, BUT it's a 3 bed house. We are not planning on moving any time soon, but who knows. I was looking at really deep shower tray instead.

I wish there was a "pullout" bath. 1m like a really deep shower tray and it would pullout to 1.7m if you fancy bath...Sad

Parker231 · 03/11/2019 19:38

No bath wouldn’t bother me. We bathed DT’s in the kitchen sink and from six months old took them in the shower with us. Once they were walking it was so easy and quick to shower them before bed.

Duvets get washed in the washing machine.

strawberry2017 · 03/11/2019 19:44

I have an almost 2 year old and when we looked for our new house I ruled out ones without baths or without the space to add one without having to redo the whole bathroom. X

AnotherEmma · 03/11/2019 19:50

You could get a shower bath (with extra space at the shower end), would that work OP?
www.idealhome.co.uk/bathroom/bathroom-advice/shower-baths-10-brilliant-buys-81930

YellowSock · 03/11/2019 19:54

I never used to be big on baths but a few things happened that would have been a pain to have only a shower (freak injuries to me or family members) as needing to keep casts dry etc. I also feel that sometimes I have to bath to warm up if I have been out in the rain for a dog walk or on the sidelines at rugby so I would always advocate for keeping a bath!

JadeDragon23 · 03/11/2019 19:58

Neither dh or I are that keen on baths. We moved a year ago (thankfully just somewhere we rented temporarily) and saw no problem in taking somewhere without one.

IME it’s only when you have no option of a bath that you recognise all the times you really want one. A particularly bad, painful period. Dh doing a week of quite heavy manual labour for a friend and really wanting to soak painful muscles. Ds1 breaking his ankle...a bath would have been so much easier to use and keep his cast dry than a shower.

All rare ocurrences...but not having one was a right pita.

Thankfully we’ve now moved to our new house with bath but no bath would be a dealbreaker for me now.

And showering ds3 (aged 1-2) was a fucking nightmare! Some kids just don’t take to it.

Wolfcub · 03/11/2019 20:04

Yanbu. I did this. Makes a massive difference to a small space

Quail15 · 03/11/2019 20:09

I have a small 3 bed house where the main bathroom is downstairs. We have an ensuite with a large shower and we always use this rather than the bath so we plan to rearrange the ensuite to make it the family bathroom (just need to move the door so it opens via the hallway and not the bedroom) and turn the downstairs bathroom into a utility room.
So the bath will be going. My 11 month old is happy to have a shower.

I'm not worried about selling the house. We have no plans to move at the moment and houses sell really quickly here - even ones with strange layouts and oddly planned extensions.
If it suits your family then do it.

Oysterbabe · 03/11/2019 20:11

Yabu. I don't have baths but have 2 under 4 and they love them. I wouldn't buy a house without a bath.

minesagin37 · 03/11/2019 20:12

We have a massive shower and a massive bath. Our dd 14 loves the bath. We love the shower. A big bathroom was a must for us. I couldn't compromise.

Jeezoh · 03/11/2019 20:12

You’re meant to wash duvets???Blush

WelshMoth · 03/11/2019 21:49

Same house description as you OP and 3 years ago we ripped everything out and put in a huge shower enclosure and super doopah shower. We built in a tiled corner seat and a second long shower hose just in case I needed to shower the youngest (she was 7 at the time). We love it and are pleased to have gained space.

That said, we occasionally miss having a bath and DD said just today that she wanted to go over to her gran's house for a bath Blush

For us, it was a no brainer. Poorly designed 4 bedroom spacious house with a...tiny bathroom - it made no sense.

We hope to sell up in next 5 years but we are aware of the potential to put off young families, despite it being a lovely shower room now.

It's a tough choice tbh!

Northernsoullover · 03/11/2019 21:55

Jeezoh its ok. You aren't alone Blush