Hate my new bath.. I could cry..

[eggsinonetamborine]

We have never had any money to do anything to our houses in the 10+ years we've lived together.
We had a shell suite style bathroom that was in when we moved, not exactly modern but worked ok.

We have saved and had a new bathroom fitted this one

www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/turin-l-shaped-1700-complete-bathroom-package?sku=TRCBS-RH

It looks lovely. But I'm a huge bath person.. it's my comfort.. and the bath is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever laid in.
It's so narrow there is no where to put my arms.. and where I would rest my head just hurts my neck. I come out feeling more stressed than when I went in. I could cry.
What can I do?
Please say someone else has been here 😢

Victoria Plum is a different bathroom company; we have their Winchester suite with a slipper bath that I love. We have the shorter version as the standard wouldn't fit in our bathroom, but I'm only 5' 1" so it's fine for me, and DH at 5' 8" hasn't complained either. As for width, with my knees up I can swizzle 180 degrees on my bum in it, so I find it fine.

I love my baths and could soak for ages if only other others weren't clamouring for the loo in it. I really feel for you, OP, I hope you can sort out a satisfactory resolution to this.

I empathise! I used to enjoy a long soak in the bath, topping up the hot water every now and then - until we had the bathroom refurbished 15 years ago! We splashed out (pardon the pun) and got nice stuff. The bath is a Laufen and that alone was about £1,200. But we've hardly used it.

The first time I used the new bath I realised that it was completely wrong for me. It's basically far too big (maybe we should swap, OP!). It's very deep and wide and is longer than the old one. It also has a steep slope on both ends (the tap is in the middle, on the wall).

When I try to lie back in the bath, I just slide down the slope (it's incredibly slippery!) - and because it's so long my feet don't reach the end, so I can't stop myself from sliding down under the water! I bought two bath pillows - one for my head and one to brace my feet against, but that doesn't really work. I bought a full length non-slip mat to stop me sliding, but the slope is so steep that I still slide down the mat!

Both DH and I gave up using the bath years ago, so it sits there gathering dust and the ocasional spider takes up residence!

My big mistake was not to actually get into the bath in the showroom and try it for size. If I ever refurbish another bathroom (doubtful, I think we're stuck with this one) I shall get into the bath and lie down in it in the showroom, regardless of what anyone might think!

I've got totally used to always having showers now though, so I doubt I would ever take up bathing again.

I’ve had bath disappointment too. Previously had a lovely comfortable bath but got rid of it in bathroom refit, partly to get rid of the shell edging details.

New bath is same length. It is a wide bath, so we don’t have the no-room for arms thing that’s been mentioned here. For me, the problem is the shape. It is so sloped at the head-end, that the bottom of the bath and where your bum rests, is so far down the length of the bath, that then there isn’t enough room for your legs and body to be under the water. Although it’s the same length bath as before, the actual base of it where you sit is probably 3/4 of the length of the previous one.

When buying, we sat in lots of baths in showrooms. Because we wanted a wider bath and one with extra insulation so the water kept warm, we had far less choice and ended up buying online - error! The shape is all wrong.

I actually like a bath with a steep head end. It means there’s more space for the bidy and legs to be under the water.

You have my sympathy OP. It’s hugely disappointing g and when you’ve spend £ks on a new bathroom, ripping out and re-tiling etc etc just doesn’t seem viable. I’ve lived with my new one for 5 years now. It’s okay, but each time I get in, I do rememeber the old one fondly. I

I've had that feeling in some hotel bathrooms I've visited; I'm 5' 1", so I've had to cling desperately to the side handles for fear of slipping under the water, as when I was fully stretched out, my feet didn't even reach the tap end! 😅

I have been converted to the practical over aesthetics when it comes to baths.
I recently replaced a the spa bath that was installed in the house we bought (or the giant vile petri dish of biofilm, as it was known)
Bathroom is really large and initially I had been thinking of something really decadent - a giant round freestanding bathtub like this https://img.edilportale.com/product-thumbs/2b_GOLD-Bathtub-MOMA-Design-415232-rele355cf8c.jpg
but the best thing I did was go and sit in about 50 different baths with a very long suffering DH holding my shoes and jacket (he hates baths) - and realising that I couldnt relax or lie comfortably in a bath that big, and that it would probably drain the water tank fully to fill it even halfway
Ended up with a very simple freestanding bath a bit like this, in a smaller length than we had intially planned, simply because it was the comfiest. And then chose to buy the acrylic version rather than italian stone as we then realised that getting a heavy stone bath into the basement would have been a huge practical ordeal.
https://shop11785.sfstatic.io/_design/smartytemplates/store/template001/assets/images/fancybox_overlay.png

It still looks good, but we ended up with something useable, and it was much cheaper than my dramatic plans

Hopefully you can take it out and sell it if it hasnt been used much, and find something a bit more human shaped.

Fill the bath with a mixture of chlorine (spa section) and water. Leave for 2-3hrs run the jets for 10 minutes then repeat as needed. It only because who you bought the house off hasn't looked after it. Then before you get out in future run the keys for a couple of seconds to stop it building back up :)

OP baths are narrower to save water now

So much stuff is crap, uncomfortable baths, socks that are too shallow, taps that don't have enough gap or splash too much, toilets that have a shelf where the pooh falls rather than the bowl. It's a minefield.

sinks not socks!

I hate mine too, i could have cried when I got in...head end has such a shallow slope I'm jammed on the bath instead of in the water, encased in plastic. And its hard to clean, dirt seems to sink into it, old bath much easier to wipe clean. It never occurred to me to try in a showroom but it was also fitted just as covid lockdown hit so lucky to get it finished at all.

I used to have a "P" shaped bath in my old house. It was a little narrow but the fact that the end was rounded made it more comfortable. If you're able to, I'd save up for a P shaped bath and, if possible, get a slightly wider one.

Our house had a freestanding bath in our bathroom when we moved in. It looked beautiful but you couldn't sit on the side as it wasn't fixed to the floor, and it was so big, the whole hot water tank only filled it about four inches deep. I only used it once and resorted to bringing the kettle upstairs and boiling it repeatedly on the landing outside the bathroom door.

We then did the bathroom up and reverted to the original design from when the houses were built, which was to put in a corner bath. Again, looks lovely, but the actual bath bit is quite small, so you can't stretch out. You also need the stomach muscles of Denise Lewis to wrench yourself out of it, as it doesn't have any handles and the edge is too thick to hold on to!

Thankfully though, I am not a bath person. We put it in as the bathroom would be too big not to have a bath (we already have a large separate shower cubicle), plus it is handy for washing my hair over the edge if I'm not having a shower.

I shall get into the bath and lie down in it in the showroom, regardless of what anyone might think!

I'm sorry, but why on earth wouldn't you?

We are having our bathroom re-done and I spent quite a long time lying in the bath at the showroom, and insisted DH get in too. The salesman was completely unfazed by this

@EeesandWhizz The step idea is great, if I can find one with suction feet, otherwise it will just float up. Thanks!

This won't help with the width issue, but might it help you feel more comfy lying down OP? You have my sympathies, I love a good bath and would be gutted in your situation.
https://www.sanctuary-bathrooms.co.uk/victoria-albert-luxury-backrest

I used to have a spa bath and cleaned it using a dishwasher tablet. Fill the bath up with hot water so it covers the jets, then switch on and leave it for 20 mins or so. It really works!

We got a new bath. I wasn't sure about it at first, it's narrower than the previous one and now has the taps at the side but the hot tap leaks sometimes and nearly burns you so we have to remember to make sure the last tap on is the cold tap. Having said that though you do get used to it. We have jets on ours too which was a nice bonus although I don't use them all the time. Every few months I put in dishwasher salt and disinfectant to give it a good clean.

I’m fairly lucky, my auntie used to own a tiling company and gave me bathroom fitting advice so I laid down in my new bath in my the showroom
(no idea what it is but deep enough and wide enough for me).

A male friend of mine is in a council flat and when they offered to put in a wet room he jumped at the chance, he now hates it and wishes he’d kept the bath!

Thankfully though, I am not a bath person. We put it in as the bathroom would be too big not to have a bath (we already have a large separate shower cubicle), plus it is handy for washing my hair over the edge if I'm not having a shower.

I used to love my baths. Had a bath every morning before work. But then five or six years ago I had a bout of inflammatory osteoarthritis affecting my knees and ankles which rendered me physically incapable of getting down into the bath never mind getting out. For about 8 months I could only shower. I’m much better now and could have a bath if I wanted but the desire has gone completely.

Maybe it is the boxyness of it that ks the issue? We have a small bathroom so have a shower over the bath. I hate being cramped when showering so we went with a P shaped bath.

I am a similar size to you (5 ft 7 and size 14) and find our 1500 P shaped bath is fine.

Of course - add the dishwasher tablet to the bubbles!

Its 700mm wide, thats a standard bath. So I'm not sure how its too narrow or theres nowhere to put arms...its the standard bath width?

So do we. It was a budget priced one and it’s so comfortable.
I relied a deep roll top bath recently, an utter nightmare for getting out of as unless you have excellent grip and arm strength.
I had to get on my hands and knees 😡

Is it? Mine is 900mm

yes. And a look at the main suppliers has 800mm as the largest available in many. 900mm is listed as extra wide.