To think baths are awful?

[Alllll]

I’ve lived in my house for four years and there is a very deep and long L shaped bath which is the envy of my bath loving friends. I’ve never been keen on baths and never used it. But tonight I thought, for a change, I’d run myself one and take my book.

It was absolutely shit. Took bloody ages to run, then I got in and couldn’t hold by book right. The water was a nice temperature but it made my face too hot. It was boring. I lasted twenty minutes and then drained the water. Complete waste.

I find them mildly disgusting. Right up close to the grouting. It’s horrible. AIBU?

I love a bath. I just generally love water, I also swim 3/4 times a week for exercise in a pool, and love the sea.

I've been wearing specs for 47 years, I'd think I'd know by now if I were long sighted rather than long sighted. As would every optician I've ever visited in my life, I expect.

Or just from a different culture where we do things differently?

Unless one is really short sighted… I have -9.5 eyes and need glasses to read!

Yes. You have a stronger prescription than me, and mine is pretty high.

Hate baths. Like several PP, we had ours taken out and a double size shower put in. Lovely.

If I am reading, I would rather do it sat in my recliner chair or in bed.

Agree completely. Baths gross and waste of space and water ugh.

I don't know if it would work for 'proper' glasses, but I throw my (cheap) reading glasses in the bath as it's running. It warms up the lenses and then there's very little steaming up.

I have an hour-long bath most nights- first half reading, then a bit of thought-drifting, then washing etc and out.

Showers are OK, but they're functional to me, not relaxing.

I feel like this about showers, I hate them.

Why on earth are people showering before a bath (unless they are literally covered in shit?). Any, I'm with you OP - baths are rubbish. I'd much rather a quick shower then read on the couch!

What a hysterical over reaction.

Do you never go swimming?

I don't know if it would work for 'proper' glasses, but I throw my (cheap) reading glasses in the bath as it's running. It warms up the lenses and then there's very little steaming up.

@Shodan You have just reminded me of a brilliant idea I saw at Paignton Zoo many years ago. They had a hot air hand dryer at the entrance to the reptile house. It was for glasses wearers to warm their glasses so that they wouldn't steam up in the humid heat of the reptile house.

At home you could use a hair dryer instead.

I only bath a few things a year, usually when I’ve been unwell. I always feel a but ick in it after a while, might be because we only had a bath when I was a kid and I had to have my mums water. Showers were what rich people had!

A shower to get clean.

Then a long bath, with a book, a margarita (the drink, not the pizza) and the radio on, preferably some sport commentary.

Bliss.

Same, I've often thought I will have a nice soak in the bath, lit the candles , put some calm music and in I go.....yes it's so boring and gets to steamy and hot , you can't hold anything properly, hands wet. last about 15 mins then glad to be out

you can't hold anything properly, hands wet.

Erm, you can dry them to hold a book.

Having back problems for six years I can no longer get in and out a bath so have a shower daily.
I miss a nice hot bath
p.s not disgusting at all!

Or listen to an audiobook like I do. We have a Bluetooth speaker in the bathroom for listening to music, podcasts etc. whilst soaking in the bath.

I'm rethinking my love of baths after reading this thread. We grew up with baths in the 50's - the only shower was a 2-headed rubber contraption that was bunged on the 2 taps of the bath to wash your hair. When proper showers were a thing (can't remember when but I had my own house by then), I loved them - the speed, the ability to wash hair at the same time, the feeling of freshness. As I've aged, baths have become appealing again - somewhere to relax and think and enjoy the warmth soothing aching joints. I know the day will come (according to pp) when I'll be unable to get in and out and the ignominy of a shower seat will loom! A ghastly prospect 😒 So, for me, bathing versus showering has always been age related.

love baths, and disappointed that so many houses / hotels don't have them. showers have their place for quick hygiene but a lovely long soak can't be beaten

What’s remarkable is that British people -specifically white British are blissfully unaware that many other cultures and countries think of them as being a bit grubby and unhygienic.

They were very late adopters of daily baths, many still don’t. They do a sink clean with a flannel. Which some of them re-use. They wash their pits and bums with a flannel in sink water then reuse the flannel. They wear outside shoes in the house and go to bed with the day’s pollution on them. They don’t actually wash their feet or backs. They just allow water to run over them.

yet for some reason they actually hold themselves up as being the cleaner peoples. It’s so peculiar. When all this is pointed out, they then try to deflect and tell cleaner cultures that they are damaging their skin or killing the planet for washing the way they do. And that removing shoes is somehow rude.
it’s some massive cognitive dissonance.

I haven’t bathed in years as I too don’t like them. I feel grimy when I get out and don’t find constantly having to adjust my body and the water temp relaxing!

Much prefer to shower. We only kept the bath for the kids.

I don’t think baths are gross at all from a hygiene viewpoint. . I used to love them, would always have one every morning,considered it my last bit of relaxation before work. Would always be so disappointed with hotel rooms if there was only a shower. Then I was hit by a weird inflammatory arthritis affecting knees and ankles, came on virtually overnight and I couldn’t get down into the bath. So it was showers only. By the time I got back to normal, which was about a year, I found I much preferred a good shower andI can take or leave a bath now.

Spot on, @redshoesredlaces! I am familiar with all of the examples you gave and still found myself gagging slightly when reading them 😂 I have friends and co workers who freely admit to doing all of these things, yet I’m the odd one for not doing them?! Ewwww!

I remember reading something ages ago about British people not washing their legs in the shower, and getting really confused as to anyone could miss their legs when washing, then found out from friends that yep, they assumed their legs would just get clean in a shower without being washed. I mean, I sort of saw their point about soapy water running down doing some of the work, but nope nope nope! Not enough for me!

Why would you shower before getting into a bath? 😵‍💫