I keep seeing these walk in bathtubs advertised on tv commercials. They have a side that opens like a door. THey are intended for the elderly. The concept makes sense, because I am aware of how difficult it is for elders with health issues. However, I find it hard to understand how they can seal those "doors" on the tubs, to be water tight. And even if they do have a good seal, how long do they last?
Like the door seal on a refrigerator, car door, etc, they all seem to fail fairly fast. But for a bathtub, there is a lot of pressure against that seal. I'm not sure of the water capacity, but even 25 gallons weighs about 208 lbs (one gallon is 8.34 lbs). That's a lot of weight against a gasket/seal. And I would think they hold more than 25 gallons.
Of course if the gasket fails, that's a lot of water to flow on the floor and will cause a lot of damage.
1st off...you and I are too old to worry about such things. We should leave it to the engineers. At my last job I maintained a Whirlpool with a door...they have a locking mechanism that compresses the gasket. The door also wedges into a groove that is smaller than the exterior tub dimensions.
IDK anything about the reliability of the door seals. But I wouldn't worry about the pressure against the seal being some difficult design problem. Those kinds of design typically don't rely on the seal material to hold the pressure back. It would be logical to use the weight of the water to your advantage by having the seal between the door and the area of the door opening the door presses against. The more pressure, the tighter it pushes against the seal. I haven't looked at one, but I would think it's probably the design they would have. Over time the seal might start to leak and need replacing, but I don't see some difficult design issue or catastrophic problem. If it leaks, it's going to start slowly, not a big flood.
Have you ever seen one? They are well made and I doubt they would have a high failure rate and the chances are, never a catastrophic failure.
OTOH, I think they are a poor idea anyway. You have to get in before you start filling and they you have to wait until it drains before you can get out. We got rid of the tub altogether and made a large shower and ut a shower seat in there.
Plus they advertise "same day installation" --- that is a laugh, as 99.9% of the installation will require plumbing to be moved, electrical to be installed and the walls retiled and possibly the floor redone because the new tub is taller and looks to be shorter in length than most old tubs they replace. These guys are not just tub sellers they are renovation sellers. That must add a ton of costs to the job.
Some do. The ones I looked at to see what kind of door system they had, also were jetted and offered in-line water heaters to maintain the temperature.
I added the in-line heater to our standard American-Standard jetted tub. Quite nice for long soaks in the tub.
You got a good point there. And they probably only install the tub. The homeowner then needs to hire a plumber, carpenter, tile installer, etc. I dont think there is any need for an electrician though. (For the tub). I dont believe they use electricity.
I also never thought about the need for the person having to get into the tub BEFORE filling it, and cant get out until it's drained. But that does make perfect sense. And that also means that if an elderly person became ill while in the tub, they would not be able to get out till the tub was drained, or else would have to crawl over the top, (which defeats the whole purpose).
I've only seen them on tv commercials. For $7000 they damn well better be WELL MADE! I have no intention to buy one, I was just curious about how they seal....
My refrigerator gasket seem pretty good at 36 years, but I don't have a way to really test it.
Our parking lot flooded 3 years ago, and I moved my car, but I wonder how well the door seal would have kept the water out. A neighbor decided she needed a new car, although I can't imagine that the carpet coulnd't be shampood clean.
It's the depth that determines the water pressure.
Well, it has to be empty when the bather goes in and empty when he leaves, so I guess he should pay attention while he's in there. Maybe some water alarm would be a good idea, but it wouldn't have to be loud.
One advertisement says they'll throw in free a heated seat, so that's electric. I take baths all the time, in a regular bathtub, and I've never noticed that the tub bottom was cold. Of course I've put water in already.
As to jets, I personally wouldn't want that. I want peace and quiet.
I'd thought of the first part already, but not this part.
That's good exercise. It will make him appreciate all the times he can just open the door.
I don't want to hijack your thread, but I assume anyone who wants to answer on topic will still be able to. ;-)
I don't like my tub in part because it's not deep enough**. So I called Bathfitter to find out if they could put a deeper tub on top of mine, without moving the hot and cold valves, and if it woudl be strong enough that I could still sit on the edge of the tub. That is, would the part above my original edge be strong enough hollow, or could they reinforce the side of the tub where it was taller than my own tub?
So far, they have refused to say a thing unless they can send out a salesman, or whatever they call him. The guy says only the technicians know and they are all out looking at bathrooms. I think I asked if I could leave a messsage so that one of them could call me, but if I did he said no.
After some diligence, I found a competitor, ReBath. I should call them next.
But I'm going to call Bathfitter back and come up with some story why I need an answer in advance. There's no reason they can't answer my question on the phone.
**When I lived in what had been a luxury apartment building in Brooklyn, the tub was so deep and big I could float in it, with only about 1 square inch of my butt touching the bottom. The faucets were on the side too so I barely had to move to adjust the temperature.
Seems to me it would be a lot easier and cheaper to just put a handheld spray in a shower, put a shower chair in there and just handle it that way, presuming the old folk can step over a 4" shower pan edge.
Without changing the existing plumbing? If the faucets exit the wall above the existing tub I suppose that could be done. Most I have seen are mounted through the tub wall so filling above that point would not be a good idea. Not to mention the overflow outlet which must be through the tub wall to be of any use. No plumbing work at all would seem unlikely here. Something like a free standing claw foot tub maybe.
Frankly, I wouldn't do all that work without replacing the valves, overflow etc. with new anyway.
No wonder they didn't want to commit without an on sight inspection.
They are the limiting factor on how high I'd want to go with the new tub. I need to measure again but it's 4 or 5 inches.
Only the overflow/drain lever is below the top of the tub.
I've already inverted the overflow/drain lever to be able to fill the tub between 2 and 3 inches higher. This makes the fill level so high that it's easy to slosh water on the floor. Raising the tub would alleviate that. But IIRC I wanted to raise the tub 4 inches, and I would want to raise the max water level 2 to 4 inches too. That is the point, not to stop splashing water out but to have deeper water. . For final questions like that, I'd want them to come out to the house, but my first question doesn't require them to visit. (Plus I'm annoyed at how they're treating me.)
The overflow isn't clogged but it doesn't really prevent overflows, in the tub or in the sinks, in my experience. Even if the water is running say 3 or 4 out of 10. Certainly not if it's running faster.. Has anyone else ever verified that their overflow really works?
The overflow drains so slowly, that I've considered splurging and letting it drain while I'm using the tub, replacing the water lost with hot water. I sort of have to do that anyhow, because the water feels colder as time goes on, even though it's not colder. It just seems that way.
Or I could block the overflow completely and rely on myself to never let it overflow. I did that in Brooklyn and in the 10 years I used that tub, I never forgot to turn off the water. And I remembered the week before I moved out, to take the tape off the overflow pipe, so the new tenants would have the overflow working again. (Had I forgotten, I woudl have called my roommate who was still there for 2 weeks and had him do it, or I'd have written the new tenants.)
(This luxury tub didn't use the usual method, but one I've only seen in some old, nice hotels: a pipe sticking up a couple feet outside of the tub, with a tube inside the pipe and a porcelain handle to lift the tube and rotate it a bit. In one positiion, it falls down and plugs the drain (except the overflow which works because there are big holes neear the top of the tube, that lets the water go from outside the tube to inside the tube and down the drain). In the other position, it's held up and the water drains out of the tube at floor level. I put 3M magic tape around the big holes and the tape worked for 10 years too, even though it was under water whenever I took a bath. When I removed it, it wasnt' perfect anymore, but would have lasted another 10 years. )
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I don't see the point to that. They work fine. I just replaced the hot and cold stems with new. The first stems lasted 35 years and in another 35 years, I'll be dead. (Actually, I think the stems would have lasted a lot longer if I had used flat washers like it seems I was supposed to. I used beveled ones and the plumbing guy said that forced the washer to bulge sideways, and damage the brass band around the washer. And one washer screw head broke off, but I probably could have done a better job of getting it out, or alternatively, putting another screw in.)
(I've saved all the old parts in case I get desperate for parts. People here said I woudlnt' be able to get new stems for a 35 year old fixture, and it's true that the new stems are 1/4 or 3/8" longer than the old ones, and stick out that much farther than the shower/tub diverter knob, but it's not a problem. Oh, and they both used to be right-handed but now the hot water is left-handed. That's okay too.
But I'm sure Bathfitter will try to sell me new fixtures and more, and that's why they want to come out.
They are the limiting factor on how high I'd want to go with the new tub. I need to measure again but it's 4 or 5 inches.
Only the overflow/drain lever is below the top of the tub.
I've already inverted the overflow/drain lever to be able to fill the tub between 2 and 3 inches higher. This makes the fill level so high that it's easy to slosh water on the floor. Raising the tub would alleviate that. But IIRC I wanted to raise the tub 4 inches, and I would want to raise the max water level 2 to 4 inches too. That is the point, not to stop splashing water out but to have deeper water. . For final questions like that, I'd want them to come out to the house, but my first question doesn't require them to visit. (Plus I'm annoyed at how they're treating me.)
The overflow isn't clogged but it doesn't really prevent overflows, in the tub or in the sinks, in my experience. Even if the water is running say 3 or 4 out of 10. Certainly not if it's running faster.. Has anyone else ever verified that their overflow really works?
The overflow drains so slowly, that I've considered splurging and letting it drain while I'm using the tub, replacing the water lost with hot water. I sort of have to do that anyhow, because the water feels colder as time goes on, even though it's not colder. It just seems that way.
Or I could block the overflow completely and rely on myself to never let it overflow. I did that in Brooklyn and in the 10 years I used that tub, I never forgot to turn off the water. And I remembered the week before I moved out, to take the tape off the overflow pipe, so the new tenants would have the overflow working again. (Had I forgotten, I woudl have called my roommate who was still there for 2 weeks and had him do it, or I'd have written the new tenants.)
(This luxury tub didn't use the usual method, but one I've only seen in some old, nice hotels: a pipe sticking up a couple feet outside of the tub, with a tube inside the pipe and a porcelain handle to lift the tube and rotate it a bit. In one positiion, it falls down and plugs the drain (except the overflow which works because there are big holes neear the top of the tube, that lets the water go from outside the tube to inside the tube and down the drain). In the other position, it's held up and the water drains out of the tube at floor level. I put 3M magic tape around the big holes and the tape worked for 10 years too, even though it was under water whenever I took a bath. When I removed it, it wasnt' perfect anymore, but would have lasted another 10 years. )
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I don't see the point to that. They work fine. I just replaced the hot and cold stems with new. The first stems lasted 35 years and in another 35 years, I'll be dead. (Actually, I think the stems would have lasted a lot longer if I had used flat washers like it seems I was supposed to. I used beveled ones and the plumbing guy said that forced the washer to bulge sideways, and damage the brass band around the washer. And one washer screw head broke off, but I probably could have done a better job of getting it out, or alternatively, putting another screw in.)
(I've saved all the old parts in case I get desperate for parts. People here said I woudlnt' be able to get new stems for a 35 year old fixture, and it's true that the new stems are 1/4 or 3/8" longer than the old ones, and stick out that much farther than the shower/tub diverter knob, but it's not a problem. Oh, and they both used to be right-handed but now the hot water is left-handed. That's okay too.
But I'm sure Bathfitter will try to sell me new fixtures and more, and that's why they want to come out.
This would not saisfy me, since for me, the goal is to put one's body under the water. However the walk-in tubs don't do much of that either, I think, since people are sitting up and the water only comes, it seems to me. up to one's ribcage, or nipples. And you can't slouch down and get it up to your neck or the top of your head.
My memory is fading, but I think my mother at 88 could still do that. She was losing weight without trying then.
The back up plan though is to make a shower bench, long enough to have half of it inside the tub and half outside. The person sits on the outside and slowly slides to the inside. Lifting each leg while sitting, so that falling is not likely. With a comfortable back at least for the part in the tub.
I don't think they sell such things so I should a) patent it and get rich; b) start making one of them so I'lll have one when I need one.
I'm still naive enough to think I'll never get so weak I need one.
And what I'd rather make for myself is some sort of crane, so I can sit in the tub, on the bottom, like I do now, and crank something that will stand me up, using gears so it won't require a lot of strength on my part. Maybe like those hoists that helipcopiters use when rescuing people. Once I'm up, I can walk out of the tub myself.
My guess is the inside people don't have a clue. They are merely appointment makers. The outside people know the answer and they will give you the hard sell. If you order today . . . .
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