Home Improvement 101: Choosing The Right Bathtub for Long, Comfortable Soaks
Even if your busy schedule only allows for leisurely soaks on the weekends no bathroom is ever really complete without a great bathtub. And because there is nothing quite a long soak in a warm tub the bathtub that you choose for your Waterloo Region home needs to offer comfort as well as style. Even the best looking bathtub in the world is rather useless if it is too small, too cramped or too oddly shaped to really enjoy being in comfortably.
A great bathtub is also often rather high on the ‘want list’ of many homebuyers, so even if you are not thinking of selling your home right now upgrading your bathtub could still be a great investment that can help increase the perceived value and appeal of property should you decide to move on in the future.
If you walk into a bathroom fittings showroom or even browse their catalogs online you will quickly realize that these days there is far more on offer than just an old fashioned, standard – and rather run of the mill – rectangular bathtub and also that some come with more extras and bell and whistles than others.
Your choice will obviously depend a lot on both the available space in your bathroom and your budget. However here are some of the popular bathtub options available today that you might want to give some though to when planning your new bathroom layout or a bathroom model, a project that is second only to kitchen renovation in the world of home improvement.
Soaking Tubs – Soaking tubs – which are also often called garden tubs – are deeper than conventional standard bathtubs and are designed to let you soak and immerse your entire body in the water for a more relaxing and comfortable bath-time experience. Soaking tubs come in many different shapes although a squared tub is very popular look at the moment.
A deeper tub like this is not really suitable for use in a family bathroom that is going to be used by kids or adults with less mobility though so they are often best reserved for a master bathroom suite that is designed for adult use.
Walk in Bathtubs – Often as a person gets older soaking in the tub is a pleasure that they find themselves giving up on because clambering in and out of a regular bathtub becomes too much of a chore as their overall mobility decreases. This however is a real shame because a nice warm bath can bring a great deal of relief to achy joints, something that most people experience to one degree or another as they age.
A walk in bathtub can solve this problem though. At first glance they look very much like any other attractive bathtub but the difference is that they have a watertight door opening that allows a homeowner to simply step into the tub and then close the door behind them, allowing them to continue to enjoy a nice bath in comfort and reap all the benefits it offers.
Jetted Bathtubs – Jetted bathtubs are considered very therapeutic and relaxing as they provide a gentle aquatic massage while you bathe. These days there are even some jetted tubs that also feature colored LED lighting that can be changed to from color to color according to you mood, providing what is known in alternative medicine circles as colour therapy, a technique that many people swear by as a way to relax and relieve tension.
The only thing that you do have to be ready for if you opt for one of these more technologically sophisticated bathtubs is not only will they initially be among the more expensive bathtubs but they also need a little more care in terms of maintenance. As long as you make sure that you understand the manufacturer’s care instructions though it should be no more than a few extra minutes of your time after each soak and the benefits in terms of relaxation may be well worth the extra effort and increased appeal to any future owners should you decide to move on.