Ask him why they are a problem to maintain, I'd like to know.

I had a jacuzzi. Took it out when I remodeled the bathroom. I think I may have used it 10 times in 18 yeas. I was going to give it one more go the night before I had it taken out. Didn't even do that. I found it nothing but a nuisance trying to clean the dust a bugs out of. Don't miss it at all. I have two bath tubs upstairs should I ever want to use one. Frankly, at this point in life, I consider them a danger.

I see a lot of them in estate sale homes. It's the first thing I would tear out.

For esthetics and home value, I'd rather see a sunken tub than a walk in tub or a shower with a seat.

I love our jetted tub. The water is heated as it circulates. It also has several levels so you don't have to fill it all the way up and use 320 gallons of water every time you take a bath. :0)

I may have a bias against walk-in tubs based upon the type of publications I see them advertised in, but I personally wouldn't consider having one. I can see how for a house offered for sale, having one could be a major negative for prospective buyers. Most would pass on otherwise suitable house needing a bathroom tear-out.

Walk-in showers with grab bars can be useful for older folks. As for large tubs, water restrictions around here limit their popularity. Those who like to soak seem to prefer hot tubs, especially those placed outdoors and large enough to include company. Even though the water in those can be reused, they have limited popularity. Many who want to soak do so at their gyms or a YMCA.

There really isn't a way a senior can navigate a sunken tub, or many of the other styles either....bathing being one of the more dangerous things they can do when living alone.

bossy, I don't know if it would have made your mothers life easier or not. A friend had a bath remodeled with a walk in tub a few years ago at her mothers, and Mom was a little disappointed. She was about 5'11" and pencil thin/skinny. She'd felt her water pressure average, but could get a little chilled sitting naked waiting for the tub to fill around her. Same with draining it because you can't get out again until it drains so sitting there wet, waiting. A space heater in the bathroom and towel around her shoulders helped.

My own mother had the tub taken out of her master bath and a no-threshold shower put in. That seemed to work for her and there was room for a shower seat with arms for standing up and sitting down safety. The bath in her now senior apartment has the same style shower, no tub.

I'm planning to take the tub out of my own master and do an oversized shower there. There is one other bath with small tub, and one with a step in shower now, but the master is an massive Jacuzzi we don't want, haven't used, won't use. I don't see us leaving this house, and while we could get into the tub now if we wanted, there will be a day when we can't. (I'm not going to tell you its pink, because if it was white I'd feel the same way ;))

Remember whoever is bathing has to sit there til the water drains enough to not flow through the open door.

Love my tub in our bedroom and use it pretty often! It's simply a freestanding soaking tub in an oval, slanted slipper style....no bells or whistles. I used a relatives' whirlpool tub on a visit and found it to be extremely unrelaxing with all of the noise from the pumps.

I'm still wondering why bossy's DH says that the walk-ins are high maintenance. (Not that I would ever want one....just curious.)

to be clear, this is what I'm talking about.

@rhizo, DH says you'd have to keep up with door seals to avoid leaks all over bathroom.

I think door cant open until water is gone. You can have walk in tub or walk in shower/tub combo. seems like it would be great for a senior, that's why I was looking for input. Also made of plasticky type material so I figure if elders fall, less danger to break something, dunno.

I would never want one because of the sitting there waiting for it to fill and drain. I had a huge jacuzzi tub in the Dallas house, very seldom used it because it took so much water to fill it. We had two hot tubs outside, one spa built into the pool and one hot tub standing on the pool patio. Fortunately the people buying the house loved the big jacuzzi tub thank goodness.

My current master bath has a large shower that has two steps down, no tub, no seat, but I have a nice teakwood seat in it for me to sit down on. I can easily use the movable hand held as well as the rain shower feature. It works out well, we put in some grab bars for additional safety.

This time last year I had chronic knee pain. On several occasions my calves would also become very painful and it would take up to two weeks for the pain to go away. I then had knee surgery in April. Fortunately, we had a shower chair left over from my dad. It's still in the shower. I soon discovered that not only was it a godsend to be able to sit down while showering because of the pain, sitting there having the jets and overhead shower pulsing on me felt like a spa. So even though the knee is fine now, I will still go in and sit there and let the warm water " massage" my neck and shoulders. It's wonderful.

So I'd rather have a jetted shower with a seat than a jetted or walk in tub. A private hot tub would be nice as well.

I am a bathtub person, not a shower person. However I would not want a walk in tub or a sunken tub. Too hard to stand and shower, do have a seat but took it out of the house and stored it. My husband would never use it.

Sue

ok great for while you're soaking, even with a heated seat BUT...how long do you have to sit nakked waiting for it to fill, then again waiting for it to empty???

I loved sitting in the soaker at the "Y", but still froze getting out and with only a suit and towel...

bought a chair for my mother at wal mart and have never removed it from our walk-in shower...I bought a great multi-shower head and can get benefits from the 5 different things it offers...be sure you get the one with a back, by the way...the stool one is too unsteady...

I live in an Independent Retirement Community, and have for the last 12 years. I have a bath tub with a shower. The tub is a little taller than any tub I have ever had. I measured it and from floor to tub edge is 17 inches. That wasn't a problem 12 years ago, but now that spinal problems have entered the picture, I have a problem getting into the tub, and have to actually boost my left leg with my hand to get in. That is a habit now and I can live with it. I would not want a walk in tub or a walk in shower. I shower standing up and have a shower seat (not a chair with arms) and I sit to shampoo/rinse my hair. Don't know what I might do when I can no longer get in the tub. Have to get Management to send a Valet Service in I guess!!

The air-jet tub in our MBA is 'just my size'. The bottom is 20" X 48"; I can brace my feet. It fills and drains fast; water is warmed; it isn't very noisy; the jets are blown dry after every use. It has built in arm rests and handles to assist with getting in and out.

I put a true whirlpool tub -- left over from our teardown -- into another bathroom, but have used it only twice. It takes *forever* to fill and drain; is noisy; needs bleach cleaning to keep mold out of the water jets. The whirlpool is truly *therapeutic*; air jet isn't.)

DH prefers the separate shower stall in our MBA. Recovering from hip surgery, I used a seat borrowed from our Senior Center's lending closet with the hand-held spray in the shower.

If you want to see a man "at your feet", you could try hip surgery. I was prohibited from bending to dry my legs or put lotion on them. (I have a wonderful DH, which allowed me to recover at home from TWO hip replacements!)

I would NOT want one. I would hate to sit in there while it fills, and worse, while all of the dirty water drains out!...while getting chilled waiting to dry off.

We had a big whirlpool tub in our last house...used it twice...and both times, I had to yell for help to get out because my knees would not bend back far enough to get up....plus it took a whole tank of hot water to just fill it part way. Biggest waste of money we ever spent!