The whirlpool bath manufacturers, such as ourselves, have made great strides in reducing the amount of water left in the plumbing harnesses in conventional whirlpools. In the past, only flexible tubing was used in the plumbing harness. This flexible tubing would sag over time and hold substantial amounts of water in them. The results were the black mold build up discussed. Now, some manufactures use rigid PVC piping that is heat formed to allow the water to automatically drain out of the jets. MTI Whirlpools took it a step further and patented a cleaning system that back flushes the entire plumbing harness using your incoming potable water supply. You can clean the entire plumbing harness will less than 10 gallons of water. We have a very detailed illustration on our website. Here is a link that might be useful: MTI Whirlpools

I actually feel kind of stupid or perhaps I should be kinder to myself and say I am very surprised! When working on the spare bathroom choices I gave some thought to using all of the available space, knowing I could fairly easily fit in a 66 inch tub if I were willing to do some framing work. I went back to Mirabelle as I wanted to keep costs as minimal as possible (noot cheap just not wanting a Kohler Underscore price unless I were willing to drop the Kallista in Master. I wasn't :) I looked at the 66 inch Mirabelle Edenton and did not at first catch the width. Only 36 and that won't fit in the spare. Without making a short story long I looked at the alcove versions but the Edenton required access from the side, something that for my home would be very messy. The Bradenton series offered a removable skirt but I had seen one before and wasn't sure I liked the look. But the Bradenton had decent leg room. So my duh huh moment. I looked at the 32 inch wide Edenton drop in tun and lo and behold it was 44 1/2 inches. I revisited the 36 inch wide Edenton drop in and sure enough its legroom was 37 or so inches. This was main reason I had dropped this from my short list. Had no idea the 36 inch wide version would be that much shorter. Now I see why Kevin had no trouble fitting in his tub! It has nearly as much legroom as the Kallista ( 1 1/2 inches less). The 32 inch will fit with a small deck in the alcove spot for my spare and I probably will do the air option. The spare has rapidly become an upscale room anyway and having a nice relaxing air tub there won't be worst thing. My son will love it when he visits and he won't invade the Master. Moral of story.. if any given dimension is important to you be sure to check every tub and size as internal measurements can be grossly different that external measurements. I thought I had already learned that but alas i quickly forgot it if I did. This may be a win win for us though as the wiring for spare will be simpler.

Stacey- No...as I mentioned in my first post, I got a wall-mounted one for about $400. You can see it in the picture I posted. I like a simple and clean look and the floor mounted ones look like fancy, exposed plumbing to me. If you can run your supply pipes up into the wall, all you need is the valve that's hidden in the wall, like a shower valve, and the spout and and handles that are surface mounted. l also like it because it doesn't take up space, and you don't have to worry about the structural issues that a floor mount sometimes requires,especially if you have to go through tile. My wall mount does go through wall tile, but I prefer that as it seemed easier than plumbing that has to go through and be secured to floor tile. Just my preference, but it made tub filling a whole lot cheaper. P.S.: I could have gotten a cheaper tub, but I preferred getting a name brand I had had good experiences with before. I'm sure that there are good quality tubs out there that sell for less than what I spent, but I'm not an expert on tub brands. I was simply happy spending $1620, as opposed to $3000-6000 locally.

Each person is different. That is why there are choices. Yes, likely your upbringing or past contributes to what you like/cherish. That is okay. For example, I do cherish having my very own sink and wouldn't mind at all having my very own bath. On the other hand, having a large bedroom does nothing for me.....wasted space for me. My favorite bedroom of all was in my great aunt's house: a postage-stamp size bedroom, converted from a removed staircase. The point of this forum is to point out to the OP factors he/she may not have considered, so the he/she can make the best choice for him/her going forward. How wonderful to be able to have the choice! oh......by the way.....grew up with 14 people with one shower/bath combo. Do I win the prize?