For a senior and elderly individual, everything inside the house can become a risk one way or another. Kitchen puddles after washing the dishes can become causes of a slip, a throw rug can be a safety hazard for its unsuspecting, slippery nature, and finally, bathrooms become a living nightmare. If you’re caring for an elderly, you’d know the first thing to safety-proof is the wettest part of the house, and that’s the bathtub.

If you’re elderly yourself, it will help to read some tips from trusted medical professionals and other experts. This one from MedlinePlus (check it out) has extensive research and a variety of tips you can get to keep yourself from harm’s way. However, providing mats with anti-skid surfaces is not sufficient if you’re suffering from arthritis or if you’re in a wheelchair. This is why bathtubs and soaks with walk-ins are made: to ensure you don’t slide off while climbing in or risk falling while being hoisted up by caregivers.

What Is A Walk-In Bathtub?

Before we attempt to buy this seemingly nifty installment, let’s first discover what a walk-in tub is. True to its name, a walk-in bathtub is a bathtub you can walk into instead of climb in. Unlike a horizontally made bathtub, this type is more vertical, typically up to one’s waist or hips. The reason for this design is to eliminate the traditional way of using the installment, which is to climb over it.

This can pose a significant threat not only to those people suffering from physical conditions which prevent them from placing themselves inside the bathtub safely but to the elderly that are prone to falls. A walk-in bathtub has a lot of features, mainly the best rated ones, such as handles and footholds, so you don’t have to stand during the duration of your bath. There are also seats made inside that allow the user to settle down before starting their bath.

So you think you need this kind of bathtub? Before diving into a purchase, read on to find out about the variety of walk-in bathtubs for you!

Types Of Walk-In Tubs And Soakers

The first thing you should consider before buying is the type of welk-in tub suits your location, condition, and budget. After all, there’s more than one walk-in type for every situation or added feature you might like.

  1. Soaker Tub

A Soaker tub is just your average walk-in tub. Modeled after normal soakers, these are ideal for a long, full-body submerge that an ordinary bathtub can’t provide. It can also be dubbed as a “Japanese” bathtub, usually circular or oval-shaped, found in many traditional Japanese homes. Because a walk-in soaker tub is literally just a soaker tub with a door, this can be one of the most common types of tubs many customers prefer to have if they don’t want something fancy.

  1. Wheelchair-Accessible

This type is slightly similar to a soaker tub. Only instead of a narrow door, a wheelchair-accessible tub has a wider door that swings wide open. This is for the easy transfer of the patient of an elderly person wheelchair-to-tub, avoiding any bumps against the doorframe along the way. However, this also means the individual can easily slide out of the tub if the door were to be accidentally opened or malfunction, so be careful and check door safety daily.


  1. Bariatric Tub

This tub is more of a sub-type of the wheelchair-accessible, as it is built the same as the prior one. Only this one is made more heavy-duty to accommodate bigger individuals, weighing more than 300 lbs.

  1. Aerotheraphy Tub

One of the advanced types, an aerotheraphy (or air-jet) tub, gives the individual a gentle massage all around the body exposed to the water. This can be ideal for cramped muscles and aching joints, as well as a fatigued body. Though it’s not specified to be suitable for disabled or elderly individuals, the air-jet feature is an excellent addition if you prefer something fancy but not too fancy (and expensive).

  1. Hydrotherapy Tub

Just like the previously mentioned tub, a hydrotherapy tub also provides a massage, although this one’s known to give more aggressive massages. Thus, it’s ideal for those working out and doing hard physical labour all day to ease muscle cramps. The massage, however, provides ample pressure to alleviate many conditions, such as arthritis and other joint pains, but is discouraged for elderly individuals with poor and/or sensitive skin turgor.

  1. Combination

Many tubs in the market fuse two or more types into one product, even adding more features, such as chroma and aromatherapy features. The latter one makes use of essential oils, like chamomile and lavender, for relaxation, while the former makes use of lights to enhance the tub experience.

Must-Haves In Your Walk-In Bathtub

  1. Handrails

The number one priority of every walk-in bathtub, especially if you or the recipient of your care cannot stand by themselves, is safety. This means a handrail, where they can stabilize themselves while lowering down or even while taking a bath. According to one study (link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4700929/), falls happen twice more frequently in bathrooms than in living rooms for the elderly. These falls result in injury and some even death.

The study strongly suggests for caregivers to install handrails onto bathtubs, which many high-end companies have, anticipating a surge of elderly customers in their customer population.

  1. Fast Self-Draining Feature

After a bath, it’s imperative to drain the water at once and remove the individual from the tub to prevent chills. However, before opening the door, one has to make sure the water is drained fully. Quick drainage is imperative in this scenario, as well as an automatic self-cleaning feature to prevent bacteria from creating a reservoir.

  1. In-Line Heating Feature

Seniors have less than optimal body functions, and this involves their ability to keep warm as well. Usually, the water stays warm for the next five minutes and begins to cool for the next 15 minutes. It’s less than ideal for a bath, so having an in-line heating feature prevents any chills and cold water.

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