How Do I Choose the Right Walk-In Tub for My Needs?

Choosing the right walk-in tub means working through a short list of decisions in the right order: how the bather gets into the water, whether the seat and soaking depth fit their body, whether the tub fits the room and the path into the house, which therapy and comfort options matter, and who will install and support it. Every Ella's Bubbles walk-in tub already has a low step-in threshold, a textured slip-resistant floor, grab bars and a seat at chair height, so those safety basics are not the deciding factors. What features should I look for when choosing a walk-in tub? lists the published figures feature by feature, and this page turns them into a sequence you can follow.

Step One: Decide How the Bather Gets in

Ella's own guidance puts mobility, comfort and safety first, before the room and before the spa features, because the entry decides whether the bathroom works at all. A person who can take one low step through a door and sit down is a walk-in tub bather. A person who slides across from a wheelchair needs a Transfer tub with an L-shape door. A person who stays in a wheelchair or shower chair is better served by a curbless roll-in shower base, where there is no lip to lift a wheel over. The second video on this page shows the low threshold, easy entry design and the textured slip-resistant floor that every tub model shares. The table sets the entry styles side by side.

Read the table from the bather's body outward. If stepping over a tub wall is the main difficulty, any walk-in tub removes it, because you step through a door into an empty tub and sit down one turn later. The Transfer family is the strongest fit when stepping itself is hard, because the outward door opens completely out of the way and there is no sidewall beside the seat, so you can sit first and swing your feet in afterward. An inward door suits someone who can tuck their legs aside for a moment while it closes; an outward door avoids that moment altogether. Which Walk-In Tub Is Best If I Have Difficulty Stepping Over a Tub? matches each door style to the way you move.

Step Two: Measure the Bather, Not the Brochure

Ella's measuring method takes three figures before any tub is compared. Have the person sit in a chair facing a wall, relaxed, and measure hip width while seated, shoulder width while seated, and length from head to feet while seated. Then compare those numbers exactly with the drawings and specifications for each model.

• Seat width must be wider than the seated hip figure. Published seat widths run from 19 inches on the Petite and Transfer26 to 29 inches on the TransferXXL, so this one number narrows the field quickly.
• Shoulder width tells you whether the tub has proper shoulder room.
• Seated length gauges the tub length that fits. A bather around six feet or taller looks at the long-seat models, the Big4One and the ShaK. Bigger is not automatically better, because those long seats can be uncomfortable for an average or shorter person.
• Soaking depth is set by the distance from the top of the seat to the overflow drains, roughly 15 to 18 inches across the mid-size models; the Ultra gives 17 1/2 inches.
• Seat height is 17 inches on most models, similar to a standard chair, and the seat is molded rather than adjustable.
• Weight has no single published limit, because every shell sits on a rustproof stainless steel frame that carries the load to the floor. If the person can sit comfortably inside the tub, the tub holds them.

Step Three: Measure the Room and the Path into It

Next comes whether the tub will fit through the house and into the space, then the door side and the door swing. Measure the alcove or floor area where the tub will sit, and measure every doorway and turn between the entrance and the bathroom, because the tub arrives crated. Then think about the swing. An outward-swing door and the L-shape Transfer door both need clear floor in front of the tub, so a vanity or toilet close to the tub can rule one out. Door side matters too: on an Ella tub the drains are on the opposite side from the door, so a right-side door tub has its drains on the left and a left-side door tub has them on the right as you face it, and the drain location has to line up with your plumbing. How Do I Choose a Walk-In Tub With a Low Threshold and Slip-Resistant Floor? walks through the door decision in the same order.

Step Four: Choose the Therapy and Comfort Options

Only after the entry, the fit and the room are settled should the spa side come in, and it layers onto almost any model. Ella builds each tub to the order, so the massage systems, the faucet and the accessories are chosen for the bather rather than fixed by the model. Most models are offered as a soaker with no jets, or with hydro jets, air jets, microbubbles and hydrofoot therapy in various combinations. A heated seat and backrest and easy-touch or digital controls add comfort and easier operation without changing the entry. Fast-fill faucets with a pull-out hand shower come on the 2-piece and 5-piece sets, a 24 inch slide bar holds the hand shower for a seated shower, and a shower column adds a 10 inch rain head. Most seated tubs include one or two deck-mount grab bars, and more can be added to the surrounding walls. Which Walk-In Bath Remodel Options Balance Accessibility and Luxury for Aging in Place? shows how the luxury fits around the access decision.

One caution from the way the tubs are built: jets and air lines are built into the shell at the factory, so a therapy package cannot be added later. Start from how the person bathes today and how they are likely to bathe in a few years, and order for that.

Step Five: Plan the Installation and the Support Behind It

The first video on this page sums the sequence up: begin with mobility, comfort and safety, measure the bathroom so the tub fits comfortably, select the features that enhance the bath, and ensure professional installation and reliable customer support. Ella's Bubbles manufactures the tubs and does not install them or send technicians. A local licensed plumber and electrician do the installation, and any licensed installer may be used; Ella certification is not required. Improper installation and modifications by anyone other than Ella's Bubbles are excluded from warranty coverage, and labor is never covered, so choose an experienced licensed installer. Once the tub is in, the warranty activation form must be completed and signed by both you and the installer and returned to put the Lifetime Limited Warranty in force. After that, parts ship under the warranty, and free lifetime technical support by phone, email and video is available to you and your contractor through ellasbubbles.com/support and (800) 480-6850. The entry is the upgrade that returns the most value in a remodel, as Which bathroom accessibility upgrades deliver the most value in a remodel? explains, which is why this page started there.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles Walk-In Tub's Low Threshold, Easy Entry Makes Bathing Safer with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What features should I look for in a walk-in bathtub?
• What is the best walk-in tub, and how do I compare models?
• Comparing Ella's Bubbles Walk-In Tub Models

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