Are walk-in tubs really worth it for your home?

A walk-in tub is worth it when the things it changes about bathing are the things you need: a low threshold to step over instead of a high tub wall, a built-in seat so you bathe sitting down, and a door that lets you sit or stand while showering or soaking. Owners in Ella's published customer videos single out exactly those points, along with fast filling and draining and the therapy options. The rest of the answer depends on your bathroom, and Walk-In Tub and Shower Base Sizes and How to Measure for Fit is the place to check whether a standard model fits the space your current tub occupies.

What Owners Say They Use Every Day

Ella publishes customer videos, and the points that come up are practical rather than decorative. In the first video, the owner says the low threshold and easy entrance make getting in and out of the tub a breeze, mentions the innovative jet design and hydro massage, and singles out the chromatherapy light as something they enjoy because it sets the tone for the bath. In the second video, a customer who tried the Royal describes the tub as safe and secure, says it filled quickly with good water pressure and drained quickly when they were done, and calls the microbubbles tingly and skin softening. Their closing point is the one most people mean when they type "worth it": the safety of sitting or standing while showering or bathing.

Those are the things a walk-in tub changes. If you currently avoid the bath because of the step over the tub wall, or you cannot stand for a full shower, the seated entry is the reason to buy. If neither applies to you, the soaking depth, the fit and the therapy sections below carry more of the decision.

How Deep the Water Really Is

A common worry is that a seated tub gives a shallow bath. On every Ella tub the published depth is measured to the overflow, because water rises to the overflow opening and then runs out, so the spec sheet figure is the depth you can actually fill to. On seated models the number to use is the seat-to-overflow measurement, which across the mid-size models runs roughly 15 to 18 inches. On the LayDown 30x60, which has no seat, the water reaches 15 3/4 inches from the tub floor to the overflow, over a flat 46 by 20 inch floor that widens to about 53 by 25 1/2 inches above the floor. The figures and how to read them are in How Deep Is the Water Really in a Walk-In Tub?.

1. Sit in a chair facing a wall and measure your shoulder width and your head-to-feet length while seated.
2. Note your seated torso length and compare it with the seat-to-overflow figure and the interior length of the model you are considering.
3. Fill no higher than the center of the drain handle, and remember that the overflow carries away anything that rises above it.

Whether It Fits the Bathroom You Already Have

The value drops quickly if a wall has to move. The most common walk-in tub size is 30 inches wide by 52 inches long, which fits many standard tub alcoves, and Ella also offers 32x52, 38x52, 30x60, 30x55, 28x52, 27x60 and 26x45 inch sizes. The Monaco comes in 32 by 53 or 32 by 52 inches, lay-down soaking tubs are commonly 32 by 72 inches, and a transfer-style tub is available at 60 by 30 inches. Most bathrooms were framed around a 60 inch tub. Tubs that are 60 inches or longer fill that opening on their own, and shorter models use an Ella extension panel at one end so the finished installation looks built in, as What Is an Alcove Installation for a Walk-In Tub? explains. Every Ella model fits a three-wall alcove, and the same models can also stand against one or two walls with an end panel closing the exposed side.

• Measure the width, length and height of the existing alcove, and the width of every doorway the tub must pass through to reach the bathroom.
• Plan around the actual size on the spec sheet, not the nominal name. A 60 inch tub such as the Ultimate is actually 59.5 inches, which is why it needs no extension panel.
• The Front Entry and Mobile have no extension panel, so the installer frames and finishes any remaining space instead.
• Ask your installer for a wall access panel behind the plumbing end so pumps and drain connections can be reached without disturbing tile, and never pack the space around the tub with insulation.
• A shower column on a tub with an extension panel uses the long 4 to 5 inch pipe connector, and the 4-fold glass screen converts to a 3-fold screen to fit a 52 inch tub in a 60 inch alcove.

The Therapy Side of the Value

Beyond safety, the tubs are built for the bath itself, and the microbubbles the second reviewer describes are one of several options. The hydrogen option adds a built-in generator under the molded seat, fed from a small tank of distilled water, that infuses molecular hydrogen into the bath as micro and nano bubbles at one press of the H2 button. By the time the tub fills to the drain overflow the water carries 1500 PPB of dissolved hydrogen, which is 1.5 ppm, and the level can rise to about 2000 PPB during an extended 15 to 20 minute bath. On the Standard60 the microbubble system runs with it and the water turns milky white. Ella presents this as product information rather than medical advice, listing improved skin health among the benefits it describes as studied, and your physician is the right person to ask about your own skin or health condition. The bath, the distilled water tank and the shutdown routine before draining are covered in What is a hydrogen bath and is it good for skin?.

What the Purchase Asks of You

Ella does not send technicians and does not perform installations. A local licensed plumber and electrician install the tub using the owner's manual, with free technical support by phone and email, and the team can help you get in touch with local installers in your area. Ella walk-in tubs ship regularly to Canada, though shower bases do not because they are fragile in shipment, and duties, brokerage and taxes on a cross-border shipment are the buyer's responsibility, as Can Ella Ship a Walk-In Tub or Shower Base to Canada, and Are There Installers There? explains. Wherever you live, confirm the model, door side, therapy package, faucet and accessories with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before the tub is built, and share the spec sheet and manual with your installer before delivery so the rough-in is ready. If you want a fit check first, send your model, your seated measurements and the alcove width measured wall to wall at the back and the front through ellasbubbles.com/support.

Related Guides

• Choosing a Walk-In Tub on Video: Measuring Yourself, Doorways, Door Styles, Therapies, Hot Water and the Line Overview
• Walk-in tub dimensions by model: exterior sizes, seat widths, and door types
• What features should I look for in a walk-in bathtub?

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