How Does the Transfer Tub Hand Shower Work for Caregiver Bathing?

On a Transfer tub the handheld shower runs off the fast-fill faucet mounted on the tub deck. The caregiver moves the diverter, which is the button under the spout on the two-piece faucet or the middle lever on the five-piece, and water goes to the pull-out hand shower instead of the spout, so the bather can be washed and rinsed while seated with the door closed, with or without filling the tub. Bathing Someone With Limited Mobility in a Walk-In Tub: Features That Help and Habits That Keep It Safe covers the whole caregiver routine, and this page looks at the hand shower itself and how it fits the Transfer family's wheelchair layout.

How the Hand Shower Is Controlled

The hand shower is part of the Ella fast-fill faucet rather than a separate fixture, so there is no second valve to learn. Set the water temperature at the faucet first, then move the diverter so the flow leaves the spout and comes out of the hand shower. On the two-piece faucet the diverter is the button under the spout; on the five-piece faucet it is the middle lever.

• The hand shower pulls out on a 5 foot retractable braided hose, which reaches a bather seated on the Transfer seat from outside the tub.
• The head has five flow settings on a turnable dial, so the caregiver can pick the spray pattern that suits the person without changing the water temperature.
• Air plus hydro jet tubs include the 5-piece Ella fast-fill faucet with handheld shower, two stainless steel grab bars in a chrome finish, and a 2-inch dual drain with two openers.

Because the water comes straight from the faucet, a full wash is possible without filling the tub at all. The bather sits down, the door is closed and latched, and the caregiver washes and rinses with the hand shower while the water runs out through the drain. On days when a soak is wanted, the same hand shower rinses hair and shoulders above the waterline once the tub is full.

Why the Transfer Layout Helps the Caregiver

The Transfer family is the part of the Ella lineup built for wheelchair users. Its L-shape door opens 172 degrees and leaves no sidewall beside the seat, so a wheelchair user can slide straight across onto the seat rather than stepping in. The threshold on the Transfer family is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches, the seat height is about 17 inches, and grab bars are included on the deck and the wall. Once the bather is seated and the door is closed, the hand shower does the reaching, so the person never has to stand or lean to get clean.

Seat width is the measurement to check before choosing a model. The seat must be wider than the person's seated hip measurement, and Ella seat widths run from 19 inches on the Petite and Transfer26 to 29 inches on the TransferXXL. What is a mobility tub and who is it designed for? explains how to narrow the lineup once you know who will be bathing and how they move.

Habits That Keep a Hand Shower Bath Safe

1. Never leave a bather who needs help alone in the tub, even for a quick rinse. Plan to stay beside them for the whole bath.
2. Warm the seat first and keep the room warm, especially when the tub is not being filled and the bather is sitting in an empty tub.
3. Set the temperature carefully so no one is ever scalded, and check it at the faucet before the diverter sends water to the hand shower.
4. Never let anyone lean on the door, and never let anyone enter a tub that already has water in it; Ella considers that dangerous.
5. On tubs with independent foot massage, a footwell-only soak is an option: fill to just below the seat and just above the calf jets for a shorter, shallower bath, and use the hand shower for the rest.

Are walk-in tubs safe for seniors and people with limited mobility? sets out the rest of the rules Ella prints in its manuals, including the fill and drain minutes the bather spends inside the sealed door.

Keeping the Spray Inside the Tub

A walk-in tub is open on top, so a hand shower aimed toward the room sends spray onto the bathroom floor. A tempered glass screen can be added that locks into place so the spray stays inside the tub and the floor stays dry, which matters most when a caregiver is standing on that floor beside the tub. Screen styles depend on the tub: a four-fold screen is available for the Capri and a bi-fold screen for lay-down tubs, so ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 which screen suits your Transfer model. A 24-inch hand shower slide bar can be added for wall installation to hold the hand shower between uses, and a 10-inch rain shower is an accessory option. Showers, Shower Screens, and Accessories for Your Ella Walk-in Tub lists what is available and what is already part of an order.

When the Hand Shower Itself Needs Attention

The sprayer head threads onto the hose by hand, with no tools. If water drips or sprays sideways at that joint, turn the water off, unscrew the head, and look inside the threads for a washer and a small blue backflow check valve, because a missing washer or check valve is a common cause. A crack above the threading cannot be repaired, so photograph it. A 5-foot stainless steel shower hose with a coupling kit is also available if the hose is the problem.

The Lifetime Limited Warranty covers the faucet and fixtures for parts, for the original owner at the original installation address, once the team verifies the failure from your photos, and non-Ella faucets carry only their own manufacturer's warranty. Is My Broken Handheld Tub Sprayer Covered by Warranty, and How Do I Replace It? explains what to check and what to send. The replacement is a matched part fitted by hand or by a local plumber, not a service call.

Related Guides

• How fast will my walk-in tub fill? Fast-fill faucet expectations and operation
• Ella Fast-Fill Faucets: 2-Piece vs 5-Piece, Finishes, and the Waterfall Option

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