What are the pros and cons of owning a walk-in tub?

The pros of a walk-in tub are the things it changes about bathing: you step in through a door and bathe seated on a molded seat, and you can add therapies such as hydrotherapy or heated seats to the bath, with a system that is fully plumbed and asks for one maintenance session a month. The cons are commitments made before the tub ships and a short list of habits afterward. The door side and swing are set at the factory and cannot be reversed, an outward door needs clear floor in front of it, the seat height is fixed, and the acrylic shell and door seal want gentle care. What Are the Negatives of a Walk-In Tub and How Do I Choose One? works through the buying decisions step by step; this page sets the advantages and the disadvantages side by side so you can weigh them for your own bathroom.

The Advantages Owners Buy for

• Seated bathing behind a door. The molded seat on Ella tubs sits about 17 inches high, and the bather steps in through the door, stands, and closes it before sitting. Ella's own buying video lists your specific needs for mobility, comfort and safety as the first thing to weigh, because those are the needs a seated tub with a door answers.
• Therapy built into the bath. The same video lists features that improve the bath, such as hydrotherapy or heated seats. On hydro tubs, ozone runs with the hydro pump to keep the lines sanitized between the monthly flushes, so the therapy system looks after itself between baths.
• A door style for the room you have. Inward-swing doors need no floor space in front of the tub, which suits a tight bathroom. Outward U-shape doors swing 165 degrees for an easier entry, and the outward L-shape Transfer door swings 172 degrees with an extra-wide opening.
• Low routine upkeep. The air and hydro systems are fully plumbed, so nothing needs flushing after every bath. One session a month covers the jets, the inlet cover, the door seal and a wipe of the surfaces.
• Built for safe wiring. Ella tubs come with ground wires on all electrical components and on the tub frame, so a licensed electrician can secure a proper ground connection to local and state codes.
• Planning help before you commit. Ella offers an online walk-in tub builder tool; ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the link, as described in Shower Builder Tool.

The Trade-Offs That Are Fixed Before Delivery

The real negatives of a walk-in tub are decisions you cannot undo after the tub is built. Each of these is set by your order, so the table pairs the commitment with the published figure and what it means for your bathroom.

What the table adds up to is that the cons of a walk-in tub are mostly fit problems, and fit problems are solved with a tape measure before you order rather than with a repair afterward. The clearance figures decide whether an outward door is even an option in your room, the drain rule decides which hand you order, and the seat and width figures decide whether a given model suits the bather. None of them is a flaw that shows up later; each one is a question to settle while the order is still open.

The Upkeep Side of the Ledger

A walk-in tub carries pumps, jets, a door seal and often a thermostatic valve that a plain bathtub does not, and each one asks for a little attention. The good news is that the whole routine fits into one monthly session, laid out in the Printable Monthly Maintenance Checklist for a Walk-In Tub:

1. Mix 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, fill the tub to 1 inch above the highest jets, add the mixture, run the tub for 10 minutes, then drain. Never run a pump with water below the jets.
2. Clear hair and debris from the pump inlet cover inside the tub and wipe it with a non-abrasive towel.
3. Wipe the silicone door seal and frame with a common household cleaner or rubbing alcohol, and leave the door open when the tub is not in use so the gasket is not compressed between baths.
4. If your faucet includes an Ella Thermostatic Control Valve, confirm the inline filter or mesh on the supply lines is in place and clean it.
5. Press Test, then Reset on the GFCI, which may be at the breaker, a wall outlet, or under the tub behind the access panel.
6. Wipe the acrylic, glass and chrome about twice a month, and after any salt soak.

Cleaning products are the other habit to learn. Mild dish soap, or a 1 to 1 mix of white vinegar and water on a soft cloth, handles nearly all routine cleaning, and Ella's approved list includes Dawn, Scrub Free, Kaboom with OxiClean, Simple Green, Tilex and Pine-Sol, with CLR Bath and Kitchen listed in some model manuals. Bleach used regularly, Magic Eraser type sponges, scouring powders and abrasive pads damage or dull the acrylic, and muriatic acid must never be used anywhere near the tub. The full list is in What Can I Safely Clean My Walk-In Tub With?. The door seal needs no grease, oil or spray lubricant at all; a sticky gasket is almost always residue, and a wipe with household cleaner or rubbing alcohol restores it, as My Door Seal Is Sticky. What Can I Clean or Lubricate It With? explains.

One cost of ownership deserves its own line. If your tub has a thermostatic control valve, that valve carries a 1-year limited warranty, and mineral fouling of its cartridge from calcium or iron in the water is not covered. The inline filter is what protects it, which is why it sits on the monthly list. When a covered part fails, Ella ships the replacement under the warranty and a local licensed plumber or electrician does the labor. Ella does not send technicians.

Deciding Whether the Pros Outweigh the Cons for You

The pros matter most to a bather who avoids the bath because of the climb over a tub wall or who cannot stand for a full shower. The cons matter most in a small or awkward bathroom. Ella's soaking depth video on this page shows the three measurements that settle the comfort question: the distance from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow vents, the length of the seat, and the interior length of the tub. The soaking depth depends on the size of the bather, so compare those three figures on each model's spec sheet with your own seated measurements. Then take correct measurements of every doorway and hallway on the route to the bathroom, because the tub has to get there before any of its advantages matter. If the numbers work and the monthly routine sounds manageable, the trade-offs in the table are ones you have already solved, and the seated, safer bath is what you keep.

Watch: How to Measure the Soaking Depth in Your Walk-In-Tub | Ellas Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Do I Choose the Right Walk-In Tub for My Home?
• Comparing Ella's Bubbles Walk-In Tub Models

Common Questions