What Is a Mobility or Accessible Tub, and Who Needs One?

A mobility tub, also called an accessible tub or walk-in tub, is a bathtub with a watertight door in its side and a molded seat, so the bather steps over a low threshold and sits down instead of climbing over a high tub wall. Ella walk-in tubs add grab bars, a textured floor and a choice of door swings, and the Transfer family is built for wheelchair transfer. Anyone who finds a conventional tub hard or unsafe to get into is a candidate, and How Do I Choose the Right Walk-In Tub for Mobility Issues? walks through matching the door and size to the person who will bathe.

What Makes a Tub a Mobility Tub

Three things separate an accessible tub from an ordinary bathtub: a door you walk through, a seat you sit on while the tub fills, and a threshold low enough to step over without lifting a leg high. Everything else on the tub is there to make those three things safe. The first video on this page shows them on the S-Class low-entry tubs, which come in a 30 by 52 inch size for the average bather and a 30 by 60 inch size with a bit more legroom. Both have a comfortable 21 inch wide seat, a low threshold, a textured floor, wall and deck grab bars, a built-in towel rack, and a chrome stainless steel door latch that pulls the door into a tight seal.

• The S-Class features a 3 inch threshold height as opposed to a 6 inch height. The 3 inch height requires subfloor access to the drains, so tell your contractor early if you want the lowest step-over.
• Grab bars are placed on the wall and on the deck, so there is something to hold both while stepping in and while lowering onto the seat.
• The electrical components plug into a dedicated GFCI outlet, and 5 foot supply lines are included with the 5-piece fast-fill faucet set.
• Options on these tubs include a four-fold glass screen and a heated seat and backrest.

How Bathing Works When You Cannot Climb in

The habit that surprises new owners is that you sit inside the tub with the door closed and locked while it fills, while you bathe and while it drains. You step in over the threshold, turn and sit on the seat, close and lock the door, close the drains, and only then turn on the water. Ella considers entering a tub that already has water in it dangerous, so the tub is always entered dry. When the bath is over you open the drains completely, stay seated until the tub is empty, and then open the door. Ella lists an average dual-drain tub emptying in about 80 seconds, and most Ella tubs have dual 2 inch drains, while the Standard, Zen, Flow, Front Entry and LayDown use a single drain. The full order of steps, including where the hot, cold and selector sit on the five-piece faucet, is in How to Take a Bath in Your Walk-In Tub: The Sequence From Stepping In to Stepping Out. Two safety notes belong with any accessible tub: adjust the temperature carefully, because Ella's manuals warn that water above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit may be harmful, and fill above the jets before running a massage system.

Which Door and Size Fit Which Bather

The door is chosen by choosing the tub, because doors are not interchangeable. That makes the door swing the first decision for anyone with a mobility concern, and the floor space in front of the tub the second.

What these figures mean for your bathroom is simple. If the clear floor in front of the door side is under 21 inches, an inward-swing model is the safer fit even for a bather who would prefer an outward door. If the bather transfers from a wheelchair, the Transfer family is the one designed for it, and the second video on this page shows how its extra-wide L-shaped door fits over the toilet and opens for easy access. The Monaco is the Royal's outward counterpart at the same size, and the Tub4Two is the outward two-seater, so most inward models have an outward equivalent when the room allows it. Model-by-model notes on the Longer, Deluxe, Monaco and TransferXXL are in Walk-in Tub Model Highlights: Longer, Deluxe, Monaco, and Transfer XXL.

Therapy and Comfort on an Accessible Tub

An accessible tub does not have to be a therapy tub. Most Ella models are available as a soaker with no jets for a bather who simply wants a safe, comfortable soak. Where therapy is wanted, the lineup offers a heated seat and back, hydro jets with an in-line heater and intensity control dial, three-speed air massage with auto purge that clears moisture from the air system, microbubbles, and hydrofoot therapy. The Transfer tub in the second video is available with independent foot massage, which has its own separate pump and intensity control dial so there is no need to fill the whole tub to enjoy a foot and calf massage. Small add-ons matter more on a mobility tub than people expect: a 24-inch hand shower slide bar lets the hand shower sit at seated height for hands-free rinsing, and a 10 by 7.5-inch head pillow supports the neck during a longer soak.

Accessible Is Not the Same as ADA Compliant

The word accessible describes features such as a low step-in, a seat and grab bars. It is not a certification. Ella states plainly that its shower stalls are not ADA compliant, because the Americans with Disabilities Act standard is met only when a whole installation satisfies every applicable requirement, from threshold height to grab bar placement and control reach. For a private residence, ADA certification is generally not a building code requirement, and most homeowners choose an accessible tub or shower for what it does day to day. For a commercial building, a rental unit that falls under accessibility rules, or any project an inspector will check against the standard, confirm the requirement with your local code official before ordering. Are Ella Shower Stalls ADA Compliant? What the Answer Means for Home and Commercial Projects explains the distinction.

Getting the Fit Right

Describe who will be bathing, how they move today and how that might change, and let the bathroom settle the rest. Measure the room so the tub fits comfortably, choose the door swing that helps the bather, and have a licensed contractor confirm the size and door side before anything is ordered. Every Ella tub has its door and seat on one side and its drains on the other, so the door side also decides where the plumbing lands. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can match a model to the bather and the room, and questions after delivery go through ellasbubbles.com/support.

Watch: Wheelchair-Accessible Transfer Acrylic Walk-In Tub with L-Shaped Door | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How do I choose a wheelchair accessible walk-in tub?
• Wheelchair Transfer Tubs Compared: Transfer26, Transfer30, Transfer32, Transfer60, and TransferXXL
• How Do You Transfer From a Wheelchair Into an Ella Walk-In Tub?

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