There’s no feeling like heading home after a long day and just relaxing in your shower or bath, washing off all the dirt, sweat, and worries. The feeling of water on your skin after a stressful day of work is just heavenly.
For many, the bathroom is a sacred place. It’s your own little (or large, up to you) space where you can relax, mull over your thoughts, and get away from the world. Your bathroom needs to have all the essentials, extras, and more in order to make you comfortable. Would you want your sacred spot to be anything other than absolutely perfect? Of course not!
Showers and baths are some of the best, and cheapest, ways of destressing which means that investing in a good shower or bath is never a wrong choice to make. Each of them works in different ways and, of course, give different benefits and have different requirements.
Are you currently choosing between having a shower or a bath in your home? Baths and showers each have their own pros and cons and, hopefully, this guide can help you decide which one is the right fit for your home. We will also be tallying points as to which one we think is better!
Showers vs Baths: 10 Things to Consider
1. Relaxation
One of the top things to consider is the kind of relaxation that you crave for. If you like lying down and mulling things over in water as hot as the outback (or as cold as your ex’s heart) and letting your worries float away, then perhaps a bath is for you. However, if you’re the type who likes the feeling of having water consistently hitting your skin (which is truly relaxing in its own right, we’ve all played in the rain before), then consider getting a shower.
It’s really up to you as to what kind of relaxation you want, but there’s nothing like the feeling of lying down to get clean. You can’t do that with showers. Showering while lying down on your bathroom floor would be weird and uncomfortable.
Verdict: BATHS
2. Aesthetics
If you’re trying to piece together a certain look for your home, then fixing how your bathroom looks is certainly a great way to start. Why the bathroom? Aside from it being your own little sacred spot, having a bathroom that is pleasing to look at certainly never hurt anyone.
Are you going for a Victorian look? Get a clawfoot bath that would blend in perfectly with this classic style. Aiming to complement modern Australian architecture? Maybe a minimalist rain shower head would be a better fit, or a simple rectangular floor-fixed bath is what you would prefer. Are you the daring yuppie who wants to experiment with brave new looks? Try going for something a little less conventional to make a statement!
No matter what look you’re going for, never forget to get something that makes you feel like you made the right choice. Both showers and baths can look equally beautiful in your home with the right picks. This is why we choose…both
Verdict: TIE
3. Environmental Friendliness
Whether you believe that climate change is real or not, the fact that we need to conserve water still remains. So, are baths more ecofriendly or are showers the way to go?
According to the EPA, which advocates for water conservation, showers are the better choice. An average bathtub uses around 70 gallons per bath, whereas a shower uses 2.5 gallons per minute on average. Unless you’re planning to soak yourself in the shower for more than half an hour, then you save much more water by showering.
Aside from water conservation, showers and baths just have equal environmental impacts. But we want to conserve water so we choose showers.
Verdict: SHOWERS
4. Customisability
Some people prefer a softer shower slowly pattering against their skin. Others would rather have a strong jet that really gives the feeling of dirt being washed away. Many shower heads have multiple option that can change water flow and output based on the user’s mood. Showers are quite versatile in this regard.
Baths, on the other hand, can have multiple flooring types at the bottom to prevent slips, have multiple faucet outfitting (You want bubbles coming out of your faucet? No problem!) , and can be equipped with a shower head for the adjustment of water flow. In short, if you’re the type to want everything to be adjustable based on your mood, then get a bath.
Baths are a lot more flexible. Because of this:
Verdict: BATHS
5. Cost-Efficiency in Construction
When constructing or renovating bathroom, along with all the essentials like plumbing and space, you will also naturally need to install a tub or a shower. It wouldn’t be a bathroom without those.
Bathtubs can cost from a few hundred dollars to the thousands, depending on features, material, size, or design. This still doesn’t count the costs for taps and other installations. Showers, on the other hand, are a lot cheaper since the materials used for showers are a lot smaller. The price of installing them, compared to bathtubs, is also a lot lower.
Let’s face it, money is not the easiest thing to come across. If you’re on a budget and a shower is all you need, then by all means, go for it! But if you have a tad more money to spare or are willing to spend a bit extra to get the feeling of floating in a hot spring every time you feel like it, then consider getting a bath.
Since we’re talking about cost-efficiency and pricing, then the point goes to:
Verdict: SHOWERS
6. Space Requirements
A shower requires less space compared to a tub. In homes with less space to spare, a shower is the more viable option. Even homes with more floor area could still use a bit more room. Want a walk-in closet? Get a shower instead of a bath!
Having a bathtub though is always nice, but so is extra space. This being the case, showers would most probably be better for most.
Verdict: SHOWERS
7. Maintenance
Every household item will eventually encounter hiccups. Showers and baths are no exception. They each have different needs and maintenance requirements if they are going to keep working in tip-top shape.
With the right materials and care, bathtubs that are fixed blocks on your bathroom floor are generally less prone to damage. When they do break, however, maintenance can be quite time-consuming and costly. A re-flooring of you bathroom can even sometimes be required depending on how bad the damage is. The material that the tub is constructed from should also be sturdy – baths with stainless or rust-proof coatings are a lot easier to maintain. Just make sure that anything that can damage your tub physically (like heavy objects that can break the material) or chemically (corrosive chemicals or anything that can stain your bath) are kept well away from it.
Showers also need regular maintenance. Constant care is still required for showers but one thing to note is that they are less prone to breakage as the components and materials are not always in contact with the bather. Regular maintenance of the spout to keep it running free (somewhat problematic with hard water) is also required. The metallic linings of some shower doors are also prone to rusting which can prevent the door from opening or closing properly. Some tiles may also break even when well taken care of. Just like with baths though, make sure that anything that can damage the materials is kept away.
With proper materials and care, both showers and baths can be easy to maintain. But the ease of having a bath or a tub fixed into your floor and their general sturdiness (compared with the hassle of maintaining shower tiles and doors) narrowly eases out showers from this category.
Verdict: BATHS
8. Health Concerns
One big factor to consider when choosing between showers and baths is the health-related issues that come from using either of the two.
Without proper precautions, even baths can cause diseases to those that use them. A particular disease that causes irritation can come from bathwater that has been colonised by a certain type of bacteria. Exposure to contaminated water can let the bacteria get into hair follicles, forming a nasty and unsightly rash. These cases are more common in hot baths that are not properly and regularly cleaned and disinfected.
It’s not just bathtubs that can allow unpleasant little bugs to grow. Showers can also do that – sometimes fungi and bacteria can also grow inside showers and potentially cause disease.
All in all, however, baths have the tendency to just let water collect and let bacteria grow as a lot of scientific studies have already shown. Because of this, we pick…
Verdict: SHOWERS
9. Safety
People risk slipping in showers and baths equally. There are several safety precautions that you can do in order to prevent this from happening. The installation of slip-proof mats, safety bars, support beams, and the like will definitely lower the risk of any bathroom-related injuries.
However, there are studies and reports of people (most especially children) drowning in baths. The risk of drowning in the shower (although not unheard of) are very low. This is why in terms of safety, we pick showers.
Verdict: SHOWERS
10. Cleaning Concerns
Our entry on maintenance and health concerns above closely ties with this one. If we want to keep ourselves, our families, and our bathrooms safe, then how to properly and easily clean the showers or baths should be a consideration.
So which is easier to clean then? The space between shower tiles is prone to having mould if not properly cleaned. These are some of the more time-consuming parts of cleaning showers. Baths generally do not have this problem.
As long as you have the correct cleaning agents (a spray bottle of disinfectant, hot water, scrubs, etc.) then baths or showers should prove no challenge to clean. It really depends on how patient you are, and with the health concerns mentioned above, we’re prepared to bet that you will be. But for ease of cleaning, we’ll go with…
Verdict: BATHS
BONUS: What you can do in your sacred spot
The last entry (and a bonus) to consider is what else you could do in your sacred spot aside from bathing or showering. So, what else can you do?
There’s no real argument here, really. Read a book, watch a movie, have a snack, do whatever you want, all of these you can do on a bathtub. You can also do it in the shower if you want, but you will probably just end up with quite wet paper, unintended soup, and a broken tablet. This should be pretty obvious already but we would have to go with…
Verdict: BATHS
Final Tally:
Showers – 5
Baths – 5
Tie – 1
Contact Green Planet Plumbing for all your Newcastle plumbing needs
Showers and baths each have their pros and cons but what matters is what you, your family, and your lifestyle. Make sure you consider everything we’ve listed above and pick the choice that you think well best suit you. Still can’t choose? Just get both! Shower if you’re in the mood; use your bathtub otherwise. As long as you take proper care of yourself and your bathroom, there shouldn’t be any problems.
No matter what your choice is, make sure that you hire reputable, experienced, and licensed plumbers for all your bath, kitchen, and home needs. Make sure to contact Green Planet Plumbing! Our licensed plumbers are more than competent, and we will ensure excellent quality service 24 hours a day, and 7 days every week. Contact us today!
