Showers and baths - a PWD's perspective

[Dunroamin]

Showers:
the water never seems to be right and I struggle with the settings. The water stings my eyes and I become tense and irritable. It gets lovely and warm in the shower but it is so very cold and unfriendly when I get out. I cannot wait to get dressed so often do not dry myself properly. The shower door is painful when I knock into it when unsteady and it is hard to be actually helped

Baths:

The water temperature is always just right (OH bought a thermometer) The whole room is warm so I don't mind getting out. The water is relaxing and I can rest there for a while making no demands on anyone. We let the water out, wrap me in warm towels and I am helped out. I am relaxed and stress free.

Note: this is a woman who cold swims in the open air, so not averse to the cold. its just showers at home i HATE and I realise not all actually have a bath or are able to use one if they have.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

Great post

I was actually thinking about this yesterday as it has been so cold. I am also a shower hater. It doesn't matter how warm the bathroom is, standing in a shower is always drafty. I cannot stand the water going in my face or on my head. All the time I'm in a shower I just want to get out.

Having a bath is a different experience. For a start, you can take your time and relax, you can light candles, listen to music, read a book if you want. When you get out you feel pleasantly relaxed/sleepy. A shower is none of these things, it's just get washed in a rush then get out and dried before you freeze.

 

[Sarasa]

Hi @Dunroamin , as always a really useful post. I prefer baths, but as our bath is rather on the short side even for 5' 2" me, I don't tend to stay in it long when I do have one. The previous bath was a bit too big and took ages to fill. The one before was just right and I spent hours in there reading till the water went cold.
Showers are OK, but it's more I know I have to keep clean experience than a joy.
My mum preferred baths, but when arthritis made hauling herself out tricky she was happy enough to have a shower. The last few months she was at home she had fewer, telling me she didn't like the feel of water on her face. She was still happy to go to the hairdressers once a week or so to have her hair done.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

I'm (hopefully) going to be replacing my bathroom soon. (It is 1983 vintage and... a nasty shade of orange!) I will be getting a shower as well as a bath but have come across some where the water comes out at different levels rather than an overhead one.

Put it this way: if it's raining outside I use an umbrella. If it rains inside... well, I'm not going to stand under it.

 

[jennifer1967]

thats what the shower in holder is for changes the height of the sprayer. orange is the new black!

 

[jennifer1967]

thats what the shower in holder is for changes the height of the sprayer. orange is the new black!

thats why the council are starting the bathroom adaption next week to a walk in shower as he cant get into the bath and i would never manage to have a bath as its too low and getting out would be a problem. we have a shower over the bath but he cant use it. bath is not always an option. i love a shower but get it can be cold getting in and out but i find it cleaner. i used to fall asleep in the bath.

 

[DreamsAreReal]

Thank you @Dunroamin as usual, a very helpful and interesting post. Just the last few days I’ve been thinking about this very thing. Somebody else had a thread about this (JHA?) and it dawned on me that mum might prefer a bath vs shower or strip wash. TP to the rescue again ?

 

[nellbelles]

@DreamsAreReal my husband had an OT assessment and was given a rechargeable hydraulic bath seat.