Walk-in bathtub

[Dom D'Agostino]

So I finally saw one of those wonderful walk-in tubs on an inspection today. Before this, I only saw them on TV or in magazines.

Anyway, the seal around this $5,000.00 tub's door is a bit underwhelming for me, and it did, in fact, leak around the seal. I expected a better design for the door.

Anyone see these things on a regular basis?

Dom.

[Rick Hurst]

Dom,

I've seen 3 or 4 of them installed in mother-in-law type buildings, but everyone of them has had a floor drain present. Guess they knew the leak was only a matter of time.

rick

[Bob White]

I've got one in the basement.

We moved my mom and dad into our newly finished basement apartment in June 2008 due to Dad's Alzheimer's, but Mom's inability to get around properly required either a walk/roll in shower or one of these tubs. She chose the tub.

Yep, the seal around the door seems wimpy, but ours doesn't leak. The trick is to follow the owner's manual instructions and keep the seal clean.

The only time our tub "leaked" is when Dad closed the drain during one of his showers and then opened the door to get out. Lots' O' Water.

Didn't hurt the tile bath much, but when it washed over the door thresholds onto the adjacent laminate floors, well ...

[Dom D'Agostino]

Bob,

You'd think that the design would include some type of drain interlock to prevent that kind of accident, but I'm sure that getting out in a hurry during an emergency is safer than fixing water damage.

Dom.

[Bob White]

Since the door opens inward, when the water level reaches a certain point, it would be very difficult to open the door (no, I'm not gonna test this theory.)

Dad's flooding was no more than a gallon or two --- I think --- We didn't find out about it until th laminate floors started swelling ...

You're right, tho. An interlock is a pretty good idea (though I'm visualizing my 85 year old dad trying to climb out of the tub "because the #$@** door won't open" :rolleyes: )

We considered adding a floor drain when we had the DWV installed during reno, but decided not to ( the plan was, when mom and dad no longer need the apartment, to replace the walk-in with a more standard jetted tub.)