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POLL: Shower or bath?

HouzzUK Polls
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

In some countries, a shower is a must! In other countries, people don’t want to live in a house without a bath - even a tiny house has a bath instead of a shower.

Which one is more important to you? Or do you want both in your house? Vote and tell us about your preference in the comments!

Shower
Bath
Both
Featured Answer
  • stebonheath
    8 years ago

    We're recently retired and haven't often used our bath for some years, preferring to use the shower. But now and again, when we're aching from the gardening or a long walk, there's nothing better than a long, relaxing soak in the bath. We also now have small grandchildren and when they come to stay they always use the bath. I'd say if you have the room to keep a bath - keep it.

    Comments (39)

    • seniordiva
      8 years ago
      Shower is a must for me as I can no longer get into or out of a bath easily. I have just refurbished my ensuite to include a low profile shower tray with sliding doors on the enclosure and an overhead and hand held shower heads.......bliss. I have kept a bath in the main bathroom though as I'm not sure if UK is ready to give up their baths yet.
    • Ruth Payot
      8 years ago
      shower

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    • Lila 1410
      8 years ago

      I am lucky I now have both. Use the shower much more often than the bath, and if I can't get upstairs it'll be so useful just to have a shower.

    • Laraine Clarke
      8 years ago
      I agree with Seniordiva but by taking out the bath I made space for a super shower with a seat. I was also able to place two luxury basins on a repurposed antique sideboard and have a nice amount of space to move around. No one has yet said, " Where's the bath?" My sister has just taken out the bath in her tiny bathroom and transformed the space beyond recognition.
    • Anne Lorraine South
      8 years ago

      I have two homes, and have just moved into a bathless bungalow.... I SO miss my bath, and when I get back to Spain, that's the first thing I'm going to do. Having said that, I'm not going to replace the bath in my bungalow because there will be a time I won't be able to get into it. I just love to relax and pamper myself.. It's just not all about getting clean. Design wise.. It's difficult to make a modern bath look good in a bathroom , I admit.

    • hebibovic
      8 years ago

      We have decided to get rid of our bath and create a ultra modern wet room, but with resale in mind we are installing all the plumbing for a bath and hiding it under the tiling should we decide to re-install a bath.

    • PRO
      Amber Jeavons Ltd
      8 years ago

      I think people tend to want to have a bath in the house because it drives sale prices up so they say.. I'd argue that this idea is rather outdated and doesn't consider environmental impacts.. If we consider water shortages etc then a shower is really the only way forward..

      Personally I prefer to see a fantastic shower room (and if there is room a tiny bath more like a soaking tub.. but for me it would not really be necessary to have a bath in the home.. : ))

    • Jane Bateman
      8 years ago
      At the moment we only have a shower which 99% of the time is perfect but just every now and then I really crave a bath.
      We have been known to book a night in a Premier Inn in the next town just so I can fulfill my need!
      My son is just about to move out, so when we can clear out our box room and afford it, we'll be putting in a bathroom upstairs.
    • Barry Higgs
      8 years ago

      I don't use my bath and would prefer a wet room but my children want one for bathing the grand kids when they visit! Tots don't like showers.

    • loriinenglewood
      8 years ago

      I hate sitting in a tub, but a few times I've had bandaged foot injuries I had to keep dry.

    • PRO
      Pat Oliver Interior Design
      8 years ago

      I rarely used our bath until about a year ago. Now, in my 60's, I love to lie back and relax with a book and no interruptions.

    • Barry Higgs
      8 years ago

      No champagne and candles Pat?

    • marivon1
      8 years ago

      Sorry to disagree with you Barry Higgs, but my grand-daughter loves the shower! It is a great way to give me 15 minutes to get myself ready - open the door, put a few toys in there, turn on the shower and away she goes - absolutely loves it - doesn't want to come out sometimes! I wonder if the fact she was a water-birth baby has anything to do with it and the fact she is a Pisces to ha ha!

    • Shirley Baker
      8 years ago
      We got rid of our bath ten years ago and are delighted with our bigger bathroom. When our small grandsons were babies they were washed in a tub in front of the fire in the colder days and they loved that. Other times we filled the baby tub in the shower unit and let them splash away !!
      It is nice to soak in a bath and use all the hot water! However we found we rarely did that.
      Baths are personal choice but I don't think that they add value to a house nowadays.
    • stefanmh
      8 years ago

      We have a bathroom with bath only and an en suite shower. Never use the bath myself but wifey loves a stake every now and then. Also young grandsons use it when staying. Would love. To have a walk-in shower with drench head but not enough room and water pressure too low. Could instal pump etc but not really worth the hassle. For now anyway.

    • stefanmh
      8 years ago

      Sorry that should read "soak" not "stake". She's not got any fangs lol

    • stripeylines
      8 years ago
      I love a bath to soak in after a 14 hr day. I also have a shower in a desperate en suite, but I wouldn't remove the bath frm a large family home. My personal choice of course.
    • Sherbert Barnes
      8 years ago
      I have recently added quite a large extension to the house and have had a large en-suite and master bedroom built. I have had a large walk in shower installed in there with no bath. This area is for guests staying over. Else where in the house, I am lucky enough to have another shower room and a bathroom with bath.....
      I love a bath and most females ( sorry to be sexist here!) love baths and often take a bath when we don't want to get our hair wet.... Another scenario is if you have young children - bathing is more convenient then showering them if you yourself don't want to get drenched! Sorry to babble on!!!!
    • Olena Tkach
      8 years ago

      I want both, but if I had to choose, I'd choose bath. Sometimes after hard day you just need to relax in a hot water. I've been living with no bath for 6 years, and I strongly disliked that. Now I use the bath every day =)

    • Angela Seymour
      8 years ago

      It is good to see this debate as I want to remove the bath for a walk in shower but wandered about impact on resale if home. Think I am going to take the plunge and rip out the bath. Could always add a tub to the Ensuite and remove the shower.

    • stefanmh
      8 years ago
      Don't you just love predictive texting lol. Wish I had a 'desperate' en suite. Sounds exiting!
    • stillsmiling
      8 years ago

      achy legs need baths not standing in showers, and you can read a book or have a chat with someone, baths are relaxing and can be sociable if partners are uninhibited!

    • Tanya Mckenzie
      8 years ago
      A shower is better for my dry skin and busy life but it's crap for my 4 year old.
    • Emmanuelle
      8 years ago
      Shower to wake up in the morning, bath if need to relax at night!
    • User
      8 years ago
      I have chosen both, yet I rarely have baths. I wouldn't consider removing a bath and replace with a shower. I also wouldn't buy a house if it didn't have a bath and a shower or at least if it could have both.
    • PRO
      Mellow Duck
      8 years ago

      I can't imagine not having a bath, especially as the nights draw in - I love taking a great book with me and going into seclusion for a couple of hours!!

    • PRO
      jsp installations
      8 years ago

      customer who have small children prefer a bath, adults in the main want a quick 5 minutes shower who's got time to lounge in a bath? a simple luxury and not energy efficient but great for aches and pains i have to admit i have around 2 baths a year(when the muscles need a good soak) but showers save water and save energy then there's that buzz you get from all those negative ions! the bathroom industry has predicted the death of baths in the next 10 years..lets wait and see if this prediction becomes fact


    • minnie101
      8 years ago

      Do showers really save that much water? In my last house i installed one of the aqualisa digital showers which heated to your set temperature in record time however the shower in my current house takes about 4 minutes to heat up. I'm sure a lot of showers are the same? I rarely take a bath (hot tap has seized up atm anyway!) but a freestanding bath can be a thing of beauty whereas a shower can be but more often than not typically isn't. I agree a bath is a necessity with the majority of kids and not just really young ones. I'm not sure the bath itself adds value to a house but i would think its increases its saleability otherwise you're wiping out a major sector of your target market? I must admit though, if I was max'ed out on buying a property, I couldn't consider buying one without a shower, a bath before work is just not practical!

    • PRO
      Eastbrook Co.
      8 years ago

      I voted for both because our clients always seem to find that the most useful and practical option.

    • PRO
      Charles Brooks Bathrooms
      7 years ago

      Here at Charles Brooks we find our clients favour the freestanding baths over showers.

    • PRO
      Pipe Dreams Plumbing & Heating Ltd
      7 years ago

      Got to love showers!

    • PRO
      Estate Marketing Services
      7 years ago

      defo a shower :-)

    • PRO
      AFP Home Improvements
      7 years ago

      if its a nice bath- have a bath!

    • PRO
      Pozzoni Architecture Ltd
      7 years ago

      Can never find time for a bath!

    • PRO
      Pamela Langbridge Curtains and Upholstery
      7 years ago

      Love my shower if washing my hair and rushing. Bath when I have time to spare to relax

    • Tess Wijy
      7 years ago
      I don't use the bath ever but I have an over head shower, perfect but if we didn't have a small bathroom I would just have a shower, reasons why we had a bath put in when we renovated was of a selling point.
    • PRO
      NoCode
      7 years ago

      We vote both! Shower is a great option for busy mornings while bath can help to relax and soothe away the stresses of the day.

    • PRO
      Chris Scott Architects
      7 years ago

      I like both

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