Stop the attack of the killer bathtubs!

Another Interior Design Show, and another batch of deathtrap designs.

Thanks to the pandemic, I have not been to the Interior Design Show in Toronto since 2020. Much has changed, but one thing stayed the same: the proliferation of killer bathtubs.

The bathroom is the poster child of dangerous design. It is as if everyone got together and conspired to maximize the number of slips, falls, and other injuries. And bathrooms injure thousands of people every year; According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "For all ages, the most hazardous activities were bathing, showering, or getting out of the tub or shower."

It is hard to imagine how a typical American bathroom could be worse or more dangerous than it already is, yet the industry keeps trying. It’s bad enough that you have soap, water, and slippery surfaces; the fixtures themselves seem to be designed to kill and maim.

Today, many upscale bathrooms have separate showers and tubs that are supposed to be designed for relaxation. But freestanding tubs are all the rage, now with new thin walls thanks to modern, stronger materials. But those thin walls make it hard to get in and out of the tub; a safety and aging expert from Kohler told my students at the TMU Interior Design School that the tub edge should be wide enough to sit on and swing a leg over.

With a freestanding tub, there is nowhere to put grab bars. It is impossible to clean behind them. If you are going to get one of these, it is probably a good idea to reinforce your ceiling because at some point, you might need a winch and a bosun’s chair to get in and out of it.

And they are not even comfortable, being designed to be beautiful objects, not functional tubs. Alexander Kira wrote in the Bathroom Book in 1965:

“It is probably fair to say that the only substantive reason for taking a tub bath (other than pure personal idiosyncrasy) is to 'relax"” and yet it is precisely this that the vast majority of tubs have not permitted the user to do, particularly in the U.S."

A tub that is safe for all ages should be comfortable, and at least 5’-6” long. My mom was an interior designer and about 4’-11” tall but would lie in bathtubs in the showrooms to find comfortable ones, and even at her height, needed 5’-6” because the back slopes in a comfortable tub, reducing the effective length.

In 1911, Kohler introduced the built-in bath with the continuous apron in front, the tub we still have today, enclosed on three sides at the end of the typical bathroom. It was a Kohler rep who taught me about safety. So I asked the Kohler guy, “why are you showing this stupid, dangerous tub?” He said this is an Interior Design Show. This tells you something about the profession.

Architecture critic Sigfried Giedion wrote in "Mechanization Takes Command":

"The bath and its purpose have held different meanings for different ages. The manner in which a civilization integrates bathing within its life, as well as the type of bathing it prefers, yields searching insight into the inner nature of the period.”

Giedion was right; these tubs yield real insight into a period where style is valued more than safety, and where aging is ignored.

I honestly don’t know what these people are thinking when they design these things, or what designers are thinking when they specify them.

For an earlier post on Treehugger on this subject, I wrote some rules for bathroom and tub design that reiterate some of what I said above:

• Showering in the tub is dangerous. Whoever thought it was a good idea to combine a curved flat bottom with soap and water? Never combine a tub and shower. According to the New York Times, "The most hazardous activities for all ages are bathing, showering and getting out of the tub or shower. (Only 2.2 percent of injuries occur while getting into the tub or shower, but 9.8 percent occur while getting out.) Injuries in or near the bathtub or shower account for more than two-thirds of emergency room visits."

• Never buy a tub on the basis of how it looks but on how it feels. My mother, an interior designer, taught me this: take off your shoes in the showroom and get in the tub and make sure it fits and is comfortable. That's why you have a tub, to relax in comfort! If they won't let you do this, find another showroom.

• Never buy a 5 foot long standard tub. I am really short and am uncomfortable in a tub shorter than 5'-6" because the inside is way smaller than the outside and the ends slope.

• Build it in so that you don't have to clean behind it. Put in grab bars or at least put in solid blocking behind the tile so that you can add the bars later. (I did that in my bathroom)

• Make sure that the rim is wide enough that you can sit on it and swing your legs over. You won't always be young and fit.