Get rid of the bath?

butlere

Redoing our only bathroom and with water charges and a baby both on the way should we get rid of or keep the bath? No interest in selling anytime soon so not worried about lowering our property value, we don't use the bath at all but afraid we'll miss it when the kid pops out!

Stheno

I imagine you'd find it useful for the baby, plus taking it out may affect resale.

I know I'd be loathe to buy a house without a bath in the bathroom

wandatowell

If you got a kid on the way then you gotta keep the bath.

Scortho

Definitely keep the bath.

Ken.

Stick a power shower on the wall at the bath and put up a curtain rail around half the bath. Use shower for you and your partner and use bath for the baby. Similar to this

ABajaninCork

I come from the UK, and therefore am quite used to paying the water rates. Running a bath isn't as costly as you might think. You use more water running a washing machine! Do you have a power washer? Dishwasher? Sprinkler system? Do you use a hose? You might want to have a look at how those are used...

In any case, the water charge is a flat rate for now, as the meters have not yet been installed. Nobody knows what those charges will look like. So I think you're panicking unnecessarily.

And yes - if I were buying, I agree with the others. I'd expect to see a bathroom. If I saw only a shower room, I'd be heading for the exit. And with a baby, I'd say a bath is a necessity.

gctest50

butlere wrote: »

Redoing our only bathroom and with water charges and a baby both on the way should we get rid of or keep the bath? No interest in selling anytime soon so not worried about lowering our property value, we don't use the bath at all but afraid we'll miss it when the kid pops out!

http://www.bibabad.nl/

Get a temperature-limited shower so there will be less risk of burns

EricPraline

ken wrote: »

Stick a power shower on the wall at the bath and put up a curtain rail around half the bath. Use shower for you and your partner and use bath for the baby. Similar to this

Agree with the above suggestion, a bath + shower combination gives the best of both options. While lack of a bath will likely eventually affect your resale value, having a bath now will definitely make your life with the baby a lot easier. Good luck

Ken.

Also don't under estimate the joy a pregnant woman can get from taking the weight off by relaxing in a bath. She may not use it now but wait till the pregnancy progress's a few months.

ABajaninCork

ken wrote: »

Also don't under estimate the joy a pregnant woman can get from taking the weight off by relaxing in a bath. She may not use it now but wait till the pregnancy progress's a few months.

Most definitely! Most of my preggers friends couldn't wait to jump in the bath every night. And if you're in labour, the first thing the hospital will tell the mother is to take a warm bath. It helps to relax you.

ABajaninCork

By coincidence, I came across this article on the Independent just now. Have a read - it's interesting, and a lot of what's suggested makes complete sense.

Off-topic, but with the advent of the water charges, it'll stop the idiotic practice of running water in a vain bid to stop the taps freezing in the winter! Now THAT'S what I call a complete waste of water.

Victor

Stheno wrote: »

I imagine you'd find it useful for the baby, plus taking it out may affect resale.

Do people use full sized baths for babies?

Thoie

When they're really small, most people use the sink or a special basin, but once they're sitting up on their own, most people use the real bath for the baby. Not filled to the brim, obviously. Kids in general don't take to showers until they're quite a bit older.

A friend of mine lives in a place where the bath was replaced with just a shower, and didn't have the money to change it back to a bath. She has a 1 year old now, and curses the person who removed the bath on a daily basis.

ifeelill

butlere wrote: »

we don't use the bath at all

You cite water charges for the removal of the bath and then you say you don't use it

Moonbeam

with kids I find you really need a bath.

fleet

Got kids? Baths are also useful for washing blood and puke out of duvets that won't fit in the washing machine...

K.Flyer

Slightly off topic.
If you are renovating your bathroom and you plan on regularly using the bath for taking showers make sure that the standing area of the bath is well supported to prevent any movement. Movement is a common problem with plastic baths not installed correctly which leads to leaks between the top of the bath and the wall tiles.

No Pants

I remember being washed in the kitchen sink as a child.

vitani

Thoie wrote: »

A friend of mine lives in a place where the bath was replaced with just a shower, and didn't have the money to change it back to a bath. She has a 1 year old now, and curses the person who removed the bath on a daily basis.

My 2 year old is still using her baby bath as we only have a shower. I don't know what I'm going to do once she gets a little bigger. Not having a bath when you have children is a pain in the neck.

No Pants

vitani wrote: »

My 2 year old is still using her baby bath as we only have a shower. I don't know what I'm going to do once she gets a little bigger. Not having a bath when you have children is a pain in the neck.

Can she stand up? If so, get her into the shower.

Mr.Fred

Definitely keep the bath. We never use it unless I pick up an injury along the way and if ye end up like us we've 3 little ones in the bath at the min 1-2-3 :eek:

A shower is convenient to wash them off and the kitchen sink was handy when we'd only 2 but they don't have the same affect as the bath.

If you ever want to have a particular quiet night into the bath with the little one and he/she will be fit for their leaba once they're out.

For your own sanity keep the bath

Victor

No Pants wrote: »

I remember being washed in the kitchen sink as a child.

Do not use the kitchen sink for washing children, hands, clothes, etc. as it is unhygenic - use it only for food and food utensils / crockery, etc.

Mr.Fred

Victor wrote: »

Do not use the kitchen sink for washing children, hands, clothes, etc. as it is unhygenic - use it only for food and food utensils / crockery, etc.

I survived it. So did my kids does that make us unique.

murria

Our bath is rarely used but the times we did use it were when I was pregnant and when the kids were little. One of us used to get into the bath with them when they were tiny. It also gets used for a soak if someone has the flu or aches and pains. So I'd so keep it too.

Victor

Mr.Fred wrote: »

I survived it. So did my kids does that make us unique.

But not everyone does. This is how things like hepatitis, typhoid and cholera spread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal%E2%80%93oral_route

Some of the diseases that can be passed via the fecal-oral route include:

Poliomyelitis
Norovirus acute gastroenteritis
Giardiasis[1]
Hepatitis A[2]
Hepatitis E[3]
Rotavirus
Shigellosis (bacillary dysentery)[4]
Typhoid fever[5]
Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections[6]
Enteroviruses
Cholera
Clostridium difficile
Cryptosporidiosis
Ascariasis

Mr.Fred

Ah stop will ya it's not like you're throwing the dishes and baby bottles in with them.

You obviously sterlise the sink before and after. Sure do you wash your hands in the sink? Have you ever used public conveniencee toilets pay phones etc. I assume youve ordered a drink in a cafe or bar how many people have used the same glass was it cleaned properly.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel, used the bath or towels perhaps the glass left to rinse your mouth.?

I think there are far greater sources of bacteria than washing your own kids in the sink.

Anyway all that is way off topic.

No Pants

We did. Crockery cookware, children, a spare Honda 50 engine, a goat from a neighbour, a leper or two and a big bag of mafia money. All washed together.

When the baby outgrows the baby bath, you will need to have a bath. Its only now my small boy will get into the shower and he has long outgrown the little plastic ones.

iguana

Victor wrote: »

Do people use full sized baths for babies?

It's nice to have the option of taking a bath with the baby and is very useful if your baby goes through a phase of being terrified of the bath as they get used to it again with the security of having you to hold onto. And once my son could sit unassisted I found that a great way for me to have a shower while we're alone at home is to put the plug in the bath while I shower and he can play in the water in the other end of the bath. He has great fun and I can take my time in a way that I can't if he's napping and I'm conscious of the fact that he might wake and start crying.

crayon80

You'll definitely need a bath for a baby and more so when the baby is a grubby child They're also handy for soaking and washing bulky things.

sunnysoutheast

K.Flyer wrote: »

Slightly off topic.
If you are renovating your bathroom and you plan on regularly using the bath for taking showers make sure that the standing area of the bath is well supported to prevent any movement. Movement is a common problem with plastic baths not installed correctly which leads to leaks between the top of the bath and the wall tiles.

Also stand in the bath / fill it with water when sealing round the edge of it.

OP - no! keep the bath. Kids love a bath, and you can make it part of the bedtime ritual. Finally, not to put too fine a point on it, they can whiff a bit so a daily wash is ideal.

ABajaninCork

They're also pretty handy for actually having a bath!

ongarboy

I'm glad I came across this thread. I was seriously thinking of getting rid of the bath in my bathroom as it takes up practically half the space and is very very rarely used but after reading about advantages here that I never considered, I'll keep it!

Muahahaha

ongarboy wrote: »

I'm glad I came across this thread. I was seriously thinking of getting rid of the bath in my bathroom as it takes up practically half the space and is very very rarely used but after reading about advantages here that I never considered, I'll keep it!

I'd love to get rid of the bath as like yours mine also takes up nearly half the bathroom floor space. Plus I rarely ever take a bath. With the exception of having kids I don't really see much point in them compared to a shower.

lomb

We ripped the bath out of a 2 bed apartment and put in a double luxury shower with tiled floors/walls and it was the best thing we did.
The floor is always dry now whereas with the bath even with curtain rail it wasn't. The tenants all love it and the place no longer smells of damp.
The bad part was it cost 3k to do but would do it again anyday.

banbhaaifric

No Pants wrote: »

Can she stand up? If so, get her into the shower.

I raised my daughter in an apartment without a bath and it was a nightmare once she was out of the baby bath. Cue both of us shivering and wet everytime I needed to wash her.... Can't remember exactly but I'd say she was 5 or 6 before she was old enough to really handle the shower...

How about something like this
http://www.advanz.ie/products-services/easy-access-shower-bath/
Best of both worlds kind of thing

Have a shower over bath arrangement now which is great for the new baby, but I miss having a decent shower!! Loved my baths when I was pregnant though :P

No idea how much the combo costs but it might be worth it?

butlere

Thanks for all the help and advice - bath was picked out today..

Gone is the dream of the big double shower, but probably was being selfish!

Muahahaha

lomb wrote: »

We ripped the bath out of a 2 bed apartment and put in a double luxury shower with tiled floors/walls and it was the best thing we did.
The floor is always dry now whereas with the bath even with curtain rail it wasn't. The tenants all love it and the place no longer smells of damp.
The bad part was it cost 3k to do but would do it again anyday.

Can I ask why is it so expensive ? It is the case that a lot re-plumbing has to be done ? Aside from the cost of materials, shower unit, tiles etc what did the labour costs come to? I'm also in a 2 bed apartment and would love to do the same as yourself but 3k is a fair whack of cash.

ABajaninCork

butlere wrote: »

Thanks for all the help and advice - bath was picked out today..

Gone is the dream of the big double shower, but probably was being selfish!

Great. You know it makes sense!

the_syco

Muahahaha wrote: »

Can I ask why is it so expensive ?

It may come down to how much you can do yourself?

Ray Palmer

Plumbing a bath yourself is relatively easy but messy.

We have a small bathroom and refitted it. Similar issue on the bath taking up so much space but we found a solution. We got a p shaped bath, one end is bigger to have a shower in it.

You can buy or make bath panels to have storage in them. Under the sink has storage we didn't have before. A corner medicine cabinet gave us more again and a mirror that can be used in the shower of the sink

The bathroom is much more usable and far superior to what we had before where the previous owners took out the bath and put in a shower. We have a better shower more storage and a bath. I also recommend buying a shaving mirror with a light in it. Ours is on an extendible arm so above the toilet but extends to be over the sink. The windows is above the sink so that is why we couldn't put a mirror directly over the sink.

iguana

Another benefit to keeping the bath is that most built-in showers don't have detachable showerheads. A detachable showerhead is very useful with children, especially when they go through that delightful phase of being very determined to play with their poo.

Mr.Fred

butlere wrote: »

Gone is the dream of the big double shower, but probably was being selfish!

Might be a blessing in disguise the double shower may have led to 2 in the bath

Valetta

ongarboy wrote: »

I'm glad I came across this thread. I was seriously thinking of getting rid of the bath in my bathroom as it takes up practically half the space and is very very rarely used but after reading about advantages here that I never considered, I'll keep it!

Muahahaha wrote: »

I'd love to get rid of the bath as like yours mine also takes up nearly half the bathroom floor space. Plus I rarely ever take a bath. With the exception of having kids I don't really see much point in them compared to a shower.

What would you do with the extra space?

It's a bathroom.

Ray Palmer

Valetta wrote: »

What would you do with the extra space?

It's a bathroom.

Getting in and out of showers and baths can be a problem. Before I changed it around there was less room to take your clothes off due to the way the door opened on the shower.

For some unknown reason they had a bidet in there and huge sink. Much more room to move now and it doesn't feel cramped or claustrophobic.

Victor

Valetta wrote: »

What would you do with the extra space?

It's a bathroom.

Store laundry, clean towels (separately), swing cats ...

Mrs OBumble

Victor wrote: »

Do not use the kitchen sink for washing children, hands, clothes, etc. as it is unhygenic - use it only for food and food utensils / crockery, etc.

Ahh, isn't that why most Irish households have that rectangular plastic bucket thing in the kitchen sink, so that dishes can be washed in it, and underwear, kids etc in the sink itself?

It sickens visitors from back home when I explain this to them - we tend to think that it's disguisting to even have the washing machine in the kitchen. But that's what I've come to understand from visiting various Irish homes.

pwurple

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ahh, isn't that why most Irish households have that rectangular plastic bucket thing in the kitchen sink, so that dishes can be washed in it, and underwear, kids etc in the sink itself?

It sickens visitors from back home when I explain this to them - we tend to think that it's disguisting to even have the washing machine in the kitchen. But that's what I've come to understand from visiting various Irish homes.

I thought that bucket thing was only for people who had lost their plug stopper?

You wouldn't get much of a child into our sink anyway.