Heysham, Lancashire -- (ReleaseWire) -- 03/02/2018 --"Baths are finally moving into the 21st Century" says Sam Cassidy with a grin and he's half joking and half serious. "Part of the reason why the bath has lasted so long is because it's so simple and that's a good thing in many ways, but it was high time the humble bath had a bit of an update and I think walk-in baths will be the update which sees baths continue into the 21st century rather than being replaced by showers in all but the biggest of homes.". This time Sam Cassidy is being entirely serious and he's happy to explain.

Many bathrooms are now too small to have full-length lie-in baths

"If you think about it" continues Sam Cassidy, "your standard lie-in bath just gobbles space. First of all it needs to have enough floor space for you to be able to lie down in it. Then you need to accept the fact that the wall space around the bath is essentially unusable for storage (and you even have to be careful about decorations). For many people, that's just not a viable option these days. With walk-in baths you can choose to have a sit-in tub so you still get all the benefits (and pleasure) of being surrounded by warm water, but in a much more compact footprint. You can then put an over-bath shower above your walk-in bath so you can have a seated shower too if you wish.

Walk-in baths are safer than standard baths

"Even if you do have the space for a lie-in bath, a walk-in bath may still be your best option" advises Sam Cassidy. "When people think about walk-in baths, they often think about older people with reduced mobility and it's certainly true that this group can benefit hugely from walk-in baths. At the same time, however, it's important to remember that anyone can get into a situation where clambering over the side of a standard bath is just not safe or convenient for them, in fact sometimes it can be dangerous. For example, you could slip on an icy pavement and hurt a leg, or get an ear infection, both of which could impact your ability to balance getting in and out of a bath. If you want a more cheerful example, think about women with baby bumps! With that in mind, it can make complete sense to opt for a walk-in bath in first instance so it's there for when you need it.".

Not all walk-in baths are the same

"We've selected our new range of walk-in baths very carefully," says Sam Cassidy "and we have total confidence in our suppliers and the quality of the walk-in baths they manufacture. There were three points we checked particularly carefully.

The step into the bath

We only wanted to know the actual above-floor height of the step, rather than the height assuming that you could sink your walk-in bath below the standard floor. That's possible in some bathrooms but by no means all.

The quality of the door and its seal

This sounds really simple and obvious but actually the quality of the door and its seal can really make or break a walk-in bath. It's a whole lot harder than it sounds to make a door for a walk-in bath which both opens and closes effortlessly and yet seals effectively. Get it right and probably people won't even notice it, let alone think about it (which is how it should be). Get it wrong and you get a leaky bath and potentially a whole world of pain. Trust me when I tell you that all the advanced functionality in the world won't make up for a leaky door.

Thermostatic controls

With a standard bath, you fill the bath, get the temperature of the water just how you like it and then get in. In principle, it doesn't really matter if you use a combination of boiling hot water and icy cold water to fill your bath just as long as it's at the right temperature when you get in. With a walk-in bath, you have to get into the bath before you fill it, which means that thermostatic controls are a must.

You can see the full range of baths here at https://steamshowerstore.co.uk.