Showers and bathtubs in the U.S.

[thomasortega]

Guys, i need some advice.

After two weeks in the U.S. today it was the first time I had to take a shower because i was in a hurry and I wouldn't have time to fill the bathtub.

Well, first, the bathtubs... Am i a giant or the average bathtubs here in the U.S. are really small and narrow? Is it possible to find an apartment for rent with a decent DEEP bathtub? I just visited a property, OMG, how can an average adult fit in that? I don't need a fancy luxurious whirlpool bathtub (ok, i'd love that but i bet it's super expensive) but come on... really? that tiny thing? I feel like sardine in a can.

Now back to the shower... Please don't tell me the eco nazis also messed up with the showers... The shower in the hotel i'm staying (Estended Stay America) in Dallas is kinda ridiculous... it has only THREE holes. It looks like i'm taking a shower with a waterpik. For a second I thought about taking the showerhead off, but then i saw a "void if removed" sticker and i guessed it was some kind of "ok, do it and we'll charge you extra $500 because you used all the water in the world"

Is it ever possible to have a shower with water? how?

Ps. I used the brand new SQ washer they have here (i was actually the very first guest to use it after it was installed) and i HATED it... What the hell happened to the rinse cycle? The machine fills, agitate (i love that wash), then it spin rinses with a 30 second spray and then it continues spinnin up to the end of cycle signal.

 

[lordkenmore]

Yes. Tubs are small. Real Americans adults only shower. Tubs are saved to toss the screaming 3 year old, and the family dog. Or so one might assume from the way bath tubs are in the US.

Larger tubs exist, seem to be a more rare luxury item.

Water flow with showers does seem to be restricted in this era. That said, a new faucet/shower was installed here, and I found the water flow perfectly fine. A lot, I suppose, depends on the specific shower.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

You are not delusional. Full-sized adults do not fit into standard sized bath tubs. One must either by an antique tub or spend tons of money.

Eco-nazis finished having their way with shower heads years ago. Yes, you are expected to take a shower with a water-pik. Most shower heads have a water restrictor that can be removed. Take the shower head off, look into the end where the pipe goes. Often there's what looks like a washer or a butterfly screw past which the water flows. If it's a washer, pry it out. If a screw, unscrew.

What many people do in their homes is to by a shower head set that consists of a regular showerhead plus a hand-held showerhead that can hang next to the main one. Most, but not all diverter valves let you have both open at the same time. Use that position and be sure to remove any constrictors from BOTH shower heads.

One can also buy a short 'Y-pipe' made for showers. This allows you to use two showerheads at the same time.

Yes, it sucks royally.

Jim

 

[wayupnorth]

I never have a problem with water and have a full flow rain showerhead that actually the pressure has to be turned down as on full. it feels like needles. I have a Jacuzzi whirlpool tub that can fit 2 people comfortably. I rarely fill the tub and almost always pull the lever on the faucet to shower.

 

[dustin92]

We have city water with excellent pressure, and in both of our showers, I removed the flow restrictors and it is much better. Both are handheld showers, and even with the restrictors in, the flow was passable as ok, but not great. After removing them, the shower downstairs never needs to have either valve (hot and cold) turned on more than 1/4 for a high pressure shower. Our water is flat rate and unmetered, so I don't care how much water they use. Most of our tubs over here are short and narrow, I'm about 5'6" and can't stretch out in our tub without having my legs above the water... I rarely take a bath, but shower every morning. Baths use up all of our hot water and it takes forever to heat back up.

 

[thomasortega]

Well, the pressure is ok here, it's actually too high, but the problem is the shower literally has only three tiny holes on it's head. It also has something inside that sounds like it's vibrating or spinning (almost like an impact soccer field lawn sprinkler), to make the jets pulse exactly like a waterpik.

It's almost like the "Turbo Dirt Blaster" nozzle my high pressure washer has.

Ok, it feels like a great massage on the skin but to rinse a whole body covered with soap it takes a century. I can start wondering how Donna Summer would rinse her awesome hair using that thing.

 

[joe_in_philly]

Does it have a ring or other way to adjust it so that it sprays differently? Some shower heads have adjustable settings, such as a massage setting and another, more traditional spray setting.

Funny that you equated it to a Waterpik, as we used to have a Waterpik brand showerhead that I really liked. Even though it was a water saver, it had nice spray and pressure. We never found the need to defeat the water saving feature. It had a button which was a bit hidden in the back that switched the spray pattern.

 

[thomasortega]

That embarrassing moment...

...you want to hide yourself in a hole on the ground.

Forget the shower... I just discovered it has several adjustments, after i got my glasses and i could read "turbo massage" and an arrow pointing at it, then i realized i just had to turn the bottom ring to change to an aerated jet just like a sink tap or an ordinary shower pattern with lots of water.

Ok, my eyes are also rolling. All of you can spend the whole day calling me idiot.

At least i didn't take more than 3 minutes to figure out that i had to pull down the aerator on the tub tap to make the shower work.

 

[toploader55]

Good One Thomas...

 

"Showering with a Water Pik".

 

[alr2903]

Thomas I am glad you brought this up.

All good points Thomas. I want a soaking tub for a 6ft 180 lb. man. it does not seem to exist in a form available to the masses. Water could be conserved if the tub was composite molded to generic body sizes. The generic bathtub is useless for my needs... Yet, they market "walk in tubs" with doors to the elderly. I think this is misleading and deceptive marketing, I doubt many elderly living in older homes have the hot water needed to fill a small pond. When in a hotel I am reluctant to use nasty Jacuzzi type bathtubs. IMHO, a soaking tub is therapeutic for sore muscles and should by followed by a regular shower. There has to be something between a forever energy hungry hot tub that requires chemicals and a generic bathtub? alr

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I've actually given up on bathtubs completely. Once upon a time I was living in the home I'd expected to die in (HA! HA!). The tub was crap so I had it converted to a 2 man shower. I enjoyed it for about a year until all hell broke loose and I learned tha the only constant is change...

Jim

 

[gusherb]

The bathtub in my bathroom is a typical small tub that feels like you're trying to sit in a small soup bowl of water when getting in it. It's horrible. The master bath has a 100 gallon 2 person Jacuzzi that I love to use but the 25 yr old 50 gallon water heater runs out before the water gets up to my shoulders. (that will soon not be an issue as soon as I install a new 75 gallon water heater)

If we had bigger bathtubs I would take more baths (I think). If I remodeled a bathroom for myself, or built a house I would put in the biggest tub I could fit in the space. I shower just about 100% of the time though, so a good shower head is a bigger concern for me, and boy have I been through alot of them. The best ones I've found is an Italian made one by Siroflex, they don't even come with a flow restrictor installed, and have tons of holes like a rain can but still project with a bit of force. Watch out if your water pressure is over 55 PSI they'll blow your skin off. Second bests are: Speakman Anystream (with the piss trickle option removed), or the one showerhead model that Chicago Faucets makes (again with piss stream option removed).

I'm using the Chicago Faucets one right now (not advisable to use that one if your water is very hard) and I get about 3 GPM out of it, which for my 10 minute showers is about 30 gallons. (If you have higher pressure you'll get more than that out of it, mine is lower around 45 PSI)

Also keep in mind that shower faucets have flow restrictors now since I think 2010. I've yet to encounter one so I don't know just how to hack those into something proper, yet.

Amazon.com

 

[dartman]

Our water here is very spendy so I haven't messed with the water restricters, though my bathroom was given a really bad shower head.
I turn it up enough to get a good flow then tweak the temp till I'm happy.
Both the bathrooms have cheap manufactured home combo tub shower fiberglass things. Mine is the kids one, sister who lives here and helped buy the house got the master bedroom with the better combo setup.
We are both pretty short so the tubs are fine but a really tall person would probably fold up. Of course both were put in when place was setup/built in 96 so maybe they were a bit bigger then.
My setup needs to be replaced as it's really bad quality but it works and doesn't leak that I know of so it can stay for now.
Used to take baths from time to time when water was cheap at the old house but pretty much just shower now and maybe let the tub fill a bit while doing it if I need a bit of a nice hot soak.
We have a 50 gallon tank too but since we got a decent HE washer it doesn't seem to run out of hot water like it used to and I can shower while washer is running and never loose hot too.

 

[norgeway]

You can fit in my tub!

It is a 1953 model and is plenty big enough for me at 5-11 and 245 pounds, as for the shower , first thing I did was pop the restrictor out of the shower head and now it works correctly.

 

[abcomatic]

My tub was installed in 1962 and has lots of room for water and me. The shower is good too, lots of water.

 

[mattl]

When I remodeled my bathroom a few years back I installed 4 body sprays and two shower-heads, got rid of the tub.  I generally use the 4 body sprays and one of the shower heads set to pulse, both relaxing and invigorating - if that's possible.  I plan on adding a rain shower soon too.  I used the Delta controller valve so I can use one  or any combination I want.

 

Sorry, I can't imagine taking a bath.  I'm 6'4" and 175 lbs so a tub will hold 1/2 of me.  Now if I had a 7' soaker I might be tempted, that is what my 6'8" brother has always wanted.

 

[tolivac]

Bought a Speakman showerhead several years ago-all brass.The thing would drool water on you when tried.No washers I could remove---So off to work with me it went and I drilled out the water opening with a drill press.Now-perfect!Forgot what size bit I used.

 

[arbilab]

I greatly resent the gawdam goobermint being in the shower with me. These needlepoint showerheads that tattoo you if you stand in one place. Not to mention the obvious, what happens when one tries to rinse one's genitals.

 

[yogitunes]

Welcome to indoor plumbing......it's astounding, it's amazing!

what next?....lighting at the flip of a switch!