Which Is Better: A Shower Or A Bath?

Bathtub or shower? Many people ask themselves this question when planning a new bathroom or renovating an old one. I'll give you seven decision aids on your way. Ultimately, however, it is up to you whether you prefer to shower or bathe.

Relaxation

There is certainly no clear favourite here. Both when showering and when bathing an absolute well-being feeling can arise. Perhaps this is more difficult to achieve in the shower, but what are there walk-ins, rain showers and showers with different types of jets for?

To warm up, to counter colds or to relax your muscles, nothing beats taking a bath in warm water. Those who want to feel tingling drops of water on their skin will always prefer the shower. The drops enliven and refresh us. Showering in the morning to wake up and bathing in the evening to relax is a good choice.

Time

If you are in a hurry, a jump into the shower is certainly preferable to a bath. Turn on the shower and you are already in the middle of the action. After a few minutes, everything is already done and you are clean and refreshed.

Meanwhile, the tub slowly fills up. It takes 10, 15 or 20 minutes until the tub is full, depending on the amount of filling and the water pressure. Our stay in the bathtub is even more important, less than 15 minutes is not really worth it. But aren't we bathing precisely because we can relax so well? It just takes time.

Space

A bathtub is long and narrow, a shower usually nearly as long as wide. A standard bathtub measures 170 cm x 75 cm, a standard shower 90 cm x 90 cm. As far as the standard dimensions are concerned, a bathtub requires around one third more space.

But who wants standard? Walk-Ins are often just as large as bathtubs. Of course, this does not apply to free-standing bathtubs. They need a lot of space all around so that they work. About 55 cm is recommended. With them, you need a very large footprint.

Hygiene

When showering, the dirt particles disappear directly into the drain after rinsing, in the bathtub, we wallow in our own dirt. Hopefully, it won't be that bad and you shouldn't get into the bathtub completely dirty.

On the other hand, we soak in the bathwater, so that particularly stubborn dirt particles dissolve. If you like, you can rinse off briefly with a hand shower afterwards, so that nothing remains on the skin.

Dry Skin

Water dries out the skin. This is the case when showering, this is the case when bathing. However, we normally spend more time in the bathtub than under the shower. Therefore more of the skin's own fat layer can be washed away.

Shower and bath additives increase the dryness of the skin. It is therefore generally important to replenish the skin with fat after washing. You should always apply cream. For bathing as well as for showering: too hot water is bad for the skin.

Water Consumption

On average, a bathtub has a useful capacity of 150 litres. This value is fixed, who baths in a half-full bathtub? Of course, there are also bathtubs in which considerably more bathwater fits. Either way - the water requirement is quite high.

We consume an average of 40 litres of water when showering. Water consumption can be reduced to around 30 litres by using economical showers. If you turn off the water while soaping, you save additionally. Note: Large rain showers sometimes require 30 litres per minute, which is not for water savers.

Costs

Since you usually use less water when showering, the costs are of course lower. Assume that you have water costs of about 60 centimes for a full bath. You can already shower economically for around 20 centimes.

The Decision

You now know the most important factors for bathing and showering, now it's up to you. Which factor is particularly important for you and which can you neglect? So you will certainly get a positive result if it is: bathtub or shower? Of course, it is best if you can integrate both in your bathroom and enjoy the advantages of both options.

For more information see our bathroom blog.