Modern bathtub: how to choose it?
Content
Finally, there came a time when the bathroom has already taken such a prominent place in some houses that it is not inferior in terms of the richness of design decisions in design to any other parts of a person’s home. Of course, the bathroom in private households, in cottages, in houses with individual development provides especially many opportunities for imagination, since in this case its area usually allows you to install beautiful modern equipment of the best quality in it.
But for owners of bathrooms in small apartments, which are difficult to redevelop, you can also find many interesting options for replacing the old cast-iron bathtub.
Today, in stores you can buy acrylic, steel, and ceramic bathtubs, and pick them up not only in size but also in shape. The main question that torments all potential buyers of these products is which bath is better to choose?
Before heading to the store for a new bathroom, it is necessary, first of all, to make a series of measurements in the room in which it will be located, to determine the possibilities for connecting communications, that is, to figure out in advance how the mixer, siphon and overflow system will be connected.
When deciding on how to choose the right bath, one must not forget that its most important characteristics are coating quality, durability, heat and sound insulation properties, weight.
Many modern bathtubs often come with additional handles, head restraints and equipment with functions of aero and hydromassage.
Today, the plumbing market has many different bathtubs that have different shapes, differing in color palette and dimensions, and the type of material used. These products are produced by both small firms and large companies.
At the same time, each buyer wants his chosen bathtub not only to successfully fulfill the main functions, but also to be a source of good mood. Therefore, wondering how to choose the right bath, he always listens to the advice of experts, hoping that they will answer a lot of "how."
This article provides some of the frequently asked questions about how to purchase a bathtub for a private home or for a small apartment. And recommendations are given for choosing different types of bathtubs depending on their installation location, material of manufacture and other features of these products.
How to choose an acrylic bath?
First of all, you need to understand what kind of material is acrylic. It is a polymer with high adhesive properties, made from inorganic raw materials. Like most various plastics, acrylic softens when heated, so bathtubs of any configuration can be made from it. But acrylic and after cooling remains flexible enough and can bend and even crack under load.
Acrylic Benefits:
- good heat insulator;
- remains smooth and shiny for a long time;
- environmentally friendly material;
- does not support the development of bacteria, fungi, microorganisms;
- does not fade with time;
- easy to care.
Disadvantages of acrylic bathtubs:
- their coating can be easily damaged;
- installation requires an additional frame;
- at cost they do not belong to cheap plumbing.
Recommendations for selection:
- Find out who is the manufacturer of your favorite acrylic bathtub. It must be borne in mind that a low price usually occurs with such products of poor quality.
- Ask what thickness the acrylic coating has - the strength of the bath depends on this. Very thick acrylic (eight millimeters or more) is expensive, so if you are offered an inexpensive acrylic bath, then most likely it is made of multilayer plastic.
- Good acrylic snow-white, glossy and shiny. If there are roughness, stains, scratches on the walls, then you have come across a fake.
- Inspect the side of the bath. Determine how many layers are visible. A quality bath should have only two layers (one of acrylic, and the second of polyurethane). If there are more, then it is better to refuse the purchase.
- Check how durable the bath is by pushing the bottom of the bathtub with your hand. A real acrylic bathtub will not bend, and a plastic one will bend when pressed.
How to choose a cast-iron bathtub?
Enamelled cast-iron plumbing is easy to clean and retains heat well. When choosing a bathtub made of cast iron, various parameters must be taken into account.
Enamel quality
Cracks, chips, peeling, uneven enamel coating thickness, smudges, areas with color differences are not allowed.
Wall thickness
Their thickness should not be less than five millimeters.
Casting quality
On the outside of the bath there should be no bumps, chips, and increased roughness.
The outer surface of the bath
It should be powder coated. This provides it with additional protection against corrosion, gives an aesthetic appearance, and simplifies maintenance.
How to choose a steel bath?
The steel bath in some respects is not inferior to the two types of similar products described above and even sometimes surpasses them, since it has a low cost, has very high strength, the weight of the steel bath makes it easy to transport and install in place. Steel bathtubs are extremely durable products, there is a wide selection of such products, significantly varying in size and shape.
Among the minuses can be noted high thermal conductivity and lack of sound insulation.
When choosing a steel bath, it is recommended to consider:
- Wall thickness. A quality bath has it from four millimeters.
- Appearance of the product. Its surface should be smooth and even, without bulges or depressions not provided by the design.
- Enamel condition. If the steel bath has such a coating, then it should not have smudges, chips or other defects.
How to choose a hot tub?
Today the hot tub is already beginning to emerge from the category of luxury plumbing - today it can be bought at a very affordable price.
On sale there are similar products equipped with hydromassage, air massage, back massage, combined system.
Hydromassage is performed using a stream of water, accelerated by a centrifugal pump and discharged through conventional hydromassage nozzles or designed specifically for spinal massage.
Having asked how to choose a bathtub with a hydromassage, it is necessary to take into account that often the design of nozzles in such products is chosen such that the water jet exiting under pressure also traps air. In this case, both water and air massage are actually carried out simultaneously. Therefore, this type of hot tubs are most popular among consumers today.
How to choose a bathtub for a small bathroom?
Nowadays it’s quite possible to buy a beautiful and comfortable bathtub of small sizes. There is a huge variety of plumbing of this kind, differing in design, which allows you to make a purchase that matches the selected style and can accommodate in small areas.You just need to carefully consider the procedure for measuring the size of such products and accurately calculate where they should be in order to fit well into the space allotted for them.
Of course, in a small bath there will not be much space, but it will fulfill its main functions. As a rule, such bathtubs are not more than 120 centimeters long, and their depth usually does not exceed 85 centimeters. Of particular note are the sitting and corner bathtubs, which can significantly save space in small bathrooms.
The number of available options is huge, but a variety of factors, including such as:
- available space for placement;
- interior style;
- decor of the apartment;
- price.
How to choose a corner bath?
The widespread belief that corner baths are installed only to save space in the bathroom is not entirely true. A corner bath may not always be in the form of an isosceles triangle rounded on one side. In addition to triangular models, such bathtubs in shape can be both asymmetric polyhedra and rectangles having either a rounded or beveled corner. There are such products both in the left version and in the right one. But one circumstance is important: they always have two sides mutually perpendicular. How can different types of corner baths differ?
- Dimensions. In stores, “triangular” corner bathtubs can be purchased with sides ranging from 90 cm to 200 cm, and “rectangular” ones with a width of 70-200 cm. At the same time, the height of most models is 45-80 centimeters. The smallest are only sitz baths. In models of medium or large size, you can not only sit, but also lie.
- Installation method. For example, corner baths can be built into the podium and wall mounted on the floor.
- Equipment. Corner baths from the “sophisticated” series can have a hydromassage, a waterfall mixer, and jet illumination, and soft head restraints. But simple models of such plumbing, having the smallest size, of course there are no such functions.
In conclusion, we can say that when we choose a bathtub for a home, before buying it, we also need to take into account, in addition to our desires, a real offer on the plumbing market at our place of residence: after all, we will not take the bathtub from Moscow or St. -Petersburg? Although for some consumers this may turn out to be a perfectly acceptable option, as well as buying a still rarely encountered in everyday life because of its high cost of a ceramic bath.
