Bath Or Shower, Which Is Best?

Well this is a difficult question, but as bathroom experts in Ripley, Belper and Alfreton we thought we'd try and weigh up the pros and cons.  Obviously, it depends on personal preference as to which you think is best and also what your priorities are.

So whether it's a long, luxurious soak in the bath or a short sharp burst in the shower, here's a few of the arguments for and against each. Let's see if we can find a clear winner.

1. Convenience?

Obviously this is a winner for the shower. A shower is quick and easy and you spend all your time from turning on the shower until you turn it off actually getting clean. Then a quick dry, dressed and you’re on with the rest of your day.

Baths are notoriously slower.  Sure, a bath is meant to take more time. You may want a long, hot soak to relax the day away. But there are other aspects of taking a bath that make getting clean a more drawn out process. For example, washing your hair.  It's difficult to do in a bath, and rinsing the soap out is difficult and time consuming.  Also, once you get out of a bath, you should rinse yourself off with clean water so you're not covered in dried on soap. So basically, take a shower once you've had a bath!

The best thing to do in both these circumstances is to have a hand held shower attachment installed on your bath. This will save you time when washing your hair and allow you to quickly rinse off without dashing to the shower.

2. Eco Friendliness

Here's one for the shower. Unless you're having really long ones then showering is definitely the more environmentally friendly option of the two.  A standard bath uses, on average, 35-40 gallons of water.  The standard shower head, however, only uses around 5 gallons of water per minute.  There are also now even more environmentally friendly shower heads that only use around 2 gallons of water per minute!

3. Skin Care

Now this is an interesting one. You'd think that a bath, with all the bath bombs and skin care products you can buy nowadays, would be better for your skin than a shower, but you'd likely be wrong.  Long, hot baths can dry your skin out, leading to itching and flaky skin. People who have skin conditions or sensitive skin can have even more severe reactions.  Showers, however, take less time, so that means less time in what is generally cooler water. You also don't soak in various products when in the shower and they are washed off your skin almost immediately if you use any.

4. Relaxation

Another win for the bath!

First of all, you lay down when having a bath rather than standing up like you do when you have a shower. Laying down is obviously more relaxing than standing.  You also have the option to add things to your bath water such as aromatherapy products and bath bombs. You can even add relaxing music and candles to create a true spa experience.

Additionally, soaking in warm water relaxes muscles and can help recovery from physical stress.

So Who's Won?

Well, it seems, by these criteria anyway, that it's a tie.  There are probably many other criteria and each one suits each person's lifestyle differently.

Whatever your preference, shower, bath, or both, Leeva Plumbing and Heating can help you create your perfect shower or bathroom AND keep your hot water running.