Before buying a bath you need to make several decisions:
- Determine with the size.
- Select material.
- To understand if you need additional functions.
But first things first.
Bath Size
Many dream of a luxurious corner bathroom for two persons with a Jacuzzi and built-in radio. But the area of a typical bathroom is only 3-6 square meters. And on them, as a rule, you still need to place a sink, stylalka and cabinets for cosmetics. Therefore, their spa dreams need to be correlated with the capacity of the room, where the bath will stand.
In doing so, consider the following parameters:
- The height of the bath is on the side. The optimal height is 65-70 cm. But if the family has children, the elderly or people with disabilities, it is worth considering the baths lower or on very small legs.
- Depth of the bowl. This is the distance from the rim or overflow hole to the bottom. The optimal depth is 50-60 cm. It is important here that the water completely covers the person lying in the bath.
- Length and width of bath. They are selected based on the size of the bathroom and the individual characteristics of family members. For an incompetent person with a height of 160-180 cm, an optimum bowl with a width of 70-80 cm and a length of 150-180 cm is considered optimal.
Certain restrictions on the size are also imposed by the materials from which the baths are made. Cast iron, for example, has a length of 150 or 170 cm, and a width of 70 cm. Small cars 100-120 cm long are often made of steel, and angular or asymmetrical baths are just acrylic.
Kinds of baths
According to the material, the baths are divided into cast iron, steel, acrylic, quarry and ceramic. In this article we will talk about the first three, since they are the most popular.
Cast-iron bath: pros and cons
A cast-iron bath is a bath made of an iron alloy with a small amount of carbon and covered with enamel.
It is a classic in the world of plumbing. Cast iron keeps heat for a long time and absorbs noise well. Baths from it used to be put in Khrushchev, so many people know since childhood: a cast-iron bath is for ages.
In its durability and reliability really do not have to doubt.
Cast-iron bath will last you 20 years or more.
But there are two but:
- That the enamel is not worn out for a couple of years, but served for decades, it should be of very good quality. The best producers of cast iron baths are Roca (Spain), Jacob Delafon (France), Oxame (France), Kirov plant (Russia) and Universal plant (Russia). A high-quality cast-iron bath costs about 20 thousand rubles and more.
- Cast-iron bath can weigh up to 150 kg, which creates great difficulties in its transportation and installation.
Thus, cast iron models have the following advantages and disadvantages.
| Pros: | Minuses: |
| reliable and durable; | they weigh a lot; |
| keep the heat well; | a meager choice of sizes and shapes; |
| unpretentious in care; | top models are expensive; |
| Do not make noise when recruiting water. | do not have additional functions. |
Steel bath: the pros and cons
Steel baths are made of stainless or structural steel. They have enamel coating. Baths made of stainless steel are poorly represented in the market, as they are sometimes more expensive than cast-iron ones. But the main feature of the steel bath is its budget.
Another plus is the variety of configurations. Steel is quite light and plastic material. You can easily find a steel bath with armrests, headrests and other beautiful curves. But be careful: the more complex the form, the thinner the metal.
The thickness of steel – the Achilles heel of baths from it. Under the weight of water and a person’s body, a steel bowl with thin walls can flex and deform, and enamel – crack. Optimal for steel baths is the thickness of the walls of 3 mm.
The average life of a steel bath is 15 years.
Provided that you preferred the well-proven manufacturers: Kaldewei (Germany), Roca (Spain), Bette (Germany), BLB (Portugal) or Estap (Slovakia). Among Russian producers, the products of the Verkh-Isetsky Metallurgical Plant and the Lipetsk Pipe Plant are in demand.
But even high-quality steel and good enamel will not get rid of such drawbacks as high heat loss and noise. The water in the steel bath cools very quickly, and when it pours, the noise is all over the apartment.
The last problem can be solved by pasting the bottom and outside walls of the bowl with penofol or rubber or treated with mounting foam. But this is, as you know, dancing with a tambourine.
In the dry residue, steel baths have the following advantages and disadvantages.
| Pros: | Minuses: |
| light and inexpensive; | unreliable; |
| Are unpretentious in leaving (the enamel can be restore); |
poorly conserve heat; |
| There is a choice in form and size. | noisy. |
Acrylic bath: the pros and cons
Acrylic baths are made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polymethyl methacrylate with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS / PMMA). Simply put, from 100% acrylic and plastic with an upper acrylic layer.
Baths made of pure acrylic are reliable, durable, they hold heat for a long time. Price list – appropriate. Baths from ABS / PMMA are more accessible and can also please their owners for a long time. Provided that the thickness of the acrylic layer is not less than 6 mm.
The average life of an acrylic bath is 10 years.
Amazes a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. In addition, hydromassage and other additional functions are found mainly in acrylic bathtubs.
The best manufacturers of acrylic bathtubs are Ravak (Czech Republic), Cersanit (Poland), Riho (Holland), PoolSpa (Spain). Of Russian brands in demand BAS, 1Marka, “Triton”.
In the care bath of acrylic, on the one hand, unpretentious. To keep them clean, you can just rinse with warm water. On the other hand, acrylic baths can not be treated with alkaline and abrasive detergents. It is better to use special compounds for acrylic.
Thus, the following advantages and disadvantages of acrylic baths can be distinguished.
| Pros: | Minuses: |
| light and reliable; | you need to carefully choose cleaning agents; |
| large selection of shapes, sizes and colors; | a lot of low-quality products; |
| there are additional functions. | good models are expensive. |
Hydromassage and other additional functions
Having decided on the size and material of the bath, think about whether you need hydro- or aeromassage, chromotherapy, a disinfection system and a water level sensor. After all, the presence of any of these options leads not only to a rise in the cost of the bath, but also to additional costs of water and electricity, as well as difficulties in installation and maintenance.
- Hydromassage improves muscle tone and microcirculation. Water jets are pumped by a special pump and the body is massaged through the nozzles in the walls and on the bottom of the font. Usually in baths with a hydromassage from 6 to 8 atomizers. But in premium-class models there can be several dozen.
- Aeromassage It relaxes. The principle of operation is the same, only the electric pump does not supply water, but oxygen.
- Chromotherapy increases the general tone of the body, it has a beneficial effect on the work of blood vessels. In the walls of the bath violet lamps are built in special reflectors, which illuminate the body of a person lying in water from all sides.
- Auto-disinfection simplifies the care of the bathroom. Pressing one button provides a disinfectant, which is then automatically washed off.
- Water level sensor controls how much the bath is filled with water. It usually goes in addition to hydro and aeromassage.
Learn more about the jacuzzi device in this video.
Conclusion
Select a bath is much easier if you correctly determine the size and know the features of the materials.
If you are for reliability and are ready to abandon the elegant design and additional functions, buy a good cast-iron bath. If you are limited in the budget or a bath is needed, for example, for a dacha, you can take a steel one. If you are dreaming, coming from work, basking in a bath with hydromassage, choose among the acrylic models.
