Thinking of redoing my bathroom. Would a steam shower or jet tub be better for relaxing?
51-55, M
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swirlie · 31-35, F
I always look at it from the perspective of adding value to your home. A steam shower looks like an ordinary shower for the most part and it's value is not readily apparent to a prospective buyer of your home somewhere down the road. But a jet tub looks obvious in what it is and what it is not. Although neither a steam shower nor jet tub will add inherent value to your home in comparison to a complete bathroom makeover for example, sometimes a particular bathtub will convince the purchaser to buy your home instead of the identical one next door which does not have a jet tub. A jet tub is perceived to be more desirable than a non-jet tub is my point.
If you put in a jet tub however, DO NOT install it with permanent tub panels on the outside where quick and easy access to the pump and plumbing is not possible without ripping and tearing the whole thing apart. If a leak develops or a pump quits or a connection is not quite right, you need to open an access panel on the side which give you immediate and full access to the whole interior of the tub.
You will find that with a steam shower, you will start to develop mould on the ceilings and inside the light fixtures of your bathroom. This is because the steam cannot be exhausted to the outside fast enough with a standard bathroom fan, which much be on the whole time the shower is in use, plus for 30 minutes after the shower is over.
If you put in a jet tub however, DO NOT install it with permanent tub panels on the outside where quick and easy access to the pump and plumbing is not possible without ripping and tearing the whole thing apart. If a leak develops or a pump quits or a connection is not quite right, you need to open an access panel on the side which give you immediate and full access to the whole interior of the tub.
You will find that with a steam shower, you will start to develop mould on the ceilings and inside the light fixtures of your bathroom. This is because the steam cannot be exhausted to the outside fast enough with a standard bathroom fan, which much be on the whole time the shower is in use, plus for 30 minutes after the shower is over.
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Valid points. Don't the steam showers have their own vents to the outside though if properly installed?
swirlie · 31-35, F
@MikefromEP
The room is also designed to accommodate the excessive humidity of a steam shower. This also includes a very specific type of wall paint that is used on the walls, which resists mildew. A steam shower is never installed into a bathroom as an afterthought. It is installed as an integral part of the archetural design of the house which then accommodates all the idiosyncrasies of a steam shower. Vents are part of it, but vents are installed with their own integral fans which draw the steam vapors vertically, not horizontally... steam rises and this natural flow must be continued to the outside of the house.
The room is also designed to accommodate the excessive humidity of a steam shower. This also includes a very specific type of wall paint that is used on the walls, which resists mildew. A steam shower is never installed into a bathroom as an afterthought. It is installed as an integral part of the archetural design of the house which then accommodates all the idiosyncrasies of a steam shower. Vents are part of it, but vents are installed with their own integral fans which draw the steam vapors vertically, not horizontally... steam rises and this natural flow must be continued to the outside of the house.
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie A jet tub needs venting as well... even more so I would think unless it is enclosed like a steam shower
swirlie · 31-35, F
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Jet tub would put more moisture into the air I would think than just a basic hot soaking tub
swirlie · 31-35, F
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie More surface area of water being exposed from the flow of water.Sort of like hot water in a pot compared to boiling water
swirlie · 31-35, F
@MikefromEP
Well if anything Mike, the water would have a tendency to cool down as it is being forced to circulate by the jets, as opposed to a pool of standing hot water just evaporating into the ambient air above itself.
Well if anything Mike, the water would have a tendency to cool down as it is being forced to circulate by the jets, as opposed to a pool of standing hot water just evaporating into the ambient air above itself.
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Jet tubs have heaters do they not? And any person soaking in a tub will always add hot water
swirlie · 31-35, F
@MikefromEP
But what's your point? How do either of those two scenarios suggest that they produce significantly more humidity than a steam shower?
But what's your point? How do either of those two scenarios suggest that they produce significantly more humidity than a steam shower?
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie A steam shower is enclosed with vents. Most jet tubs that I have seen are placed like a regular tub with the moisture filling the room
swirlie · 31-35, F
@MikefromEP
True, but I have never seen a jet tub or an open bath tub fill a room with steam vapor, the first signs of which will appear as the mirror becomes obscured with moisture even with the bathroom fan off. The truth is, you could fill a bathtub with pure hot water, close the door and come back an hour later and the mirror would not be wet with moisture... even with the fan off. That is because of the relatively small surface area the hot water footprint creates within the surface area of the bathtub itself. In a tub, jet or otherwise, there is very little evaporation taking place because it can only evaporate off the surface.
A steam shower on the other hand if installed as an afterthought into a bathroom, would never get rid of the steam as fast as it was being generated unless those vents were installed as discussed. Question is, can your house accommodate those vents as a retrofit? If not, you are then depending on the bathroom fan to remove that steam and it isn't going to happen! Even though the steam shower is enclosed, the problem with mould and mildew will be occurring within the shower enclosure long after you get out of the shower and everything remains wet from floor to ceiling within the enclosure. This does not happen with a jet tub or standard tub.
Did you know that you can get extra long bathtubs through special order?
True, but I have never seen a jet tub or an open bath tub fill a room with steam vapor, the first signs of which will appear as the mirror becomes obscured with moisture even with the bathroom fan off. The truth is, you could fill a bathtub with pure hot water, close the door and come back an hour later and the mirror would not be wet with moisture... even with the fan off. That is because of the relatively small surface area the hot water footprint creates within the surface area of the bathtub itself. In a tub, jet or otherwise, there is very little evaporation taking place because it can only evaporate off the surface.
A steam shower on the other hand if installed as an afterthought into a bathroom, would never get rid of the steam as fast as it was being generated unless those vents were installed as discussed. Question is, can your house accommodate those vents as a retrofit? If not, you are then depending on the bathroom fan to remove that steam and it isn't going to happen! Even though the steam shower is enclosed, the problem with mould and mildew will be occurring within the shower enclosure long after you get out of the shower and everything remains wet from floor to ceiling within the enclosure. This does not happen with a jet tub or standard tub.
Did you know that you can get extra long bathtubs through special order?
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie The longer tubs I know about. My house has a weird design because the bathroom overhangs the foundation by 2 feet. Not sure what they were thinking when they did this. All the homes in the area are made the same
swirlie · 31-35, F
@MikefromEP
Wouldn't that make your bathroom floors cold ...assuming you live in a cold climate, or do you live further south?
Wouldn't that make your bathroom floors cold ...assuming you live in a cold climate, or do you live further south?
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Northern Canada.
swirlie · 31-35, F
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Edmonton. -30 several times a year
swirlie · 31-35, F
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Farm town 2 hours outside of this frozen wasteland
swirlie · 31-35, F
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie You are in Alberta :O
swirlie · 31-35, F
MikefromEP · 51-55, M
@swirlie Ahhh.. That explains your knowledge on humidity lol
swirlie · 31-35, F