# Bath, or shower?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 20, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627 "2026-03-20T19:16:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/41 "2026-03-21T01:07:12Z")
I’m not nearly as tall as you are, but yeah. Bathtubs are sized so children can be immersed. But not adults.
If bathtubs were a couple feet larger in every dimension and had heaters to keep the water hot, they might be useful. Otherwise they’re simply space-wasters in bathrooms.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/42 "2026-03-21T01:14:37Z")
With few exceptions (warm swimming pools, lakes in late summer, hot tubs) I’m generally averse to getting wet (not surprising, as I bear a thick double coat of tri-coloured fur! 🐶)
So my objective is to get in and out as quickly as possible, not “luxuriate” in it. So showers it is. My ensuite bathroom has a huge fancy tub. I think I used it once in 15 years. Thankfully it also has a very functional shower stall.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/43 "2026-03-21T03:21:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Bathtubs are sized so children can be immersed. But not adults.
I bought a larger bathtub. It’s not shaped quite right, and it’s not nearly as good as a Japanese bathtub, but i can submerge everything except my head and shoulders.
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### Author:  [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/44 "2026-03-21T12:03:46Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#):
>
> My bathroom is freezing cold most of the time.
We live in the UK, not exactly known for a warm climate.
So we run a portable electric heater for 30 minutes or so in the bathroom with the door closed to heat it up before bathing. I’m a bath person, my wife is a shower person, incidentally.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/45 "2026-03-21T12:15:09Z")
Shower.
I had an apartment once that only had a tub, and I had to get a hand-held shower thingie that attached to the faucet. I don’t feel clean soaking in soapy soup of whatever is washed off my person.
Now, a hot tub - that’s another story. If we had one, I’d be using it regularly. But not to get clean - just to relax.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/46 "2026-03-21T12:25:04Z")
We installed a cast iron clawfoot tub just to allow pleasant baths. showers in it are functional but not really ideal.
We likely take 5x as many showers as baths, but a high quality soak is worth it.
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### Author:  [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/47 "2026-03-21T12:58:43Z")
A bath. Wins almost every time.
I had a clawfoot Victorian bath in my previous house, in which I alone, or with my ex-wife would luxuriate… sometimes with wine and bubble bath.
Despite the romantic aspect, I must warn that sex in the bath is both constricted and potentialy dangerous due to the slipping hazard. The shower is more appropriate.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/48 "2026-03-21T13:00:50Z")
After more than half a century of showering ahead of going to work or classes, when I’d have had to wake up much earlier to have a not-so-relaxing bath with thoughts of the work day ahead going through my mind, the habit of starting off the day with a shower is hard to break.
Not to mention, with our current rather iffy septic situation, draining a full tub of water into the tank all at once would be problematic. The HOA board is working with the county to bring sewer service to the neighborhood, but that’ll be a few years away. Until then, it’s showers only.
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### Author:  [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/49 "2026-03-21T13:03:51Z")
Our house has those kids-only kind of bathtubs. They’re not long enough, and the place where your back would go if you could lie down is not sloped, but straight up and down. It makes relaxing in a tub almost impossible. So I haven’t done a bath in many years, though I used to love soaking in a tub. It has been showers only for about 15 years.
I also note that the last few times I ever took a long soaky bath, I’d feel kind of faint and wobbly from the heat. I suppose that as I got older I couldn’t tolerate that temperature for very long.
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### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/50 "2026-03-21T15:04:37Z")
Nothing beats a long soak in an Iron clawfoot bathtub. I love the anticipation of it, gathering supplies and fresh towels while the tub is filling. Feeling the warmth emanating from the sides. Mixing a few drops of an essential oil and adding it in. Letting some of the heat dissipate and then stepping in to bliss.
A winter time must have.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/51 "2026-03-21T15:31:10Z")
I like a long, hot shower but at home, I’m worried that the water will turn cold so I don’t linger as long as I’d like. So when I’m in a hotel where I know it will last, I do linger. If I had my choice, I’d build a fancy walk-in shower with steam shower and multiple showerheads including a handheld one.
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### Author:  [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/52 "2026-03-21T17:28:06Z")
remember that scene in “You Only Live Twice” where that was mentioned?
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### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/53 "2026-03-21T18:01:06Z")
You don’t hafta wait for your dream bath to have a handheld shower head, it’s the ultimate diy shower upgrade.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/54 "2026-03-21T18:05:00Z")
Yes, I know. I have handheld showerheads, both in my apartment and in my parents’ house where I spend a lot of time. But in both places, I’m showering standing up in a bathtub, which is not ideal. And the tub in my parents’ house has a shower curtain. I prefer a glass shower enclosure. And my dream walk-in shower will also include an electrically heated mirror for shaving. Perhaps also underfloor heating so stepping out onto the tile my feet will be warm. And a heated towel rail, perhaps.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/55 "2026-03-21T18:17:33Z")
As long as we’re dreaming, how about a urinal and sink off to the side of the spray area? I’ve only seen this once at my cousin’s home (built in the 50s by his grandfather) and thought it rather a strange feature. That is until I took a shower in it and used it, then I thought his grandfather was a freaking genius.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/56 "2026-03-21T18:18:44Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#):
>
> As long as we’re dreaming, how about a urinal off to the side of the spray area?
Which suddenly reminded me of a joke I heard in college:
What is the definition of a WASP? Someone who gets out of the shower in order to pee.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/57 "2026-03-21T18:18:50Z")
Honestly, do you really need a dedicated urinal in the shower? In other words, why can’t you just urinate in the shower?
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/58 "2026-03-21T18:20:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> In other words, why can’t you just urinate in the shower?
“it’s all pipes!”
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/59 "2026-03-21T18:20:33Z")
To show people that while you are the kind to pee in the shower you do it with class and style!
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bath-or-shower/1028627/60 "2026-03-21T18:23:38Z")
Showing people what you do in the shower…with class and style?
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