# Why are clawfoot tubs highly regarded? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 27, 2010, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065 "2010-11-27T09:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/41 "2010-11-30T12:40:03Z")
A space heater plus water. You may not be a total idiot but accidents do happen. Not one I would encourage. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/42 "2010-11-30T14:53:10Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > And a million electricians shuddered: I don’t know about American safety standards — or even whether they are administered by state or federal authorities — but in Europe not only are sockets in bathrooms forbidden, but you aren’t allowed to take extension leads in there either. Sorry, wrong. The UK \<\> Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/43 "2010-11-30T15:02:25Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > The one I used to bathe in was wonderful because you could fit two people in there after a cold evening of sledding. You know if you steer _away_ from people when you go down the hill, you wouldn’t have to hide the… oh never mind. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/44 "2010-11-30T21:15:04Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > A space heater plus water. You may not be a total idiot but accidents do happen. > > Not one I would encourage. I’ll put my experience with space heaters up against yours, Desert Boy. 😃 (Actually, I might be speaking too soon, since Aussies and Kiwis don’t insulate their houses - maybe all you use is space heaters.) ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/45 "2010-11-30T22:12:59Z")
I think I got the best of both worlds. The place I live now has a huge tub that seems like it’s a stand-alone but has been walled in on three sides with conventional tub/shower plumbing. The top edges look like those of a claw-foot tub, but it’s rectangular so it fits in the tub/shower enclosure and is caulked in with a wall in front so it looks built-in. But it’s TALL. It comes up to my knees (though I am short, it’s still at least 4 inches taller than the shower tubs I’m used to). It’s the first tub since the double-whirlpool I had in a house where I can fill it up and submerge myself to my chin! My last apartment, I hated the tub/shower. Something with how the room was built plus the shower head, maybe, made this crazy kind of vortex when the shower was running, so the curtain blew inwards and stuck to me whenever I moved. I had to rig velcro along the sides so I could make the curtain taught and keep it from blowing in. The setup I have now, the curtain doesn’t move at all! Maybe it’s because the tub is so much bigger, but I love taking showers and baths again! ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/46 "2010-12-01T15:19:48Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > in Europe not only are sockets in bathrooms forbidden, but you aren’t allowed to take extension leads in there either. I’m European, and I’ve never been to a modern bathroom that didn’t have several sockets in there, usually found above the bathroom mirror. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/47 "2010-12-01T15:56:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Sorry, wrong. The UK \<\> Europe. _ahem_ The UK is part of Europe. Even though it may have different standards than the mainland. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/48 "2010-12-01T16:49:24Z")
I love mine. It came with the vintage house. It has that shower head contraption thingy, so I do need two shower curtains. I get them wide enough to overlap a bit and put the “seam” on the end where the handles & spigot are so I don’t have to cut holes in the shower curtains. I have 360º shower curtain coverage, and a nice vintage looking showerhead. I like it for baths because A) it’s perfect for giving the dog a bath and B) it’s large enough for two. Aesthetically, I think it gives the house more character than your average run-of-the-mill cheapest, crappiest contractor-installed generic bathtub. The only time I’ve ever complained about it: I want to re-tile my bathroom floor and that thing would have to be moved out in order to accomplish that. I’ll probably just live with the cracked tiles instead. Also, it can be dangerous. I had sex with my BF in it. It was very romantic and I had a bunch of candles on shelves against the wall (they sort of line the rim of the tub). Well, I shifted positions and didn’t realize that my hair had fallen into one of the candles. I burned a huge chunk off and the smell of burned hair sort of killed the mood. We showered off and retired to another location to continue the festivities. So be careful with your clawfoot tubs. Keep the lit candles very far away from the edges of the tub! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065/49 "2010-12-01T17:49:18Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > They suck! > > I have one in my new apartment. Yes, it looks nice, but otherwise it’s a PIA. > > Does anyone have any idea what it’s like getting into a wet tub that doesn’t have a flat surface? I have a window beside it and picture myself each morning falling through it, naked, to my embarrassing death. > > The tub requires 2 shower curtains to conceal itself. THEN, the curtains have to be cut in order to fit around the faucet. > > Clawfoot tubs, although attractive, suck! I miss my previous, modern tub built into two walls and with a nice flat bottom. > > So, who her bought an old house and tore out the tub? And how many friends/family told you not to? I agree 100%. We moved out the old clawfoot tub and assorted shower piping. It was a soapy deathtrap in waiting. But we managed to sell the whole thing on Craigslist for a decent price. :evil: There’s now a comfortable jacuzzi in that space. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-clawfoot-tubs-highly-regarded/562065.md?page=2)