The short answer
- The door is sealed before the water runsA rubber seal and a latch hold the water in, so the door has to stay shut until the bath has drained.
- Your parent sits through the fill and the drainHow long that takes depends on the water pressure, the hot water supply and the drains in the house. Fast-fill taps and a second drain outlet shorten it.
- Ask for a thermostatic valve and a manual releaseThe valve guards against scalding. A door release that works in a power cut should be shown to you working before you sign.
- People aged 60 or over pay 5% VATHMRC charges 5% instead of 20% on a walk-in bath with a sealable door when it is supplied and installed in their home. Ask the council for an occupational therapist first.
This page explains how the bath itself works. The guide to walk-in baths for the elderly covers what they cost to buy and fit, and the alternatives.
Step by step
How a walk-in bath works, from opening the door to stepping out
The difference from an ordinary bath is the order things happen in. Instead of climbing over a high side into water that is already there, your parent walks in through a door, sits down on a seat, and the water comes to them.
The parts of a walk-in bath
The right-hand end is drawn cut away, so you can see the seat, the water line and the drain inside.
The door
A door in the side or the end of the bath, so your parent steps through a low opening rather than lifting a leg over a high edge.
The seal and the latch
A rubber seal runs round the door frame. When the latch is closed the seal is squeezed tight and holds the water in. The seal is the part most likely to wear and need replacing.
The low step
The bottom of the door opening sits close to the floor. The height varies by model, so measure it against how high your parent can lift a foot.
The seat
A moulded seat at about chair height, so your parent sits upright rather than lowering themselves to the floor of the bath. Some seats are heated, and some are powered and lower the person into the water.
The taps and the thermostatic valve
The valve mixes hot and cold water to a set temperature before it reaches the bath, which guards against scalding.
The drain
One or two waste outlets in the floor of the bath. A second outlet empties the bath faster, which shortens the wait before the door can open.
Grab rails
A rail on the wall and handles on the bath itself, to hold while stepping in, sitting down and standing up again.
Jets, on some models
Water or air jets set into the sides of the bath. They need a pump, power and a qualified electrician to wire them.
One bath, in order
Step 1
Open the door
The bath is empty and dry.
Step 2
Step in and sit
They hold the rail to sit down.
Step 3
Close and latch
The seal is pressed tight.
Step 4
Run the water
They stay seated while it fills.
Step 5
Bathe
For as long as they want to.
Step 6
Let it drain
They stay seated until it is empty.
Step 7
Open and step out
The door opens once the bath is empty.
The order matters, and it is the part that surprises people most. With an ordinary bath you run the water first and then get in. With a walk-in bath your parent gets in first, while the bath is empty and dry, and sits down before a drop of water goes in. The door is then closed and latched, which squeezes the rubber seal round its edge so that it holds the water. Only then are the taps turned on.
Once the bath is full, your parent washes or soaks on the seat for as long as they want to. When they are ready to get out, they open the drain and wait. The door cannot be opened while there is water in the bath, because the water would pour out across the bathroom floor, so they stay seated until it has all gone. Then the door is unlatched and they step out over the same low threshold they came in by, holding the grab rail.
It is worth thinking about the seat as much as the door. Your parent sits upright at about the height of a dining chair, rather than lowering themselves to the floor of the bath and pushing themselves back up again. For somebody with stiff knees or hips, or who has been weak since an illness, that is often the part that makes bathing possible again. Long models, built for lying back, still have a seat at the end, and some have a powered seat that lowers the person into the water and lifts them out.
This page belongs to the mobility and falls care guides, and to the wider guide to walk-in baths for the elderly, which covers the types, the prices and the alternatives.
The door and the seal
Why the door stays shut while there is water in the bath
The door is what makes a walk-in bath different from any other bath, and the seal round it is what makes the door possible. How it opens changes who the bath suits.
Every walk-in bath door has the same three parts: the door panel, a rubber seal round the frame or the door edge, and a latch or lever that pulls the door hard against the seal. With the latch closed the seal is pressed flat and the bath is watertight. With the latch open there is nothing holding the water in.
Doors open in one of two directions, and the difference is worth understanding before you look at models.
| How it works | What helps | What to watch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door opens inwards | The door swings into the bath. When the bath fills, the weight of the water presses the door against its seal. | The water helps keep the seal tight. The door does not swing out into a small bathroom. | The door swings into the space where your parent sits, so they have to make room for it. A helper outside cannot open it until the bath is empty. |
| Door opens outwards | The door swings out into the room, like a cupboard door. The latch and seal alone hold the water in. | Nothing gets in the way inside the bath. A carer can stand at the opening, and a sideways move from a wheelchair is easier. | The door needs clear floor space in front of it, so check the room and the toilet or basin nearby. |
| Hinge side | Doors are hinged on the left or the right, and some baths are made in both versions. | The right hinge side lets your parent step in from where the room has space and a rail. | Stand in the bathroom and decide which side a carer would help from before you order. |
Door opens inwards
- How it works
- The door swings into the bath. When the bath fills, the weight of the water presses the door against its seal.
- What helps
- The water helps keep the seal tight. The door does not swing out into a small bathroom.
- What to watch
- The door swings into the space where your parent sits, so they have to make room for it. A helper outside cannot open it until the bath is empty.
Door opens outwards
- How it works
- The door swings out into the room, like a cupboard door. The latch and seal alone hold the water in.
- What helps
- Nothing gets in the way inside the bath. A carer can stand at the opening, and a sideways move from a wheelchair is easier.
- What to watch
- The door needs clear floor space in front of it, so check the room and the toilet or basin nearby.
Hinge side
- How it works
- Doors are hinged on the left or the right, and some baths are made in both versions.
- What helps
- The right hinge side lets your parent step in from where the room has space and a rail.
- What to watch
- Stand in the bathroom and decide which side a carer would help from before you order.
Based on descriptions of door types from bath makers and installers. Ask to see the door on a showroom model, or ask the installer to bring one to the house.
The seal is the part of the bath that does the most work, and it is the part most likely to wear. Before you buy, ask what the warranty says about the door seal, how often the maker expects it to be checked, and what a replacement costs. A seal that has started to leak usually shows as a slow drip at the bottom of the door while the bath is full.
Families also ask what happens if the power goes off while the bath is full. Most walk-in baths drain by gravity, so the water goes down without power, but a door with an electric lock, a powered seat or a pumped drain may not work until the power is back. Do you have to sit in a walk-in tub until it drains? covers the power cut question and the manual release in more detail.
Filling and draining
How long the fill and the drain take, and what makes them quicker
Because your parent is in the bath before it fills and after it drains, the speed of the water decides how long they sit in an empty or emptying bath. Several features exist to shorten that time.
There is no single answer to how long a walk-in bath takes to fill and drain, and the figures sellers quote vary a great deal. Some say a few minutes each way. Others say 10 to 15 minutes to fill. For draining, consumer guides give anything from about two minutes to 15, depending on the drains in the house. What decides it in your parent's home is the water pressure, how fast the boiler or hot water cylinder can supply hot water, the taps fitted to the bath, and the size and length of the waste pipe.
So ask the installer for the fill and drain times for your parent's house, with your boiler and your pipes, rather than the figure in a brochure. The guide on sitting in a walk-in tub until it drains gives the typical ranges in more detail.
Fast-fill taps
Shortens the wait at the start
A second drain outlet
Shortens the wait at the end
A heated seat or back
For comfort while it drains
Water or air jets
An optional extra
A walk-in bath is filled to a working depth every time, deep enough to cover a seated person, which is why it can use more water than the shallow baths many people run at home. Does a walk-in tub use more water than a regular tub? sets out the litres and what it means for a water bill.
Safety and fitting
The safety features to ask for, and what fitting one involves
A walk-in bath is fitted rather than delivered, and the house has to be able to supply it, carry it and drain it. These are the questions to settle before anybody takes the old bath out.
What to check before a walk-in bath is fitted
0 of 11 ticked
Safety features
The house
The fitting itself
Several of these checks depend on the house rather than the bath. A fast-fill tap on a slow boiler, or a twin drain into a narrow pipe, will not give the brochure times, so ask the installer to visit and look at the boiler, the floor and the pipes before quoting.
Who it suits
Who a walk-in bath suits, and when a shower or a carer suits better
A walk-in bath solves one problem well: getting over the side of a bath. Whether it is the right answer depends on what has become hard for your parent, and on whether they still want a bath at all.
A walk-in bath tends to suit someone who
- Loves a bath and would miss it, and finds the side of an ordinary bath too high to climb over
- Can sit on a seat and get up from it, with a rail and perhaps a little help
- Can sit calmly for several minutes while the bath fills and again while it drains
- Has stiff or painful joints that warm water helps, and wants to keep bathing for that
- Lives in a home with a bathroom, floor and hot water supply that can take one
Something else may suit better if they
- Can still stand to wash, when a level-access shower with a seat avoids the wait altogether
- Becomes anxious or confused when shut in, as some people with dementia do
- Needs a hoist, or two people to help them move, which a shower or wet room usually suits better
- Feels the cold badly and would struggle to sit in a draining bath
- Needs help soon, when a carer can help with washing while any building work is planned
If your parent can still stand, even holding a rail, a walk-in shower or a level-access shower may suit them better than a bath, because there is no wait at either end. The guide to equipment for the elderly and the guide to making a parent's home safer cover the cheaper steps, such as a bath board, a bath lift or a rail, that may be enough for now. If arthritis is the reason bathing has become hard, arthritis and care at home covers the rest of the day as well.
A walk-in bath makes getting in and out easier, but it does not help with the rest of the wash. For some people the hard part is not the side of the bath but everything around it: undressing, washing their back and feet, drying properly, and getting dressed again. A carer who comes in the morning or evening can help with all of that, whether the bath is a walk-in bath or the old one. If that sounds like your parent, you can search for carers near you and compare their rates for morning or evening visits.
Paying for one
Paying for one: an occupational therapist first, then VAT at 5% and grants
Before you talk to a seller, ask the council for an occupational therapist. The assessment is free, and it decides whether a grant is possible. Then there are two routes to a lower price.
- 1
Ask the council for an occupational therapist
FreeRing adult social care and ask for a home assessment. The therapist looks at your parent and the bathroom together, and may suggest a bath, a shower or smaller aids. The council should pay for each adaptation that costs less than £1,000. - 2
Ask about a Disabled Facilities Grant
Up to £30,000 in EnglandThe council has to be satisfied that the work is necessary and appropriate for your parent's needs. The grant is means-tested on household income and savings over £6,000. - 3
Wait for approval before work starts
Do not sign firstGov.uk says you might not get any grant if work starts before the council approves the application. A seller who wants to start straight away is not helping your parent. - 4
Claim 5% VAT if your parent is 60 or over
Instead of 20%The bath has to be supplied and installed by the same business, in your parent's own home. Your parent, or you on their behalf, signs a short declaration for the installer.
The VAT rule is set out by HMRC in section 9 of Reliefs from VAT for disabled and older people (VAT Notice 701/7). A walk-in bath with a sealable door is on its list of mobility aids that are charged at 5% when they are supplied and installed in the home of somebody aged 60 or over. The gov.uk page on VAT for mobility aids explains the same rule more simply. It applies in your parent's own home, or one they share with friends or family, but not in a residential care home. Somebody else can order and pay for it, and if your parent cannot sign the declaration, a relative can sign it for them. Repairs after the bath is fitted are charged at the full rate.
The Disabled Facilities Grant guide explains the means test, the timescales and what the council can pay for, and you can find your council's grant page on gov.uk. For impartial information on bathing equipment, Living Made Easy gives impartial advice on aids for independent living, and an occupational therapist can tell you which features matter for your parent.
Questions
Questions families ask about how walk-in baths work
Yes. Your parent gets in while the bath is empty, sits on the seat and closes the door, and the bath fills around them. The door has to be shut and latched before the water runs, because the seal is what holds the water in. A warm bathroom, a towel round the shoulders and a fast-fill tap all make the wait more comfortable.
Consumer guides give anything from about two minutes to 15, depending on the drains in the house and the bath itself. A second drain outlet or a pumped drain makes it quicker. Ask the installer for the drain time in your parent's home rather than the brochure figure. Sitting in a walk-in tub until it drains has the typical ranges.
Most walk-in baths drain by gravity, so the water still goes down. Parts that need power, such as an electric door lock, a powered seat or a pumped drain, may stop until it returns. Ask the installer to show you the manual door release working before you agree to buy.
Often, yes, because many models are made to the same length as an ordinary bath, and shorter ones exist for small rooms. The installer still needs to check that the hot water supply can fill it, that the waste pipe can drain it quickly, and that the floor can carry 150 to 240 kilograms of water.
Yes. HMRC charges 5% VAT instead of 20% on a walk-in bath with a sealable door when it is supplied and installed in the home of somebody aged 60 or over. Your parent, or a relative on their behalf, signs a declaration for the installer. The gov.uk page on VAT for mobility aids has the wording.
Yes. A carer can help with undressing, stepping in and sitting down, washing, and drying and dressing afterwards. An hourly visit from a carer on PrimeCarers costs £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included. The standard visits explains what fits in a morning or evening call.