Bathtub

{{Short description|Large container for holding water in which a person may bathe}} {{Other uses}} {{Multiple issues| {{cleanup|reason=Poorly written/generalizations|date=July 2017}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2013}} }} [[File:Clawfoot bathtub.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A porcelain-coated cast iron bathtub, without shower plumbing, and with "claw foot" legs attached]] [[File:231 Lansing Lynchburg Va (3501022710) CROP.jpg|thumb|A porcelain-coated cast iron bathtub, with shower curtain fixtures, shower plumbing, soap dish, and with "claw foot" legs attached, all free-standing, fittings anchored to wall and ceiling]] thumb|Mycenaean terra-cotta Bathtub<ref name="(ASCE)0733-9496(2008)134:1(45)">{{cite journal |last1=Koutsoyiannis |first1=D. |last2=Zarkadoulas |first2=N. |last3=Angelakis |first3=A. N. |last4=Tchobanoglous |first4=G. |title=Urban Water Management in Ancient Greece: Legacies and Lessons |journal=Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management |date=January 2008 |volume=134 |issue=1 |pages=45–54 |doi=10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2008)134:1(45) |bibcode=2008JWRPM.134...45K |url=https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9496%282008%29134%3A1%2845%29}}</ref> [[File:Kuhne-baths-in-Finland-1910s.jpg|thumb|hydrotherapy sitz baths, 1910s]] thumb|''Beaver Brand Enamelware'' Display Room, Toronto, 1909 [[File:One Week (1920).jpg|thumb|Sybil Seely showers and Buster Keaton bathes, in ''One Week'' (1920)]] [[File:Common bathtub.jpg|thumb|Bathtub with hand shower hose, water faucet in wall, Czech Republic]] thumb|<nowiki>Bathtub from the brand Ahlmann | Collection Museum of Industry Ghent</nowiki> thumb|Slipper bathtub (Slipper bath in the UK) [[File:Wooden bathtubs for children and infants - 06.JPG|thumbnail|Wooden bathtubs for children and infants in Haikou, Hainan, China]]

A '''bathtub''', also abbreviated as '''bath''' or '''tub''', is a container for holding water in which a person or another animal may bathe. Modern bathtubs can be made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain-enameled steel or cast iron, or fiberglass-reinforced polyester. A bathtub is usually placed in a bathroom, either as a stand-alone fixture or in conjunction with shower plumbing.

==Styles== Two main styles are common: * Western style bathtubs in which the bather lies down. These baths are typically shallow and long. * Eastern style bathtubs in which the bather sits up. These are known as ''furo'' in Japan and are typically short and deep.

==Drain orientation== Modern bathtubs have overflow and waste drains, as right-hand drain, left-hand drain, center drain, and reversible drain.<ref name="kingstonbrass/drain-orientation">{{cite web |title=Bathtub Drains: Right, Left, Center, and Reversible |url=https://www.kingstonbrass.com/blogs/blog/bathtub-drains-right-left-center-and-reversible |website=KINGSTON Brass |access-date=20 November 2025|date=8 December 2022}}</ref>

==Structure== Modern bathtubs may have hot and cold water valves mounted on them. Bathtubs are now usually built-in but have been freestanding or sometimes sunken. Until acrylic thermoforming technology permitted other shapes, most Western culture bathtubs used to be shaped like a chaise-longue-shaped stock tank. Bathtubs are commonly white in color (porcelain), although many other colors can be found.

== History of bathtubs and bathing == {{Main|Bathing|History of water supply and sanitation}}

Documented early plumbing systems for bathing go back as far as around 3300 BC with the discovery of copper water pipes beneath a palace in ancient Europe.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} Evidence of the earliest surviving personal sized bathtub was found on the Isle of Crete where a {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|adj=on}} long pedestal tub was found built from hardened pottery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://magazine.ceramicaflaminia.it/en/2015/08/13/the-evolution-of-the-design-bathtub-in-the-history/|title=The Evolution of the Design Bathtub in the History|date=13 August 2015|website=CeramicaFlaminia|access-date=21 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802162950/http://magazine.ceramicaflaminia.it/en/2015/08/13/the-evolution-of-the-design-bathtub-in-the-history/|archive-date=2 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The clawfoot bathtub had design origins in the Netherlands.<ref name="Pelham/history-clawfoot">{{cite web |title=History of the Clawfoot Tub |url=https://www.pelhamandwhite.com/ideas-inspiration/history-of-the-clawfoot-tub |website=Pelham and White |access-date=20 November 2025 |location=Mt Vernon, NY |date=17 April 2017}}</ref> The design spread to England, as Hydrotherapy became fashionable. Early bathtubs in England were made of cast iron, or tin and copper, with a coat of paint that tended to peel with time.<ref name="Pelham/history-clawfoot"/>

Vitreous enamel was first applied commercially to sheet iron and steel in Austria and Germany in about 1850.<ref name=Andrews>{{cite book |last=Andrews |first=Andrew Irving |title=Porcelain Enamels : the preparation, application, and properties of enamels |publisher=The Garrard Press |location=Champaign, IL |year=1961 |pages=321–2 |oclc= }}</ref>{{rp|5}}

<blockquote>Following a fire in 1880 ...Kohler, Hayssen and Stehn...One of their first enameled products was a bathtub made by applying a porcelain coating to a cast iron horse trough.<ref name="wi101/kohler">{{cite web |last1=Broman |first1=Thomas |title=The Early History of the Kohler Company |url=https://wi101.wisc.edu/the-early-history-of-the-kohler-company/ |website=wi101.wisc.edu - Wisconsin 101 |access-date=20 November 2025 |date=November 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

Kohler Company and J. L. Mott Iron Works, sold porcelain enameled cast-iron bathtubs.

<blockquote>"The clawfoot tub was popular from the 1880's to the 1930's. It was the flu epidemic after WWI that was the downfall of these beautiful fixtures. People knew little about the illness, and became concerned with germs and cleanliness. Many saw the hard-to-reach spaces behind and under the tubs as potential breeding grounds for germs.<ref name="nmah_581228">{{cite web |title=1900 - 1920 Salesman's Sample Porcelain Bathtub |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_581228 |website=National Museum of American History}}</ref> While this wasn't true, it did cause changes in bathroom design."<ref name="Pelham/history-clawfoot"/> - ''Pelham & White''</blockquote>

In 1912, the William Howard Taft administration broke up the porcelain trust, a cartel of price-fixers that conspired to create a monopoly on toilets and bathroom fixtures using patent licenses to manipulate porcelain fixture costs. In 1912, Taft fought a bitter election against Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, with campaigns taking aim at Taft's weight, resulting in the bathtub fallacy.<ref name="ripleys/taft-bathtub-">{{cite web |title=The Truth Behind William Howard Taft's Tub |url=https://www.ripleys.com/stories/taft-bathtub-2 |website=Ripley's Believe It or Not! |access-date=20 November 2025 |date=1 January 2024}}</ref>

The Crane Company introduced colored bathroom fixtures to the United States market in 1928, and slowly this influx of design options and easier cleaning and care led to the near demise of clawfoot-style bathtubs.

James R. Wheeler and his brother Richard in 1979 adapted the acrylic being used for outdoor spas to make acrylic bathtubs. Working with Spartech Plastics, they developed the modern co-extruded and durable acrylic bathtub. The company American Bath Factory was the first to expand the diversity of acrylic bathtubs to include whirlpools, clawfoot bathtubs, and a large variety of pedestal and modern bathtubs.

== Cleansing == === Clawfoot bathtubs === The clawfoot bathtub was considered a luxury item in the late 19th century, originally made from cast iron and lined with porcelain. Modern technology has contributed to a drop in the price of clawfoot bathtubs, which may now be made of fiberglass, acrylic or other modern materials. Clawfoot bathtubs usually require more water than a standard bathtub, because generally they are larger. While true antique clawfoot bathtubs are still considered collectible items, new reproduction clawfoot bathtubs are chosen by remodelers and new home builders and much like the Western-style bathtubs, clawfoot bathtubs can also include a variety of shower head options.

Clawfoot bathtubs come in four major styles: * '''Classic roll rim bathtubs''', also called '''roll top bathtubs''' or '''flat rim bathtubs''' as seen in the picture at the top of this page. * '''Slipper bathtubs''', generally known as '''slipper baths''' in the UK,<ref>Campbell, Agnes (1918). ''Report on public baths and wash-houses in the United Kingdom''. (Edinburgh: Carnegie United Kingdom Trust) p.107</ref> where one end is raised and sloped creating a more comfortable lounging position. * '''Double slipper bathtubs''' – where both ends are raised and sloped. * '''Double ended bathtubs''' – where both ends of the bathtub are rounded, as opposed to the classic roll rim bathtub, which has one rounded end and one fairly flat end.

=== Pedestal bathtubs === Pedestal bathtubs rest on a pedestal in what many{{who|date=May 2022}} would term an art deco style. Evidence of pedestal bathtubs dates back to the island of Crete around 1000 BC.

=== Baby bathtub === A baby bathtub is one used for bathing infants, especially those not yet old enough to sit up on their own. These can be either a small, stand-alone bath that is filled with water from another source, or a device for supporting the baby that is placed in a standard bathtub. Many are designed to allow the baby to recline while keeping its head out of the water.

=== Soft bathtubs === ''Soft tubs'' are made from soft plastic or foam with a protective non-slip coating.<ref name=softtub>{{cite news |last1=Austin |first1=Gene |title=Soft bathtubs touted as the new wave in offbeat bathroom fixtures |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/07/19/soft-bathtubs-touted-as-the-new-wave-in-offbeat-bathroom-fixtures/ |access-date=27 July 2018 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=July 19, 1991 |archive-date=2018-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727212312/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-07-19/features/1991200179_1_tubs-soft-fixtures |url-status=live }}</ref> While soft tubs have been available since the 1970s,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reif |first1=Rita |title=Doesn't Anyone Out There Need a Soft Bathtub? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/02/archives/doesnt-anyone-out-there-need-a-soft-bathtub.html |access-date=27 July 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=September 2, 1976}}</ref> by the 1990s they were being sold by major manufacturers.<ref name=softtub /> The tubs are typically marketed for children and the elderly, to prevent injury from falls.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Austin |first1=Gene |title=Will The New Soft Bathtub Need A Hard Sell? |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/08/17/will-the-new-soft-bathtub-need-a-hard-sell/ |access-date=27 July 2018 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=August 17, 1991}}</ref>

=== Inflatable bathtubs === Inflatable bathtubs are portable bathtubs that can be used indoors and outdoors.<ref name="Whichinflatable.com">{{cite web|last=|first=|title=4 Best Portable Inflatable Bathtubs for Adults|website=Whichinflatable.com|publisher=|date=14 August 2020|url=https://www.whichinflatable.com/other/portable-inflatable-bathtubs-for-adults/|access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref> Some models have built-in accessories such as pillows, backrests, armrests, and cupholders, which are all air-inflated.<ref name="Insider.com">{{cite web|last=Jansen|first=Gyurka|title=A Dutch company that makes inflatable bathtubs with cupholders and headrests is shipping them to the US and Australia|website=Insider.com|publisher=Insider, Inc.|date=8 December 2019|url=https://www.insider.com/tubble-is-making-inflatable-bathtubs-with-cupholders-headrests-2019-12|access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref> In general, inflatable bathtubs usually consist of many smaller inflatable parts, together forming a bathtub.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|title=Inflatable bathtub|website=Patents.google.com|publisher=Alphabet, Inc.|date=|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20160367081A1/en|access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref>

== Recreation and therapy == === Hot tubs === Hot tubs are common heated pools used for relaxation and sometimes for therapy. Hot tubs were popular in the U.S. from 1967–1980, appearing in films and music.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c487w9PuJOgC&q=hot+tubs+hippie+era&pg=PA220|title=The Hippie Dictionary|last=McCleary|first=John Bassett|publisher=Ten Speed Press|year=2002|isbn=978-1-58008-547-2|location=Canada|pages=220}}</ref>

=== Whirlpool tubs === '''Whirlpool tubs''' first became popular in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s. A '''spa''' or hot tub can also be called a "jacuzzi" after plumbing component manufacturer Jacuzzi introduced the "Spa Whirlpool" in 1968. Air bubbles may be introduced into the nozzles via an air-bleed venturi pump.

<gallery> File:Hotel de Maya02n4272.jpg|Jacuzzi whirlpool bathtub File:Paljuilua 1.jpg|Wooden hot tub on a trailer in Finland </gallery>

== See also == {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| * Accessible bathtub * Bath bomb * Bathtub curve * Bathtub hoax * Bathtub refinishing * Coriolis force#Draining in bathtubs and toilets * Plug (sanitation) }} {{clear}} == References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Bathtubs}} {{Wiktionary|bath|tub|bathtub}} * [https://vivaciousvictorian.com/2016/12/27/victorian-bathrooms-a-history-lesson/ Victorian era bathrooms] - ''vivaciousvictorian.com''

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Tub Category:Babycare Category:Plumbing Tub