Why Bathtubs Are Too Small to Stretch Out Your Legs In

The thought of relaxing in a nice hot bath in the evening has gotten many people through the toughest of their days. In fact, the relaxing effect of taking a bath was proven by the participants of an experiment who reported a significant decrease in stress and fatigue. But could the effect be even more impressive if the bathtubs were large enough for us to be able to stretch out our legs?

We at Bright Side were curious as to why we are all deprived of the opportunity to relax completely in our bathtubs and we found 6 reasons for it.

1. Tracing the origins

The first bathtubs date back to ancient times: the citizens of Ancient Rome borrowed the bathing custom from Greece at the end of the 3rd century B.C. Tubs in a form that is more familiar to us were introduced in the mid-18^th century in the Netherlands and actively spread after their appearance in England in 1828.

These bathtubs were mostly made of cast iron or porcelain enamel. Producing larger tubs would not only significantly increase the cost, but would also make it extremely difficult to install them anywhere higher than the first floor of buildings with the existing level of technological development.

2. Better safe than sorry

The bathroom is the most dangerous place in your home. While it’s quite unlikely that you’d fall asleep and slip underwater in a bathtub without noticing it, the danger of fainting and drowning is definitely there. When you’re bathing, hot water becomes a burden for your heart, which can lead to a so-called “hot tub” syncope. In this case, it’s better to not be able to submerge underwater.

3. Using bathroom space efficiently

Bathrooms tend to be rather small, which is why it’s important to use this space efficiently. Bathtub sizes vary across the world, but standard tubs especially in older buildings, are 60 inches long (152 cm), 32 inches wide (81 cm), and 18 inches (46 cm) deep. This is just enough for an average adult to sit up straight and submerge their legs into the water, which meets the minimum requirements.

4. Showers are a priority

There’s little use in investing in larger bathtubs when constructing a residential building because most people simply prefer taking showers. Showers are better for cleaning the body because when you take them, water gets evenly distributed all over your body.

5. Comfort comes at a cost

We should also consider the cost of extra water and electricity necessary for filling up a larger bathtub with hot water. The cost of those things varies a lot, but we can still look at the water consumption by itself. According to this calculator, daily bathing in a small tub (42 gallons or 160 liters) saves you about 259 gallons (980 liters) of water a week compared to a large bath (80 gallons or 300 liters).

6. There’s no need to make them large now

The fact that taking showers is better for the environment was figured out a long time ago, so making bathtubs bigger now doesn’t really make much sense. On top of that, a lot of people prefer taking showers because of their faster pace of life: it simply takes less time.

Bonus: unique bathtub options

• Oval freestanding tub. These bathtubs have the same idea as the standard ones, but they look sleek and minimalistic. However, the fact that they are freestanding makes them less space-efficient.

• Corner tubs. They provide a lot of space for bathing, and can even save some space if you have corner space in your bathroom you can use.

• Walk-in tub. This type of bathtub has a seat inside, so you are sitting inside the tub instead of lying down. Also, they take up very little space.

How often do you take a bath to relax?