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Certain companies claim outward opening doors are better or more expensive to manufacture than inward swinging doors. This simply is not true.
Most walk-bathtub manufacturers in North America use inward swinging doors. Why? Because they are more effective for sealing the door than outward swinging doors. Here are nine reasons:
It is easier to close an in-ward swinging door once in the bathtub. No reaching or upper body strength is necessary, as would be the case for an outward swinging door.
Other fixtures in the bathroom such as vanities or toilets don't get in the way of opening the door.
Inward swinging doors strengthen the door seal as the bath fills; the seal becomes more efficient.
You cannot accidentally open an inward swinging door while bathing. You could, however, accidentally open an outward swinging door and flood your bathroom.
Inward swinging doors don't need devices to adjust door tension to prevent leaking.
There is no residual water running off the door and falling onto the floor outside the bath. This is a safety concern when stepping outside the bath.
Inward swinging door bath tubs accommodate a larger volume of water.
Most outward door swinging walk in bath tubs are small and uncomfortable. They're designed smaller because the amount of force needed to keep the door closed with a large water volume would be extreme.
Outward swinging doors may cost more to manufacture because they need a significant and complex latching system.
What about an emergency exit from a walk in tub? No statistics exist on persons needing an emergency exit from a walk in bath. Most information relates only to conventional style bathtubs. Elderly people lower themselves to the bottom of a conventional style bath and then find it impossible to raise themselves up to stand and get out.
Some companies claim if an emergency arose during bathing, an outward swinging door of the walk in bath could be opened while the bath is still full of water. This is absurd. Why open the door while the bathtub is full and allow 30 gallons of water to run onto the floor of the bathroom?
This helps neither the bather nor an assistant. In an emergency, there is no advantage to having the bather out of the tub on the bathroom floor or any other area of the home.
It is not difficult to remove a person from a walk in bath with an inward swinging door, once the bath has drained. Reputable companies have bathtubs that drain in about a minute. And care providers can easily access the bather standing along side, in front, or behind the person.
Finally, why are there drains on the outside of some outward swinging door walk-in bathtubs? Company promotional literature says it is to prevent flooding. This could not prevent flooding of the bathroom at all. Here's why.
Walk in tubs hold approximately 25-30 gallons of water. If the bath door was to open accidentally, that 25-30 gallons of water would be traveling at about 20 miles per hour. Certainly, the small drain provided would not prevent a quick Niagara of water from flooding the bathroom floor.
The outside drains are there because the door's residual water leaks onto the bathroom floor when it swings open. Of course, inward swinging doors don't have that problem.
Walk in tubs with inward-swinging doors: superior to those with outward swinging doors.
Article source:http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Gerber |
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