How it works, day to day
The part the showroom skips: you sit and wait while it fills and while it drains.
- Filling and draining
- Consumer guides report fill times of roughly 5 to 10 minutes and drain times from 2 or 3 minutes with a quick-drain model to 15 with a standard drain. The door stays shut the whole time.
- The door
- Inward-opening doors seal with the water pushing them shut; outward-opening doors are easier to get in and out of, especially with a walker, but need clear floor in front.
- The seat
- A built-in seat at roughly chair height, so you sit down and stand up instead of lowering yourself to the floor of a tub.
- Jets and heaters
- Air or water jets and an in-line heater add comfort and cost. Jetted tubs need their own protected circuit, and the VA does not pay for spa or Jacuzzi-type tubs.