Kohler Walk-In Bath Reviews

The installation took a full day. I had a walk-in shower and it had a type of material they could work with to put the tub in. So they didn't have to do a whole lot of remodeling. They took the door off to get the tub in and then they put everything back on and finished it off. Kohler was very, very expensive. But I like the tub. I couldn't use it for two days, but that was all right. When I used it, I got the water too hot. I didn't know that the water comes out really hot with those tubs. I felt really good, but it was hot outside and the bathroom was steamy. Since then, I just use cooler water in it. I don't have it so hot.

I like the heated seat and the whirlpools. I have a handheld shower thing. But I would have had them put up a little shield in half of it, so I wouldn't get water. Because I have to sit down on the seat and use it as a shower, so I don't get my floor wet. I can understand why they say not to put bubble bath in it because it really bubbles up without a bubble bath. Other than that, it kind of relaxed your muscles. One thing about this tub is that it empties very fast. In less than two minutes, all the water is completely out. So you don't have a chance to really get cold. You can start drying off with the tub before you get out of the tub and by the time all the water is gone, you can step out. That's nice. I like that.

The unit has a whirlpool and heated seat along with the airflow. It gives a massage benefit at three different levels that really has helped us out or, at least, my needs for lower back sciatic as well as arthritis conditions. We noticed upon about three weeks of use that one of the small flanges that allow the water to flow out came loose. I simply press it back into the hole and I heard a click into space. I called KOHLER just to make sure that it was on record that I had that problem in case it continued to pop out. They weren't satisfied with my indication that I felt I had done what was necessary. They reinforced that they would rather have someone come out and look at the unit to make sure that that was correctly installed.

They sent a dear gentleman from Philadelphia, which is an hour and a half from our location. Kenny went beyond the call of duty because he not only took the precautions in his arrival, he was able to identify the issue we had and made sure a new one would be more resilient to future use. He tested the other five plugs that were in that immediate area, plus the other four that were in the front and found that there was one more that was loose and ready to release. He was able to exchange that. Then, he went so far as to fill the tub to see if by chance, whenever it released the pressure on that little valve, it would discharge the second time that it was shooting out water.

He brought it to my attention that the release valve that is in the KOHLER was not necessarily staying where it needed to. The pressure would pull the drain stopper down rather than maintain it, where it would keep it open. He disassembled the back unit, exposed the new part that he had on the vehicle, replaced the spring in that unit, disassembled, replaced it, and then put it back and re-caulk it. Once again, he filled up the tub to make sure that whenever he released the water, it maintained staying open rather than allowing it to shut without my having to be vigilant and standing there watching it go down the drain. It was a good experience.

My mom loves the walk-in bath. Because my mother is elderly, Kohler made her bathroom perfect for her where she could sit down and shower. It's like a whole new world for her. Because she has been wanting it in that bathroom, we were able to accommodate it, and Kohler made it even better for her. Because that space that she has is a very small space. It's like she won a million dollars.

In the main bathroom, which is my mother's bathroom, it's a small shower with an adjustable showerhead where you can slide it up and down, unhook it to bring it to you. She also has the bar. When she would first walk in, she would hold onto it to get into the bathroom. She has a seat to sit down, and there's an extra bar to the side of that. And she has see through, beautiful, grayish-white colored glass doors. And I like the part that the door that originally was supposed to be installed didn't fit the size of the door that they originally thought it would fit, so they did a custom glass door to make it fit. The guys came out the next day and measured, and shoot. Within a couple of days, they had the door in, and it was beautiful.

My mom has two showerheads, but she's able to adjust whichever she prefers to use. She likes the one where she's able to take it off and put it to her. But she does have one that's above it. But the second bathroom, it has the rain shower head. Also, we got the insert for adding soap where she's able to put her soap in with other shower stuff that she will use for storage purposes.

One of my brothers who was not home to be able to experience the installation came home from California, and his main thing was, "That bathroom looks too small for mama." I said, "No, it's perfect for mom. It's just enough space. She doesn't need all that extra stuff." When he got in there, he said, "There's a bunch of room in here." I said, "Told you." We were all pleased, especially my mother. We always buy Kohler now. We need to call again because we wanted to get a price on adding another seat to the other bathroom.

One thing that really struck me after I signed the contract was he took a lot of pictures to give to the company. They have measured the opening for where the tub is going. After my price was quoted to me, the salesperson had to call, give some measurements on the phone, and he had to inspect my circuit breaker box. They tried to be very inclusive of everything to make sure that the unit would properly function. They didn't sell me a tub and say, “Okay. This is it.” They told me that there are certain criteria that my home needs to meet. My electrical box had to have enough room. My husband and I planned and we made sure that this box had enough room for expansion. I didn't have to then have the cost of an electrician added on to everything else to make sure that my electrical would support what I was getting.

The installer was right upfront and said, “I'm not going to tell you you're going to have it done in a day. My job would be two days, possibly three.” It was two days, but they were here and they worked all day. They were two men and they were very kind and cordial. They tried to make sure that none of the demolitions would get into the rest of the house. They put in a tarp all the area that they would be walking on so that they wouldn't walk on the bare floors or any rugs. On the first night, they cleaned up before they left. On the second night, they didn't leave any junk. I was impressed.

I got all the bells and whistles for the walk-in tub. It’s primarily for my mother. She's 93 and I wanted her to have comfort. When you get in a tub, you’re laid back and the tub is cold. With the Kohler one, we got the little element in there that warms up the back. It has jets that will do the massage on the back, calves, and feet. There are four levels of jets in there. It also has bubbles, which just give you bubbles and a very gentle aeration of the water. This tub also has three speeds. Also, the heat temperature on the back has three temperatures. It's the same thing with the bubbles.

It has a shower hand and it comes all the way over. It also has a larger opening than most walk-in tubs and a shorter step. This one here is just under three inches and it's easy to get in and out. It's easy for me to tend to my mother. When the investment was made, it was made on many things. It looked like it was going to be something that could be a little spa thing. You can get a two-seater but that was cost-prohibitive for me. One seat is fine. I find that this tub fills up just as fast as the regular garden tub and it drains in less than three minutes, which is faster than my garden tub.

My mother gets in the walk-in tub probably four times a week and she loves it. She wished she had done this when my dad was alive because it would have been great therapy for his back. This tub gives my mom a lot of pleasure. She can soak in it. With the old bathtub, I had to put a side rail on it and it was hard for her to get up to pull herself up and get out or get in. When she would get in, she would fall in. With this Kohler one, she just walks in and sits down, and it fills up. The other nice thing is compared to the garden tub where you can't turn any of the jets or anything on it until the water is above the very top bubble or jet, the Kohler one we can turn it on as long as there's water over the bottom jets. This way, my mom can start feeling the therapy on her body while the tub is filling.

All in all, Kohler's customer service is excellent. The installers ended up having to take the toilet out and having to reinstall it. When they put the toilet back in, they didn't put a new seal in, which most plumbers will do. It isn't necessary and I understand that. But I kept smelling an odor. I texted the project manager and he called within five minutes and said, “Somebody will be out there by Saturday.” He called me after hours last night to tell me somebody would be here this morning to put in a new toilet.

Lowering is not gonna help because it's gonna damage the tub door. The tub door cannot be adjusted. I initially said, "Just come take the dang thing out. I don't want the tub scratched up, and I don't like the waterfall thing. I'll put a curtain up and that'll be simpler." The installers came back once and they adjusted it to make it a little higher to make the part that's over the door less heavy on the door itself. But that still didn't get rid of the gap underneath the seal. I studied it and I figured out to close the window and have the seal backwards. I push it out so that it would sit there. That extended it down.

The only trouble now is there is a little seam between a shelf that extends from the tub to the wall to the tub. It's sealed but it's a little lower. Water goes where it's lowest. It is just a drip now instead of a waterfall. I solved that by rolling up a washcloth and laying it inside right there and it catches. If you're just washing your hair, it's not a lot of water. I'm gonna be having back surgery and that's why we invested in this walk-in bath. I love the whole system. I've had it in use for a couple of months now. It provides comfort and relaxes the tension. I have a lot of pain in my back so if I get a half hour relief, that's wonderful.

The installers gave me the option of finishing the next day and I said no. I didn't want another day of being disrupted because I knew I needed the next day on my own. So, they powered through and I left for work that night. I had to be at work at 11:00 and I left my house on time and they were done and out of here. The quality of work is great. My bathroom looks just updated and like it's out of a magazine. I also have the shower add-on. I've used every facet of it and the wand. My favorite thing about the tub is the hydro control on my feet. I'm really happy using the tub. It's very stimulating and relaxing.