Safe Step Walk-in Tubs

I could care less about having lights and music. It’s just not my thing. I just want to get in and get cleaned. I’ve done it without the jets on and with the jets on. I contacted Safe Step because the first time I used it, I had my home health care aide here and I didn't want to use it the first time without somebody around in case they screwed up. What happened was it was draining very slowly. So, she had to use a pot to bail me out. You can't open the door unless the water level is below the level of the door. So, it took a while for her to do that, but not as long as it would have if I just drained it.

I spoke to somebody at Safe Step, and they told me to use Drano, which I haven't gotten yet. I just lifted off the lid on the top of the drain so it flows more quickly then. I'm just going in and using the handheld shower, and not filling it up. I'm very pleased with it because I don't have to climb over this high thing anymore and I can use it myself. My new tub makes me more independent. I don't have to wait for somebody to come around and give me a shower, which I did before because I live alone. I have a home health aide, so I could only get into the bath if I had somebody to help me bathe. Now, I can do it myself.

I was telling a friend of mine about my experience when I got stuck in the bathtub. I got in the bathtub and I couldn't get out and when I couldn't sit myself over to get out of the bathtub, I said that I will never get down in this bathtub again. And I bought a Safe Step Walk-in Tub after that. Because I was not going to get stuck in the tub and have to call 911 and have them come and get me out of the bathtub. I've told all of my friends to get the walk-in tub now instead of later because even if you end up having home help or long-term health care, and somebody has to come and bathe you, it is easier to be bathed in a walk-in tub than it is in the traditional tub.

Everything went well with the installation team. But I tell everyone that the price that you see on there is just a starting price. You never know whether you're going to need a bigger hot water tank or whether you need your pipes redone, which I had to because they were rusting from the inside. I have two daughters and I love them immensely. But I didn't work all of these years to save money and have a good retirement and investment fund to save it and leave it for them. So, I am using the money that I worked for to make life good for me. I retired already but I'm doing everything to stay in my home.

Quality of life is very big for me. I finally met the man of my life and we loved one another for almost 25 years. After he died and I was in that tub and I couldn't get out, I had a panic attack and hyperventilated, and I thought of how I could get out of this tub. Something told me that one extra day is not promised to us and it's okay to spend our money on ourselves to make sure that we live a good life in our later years. I'm only 66 years old but I want to get to that point like my mother who is 92 years old. She still stands up and takes a shower. She gets in that bathtub. I offered her a walk-in tub, but she told me no. If she ever tells me she wants one, I'm gonna drop the money and get her one.

I've had the walk-in tub for a while and I just added the shower package to it. I just had that little handheld thing and it was just something to rinse off after I've washed up. So I called Safe Step and the guy said that they already got my measurements and could send the shower package out. So, we had someone come and add the shower package to my walk-in tub and I love it, and it's great. Even though I'm just your average person living in the average type house, in the average neighborhood, I got a spa back there. I got blue lights, aromatherapy, the bubbles, the lights inside that change colors and I even put an extra light in my bathroom. I told people I can just get in the walk-in tub and get out in five minutes.

The rep was very friendly and outgoing. She couldn't tell us enough about the tub because she has one too. And they're like us, all of them love it. She showed us pictures also of customers that she had that have had different health issues with their limbs. And they had great improvement since using the tub with the jets. She was very smart about the tub.

The people that came to install the tub were very knowledgeable and did everything nice. When they came to install the tub, they brought it in and made sure that I would be able to get in and out of it because I only have one leg. They went ahead and installed it, and they were very efficient. It all went very well. The whole family loves it. And being able to get in and out of it, and our little three-year-old grandson likes to sit in the tub and get a shower, and push the buttons for the light. He said it's a spaceship. The deal about his fears about getting his head washed or soap in his eyes, when he found out that he could control the whole situation, it was amazing. And the lights, when you sit on the bench.

I’ve offered for my friends to come and use it here. I have a home health nurse. And when she comes, I tell her she could use the tub any time she wants. And she said she has been trying to talk her husband into getting one of those. I said, “I have the information, if you need it. But you could try it first.” And she said, “I might take you up on that one of these days.” I would love for everybody to know and to have a chance to be able to afford it. Because emotionally and physically, it is a calming, soothing experience. My daughter said, “You turn the bathroom lights on. You turn the tub lights on. And you just sit there and let the jet just gurgle. I don't want to get out of it.” My husband went in there a week ago. And he was in that bathtub for 45 minutes. He likes sitting in there with the jets. He loves it. I'm happy that we got it. I'm 79 and he’s soon to be 85. That was our present. It would be a wonderful housewarming gift for you.

The installation took almost all day. But they didn't have issues with putting in the tub. My husband works all day on his legs and he's 66. We have the jets with the tub so when he comes home, I tell him to go in the tub. He said, “If you turn the knob just on legs, it gets the back of your calves,” where he feels like he needs it. It's nice to have the safety of being able to sit down in the tub and not have to stand up. I have a bad knee on the left, and I have a bad foot on the right. I have an unsteady gait. With this tub, you can sit down or stand up when you want. We are enjoying our walk-in tub. It's good.

We need to get them to show me how to do the buttons on the tub again because I couldn't remember everything the installer said. When you press the automatic drain button, it does not work. It did work, but now it doesn't. You can move the thing by itself. However, it’s tension. I called for a service call last week and Safe Step called me but I have not received a call from the company who's supposed to come out and check it. We also got an issue with the lights. But my husband said the lights are working now. Other than that, the tub is functional. But for $20,000, I want my tub to work 100%. It was a lot of money.

There's a couple of things that I wish were different though. Unfortunately, my right knee is affected, and that's the knee that hits the door. There's no jet that hits that leg, and I really need it to do that, but just being able to sit in hot water is a good thing. The other thing is, it’s much smaller than I thought it would be. If I weighed 110 pounds, that would be fantastic. I'd be really happy and I’d fit in it great, but I weigh 230 pounds. So walking in it, I open the door and I have to turn sideways, squeeze myself around the back of the door, then close it. It's same thing with getting out of it. I gotta get towards the front where the shower is, open the door, and squeeze my way around that door again to get out, which is a little inconvenient for me.

I wish the door was a little bigger. It also looks like there's a little splitting in the seam where they put it together and did the caulking, so I’ll have them come back out and fix that part. Other than that, it's a great tub. My grandkids, my family and I use it. Sometimes I have to wait till 2 o'clock in the morning to use it because everybody else has been in it.