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by Kathy Ziprik, Staff Writer
When it comes to constructing a home, you understand that the master bathroom is a retreat for your clients.
Making that refuge from the world as welcoming as possible is your goal, but how do you create a relaxing setting that's most likely to have your client singing your praises to other potential customers? By taking the time to create a customizable bathing experience they'll love.
"As a builder, you're not the person who will slide into that bathtub at the end of a long, stressful day," says Haley Davis, product manager with Mansfield Plumbing. "Take the time to research the lifestyle of your homeowner. Before purchasing a tub, determine if they like a long, quiet soak at night or a vigorous and pulsating jet experience."
Different Bathing Experiences
You can be a hero to your clients by sharing with them bathing options and guiding them toward a tub selection that best matches up to their personal needs, and by customizing the tub selection to enhance their bathing experience.
First, start with the basics:
Soaking Tubs - Ergonomically designed and significantly deeper than standard bathtubs, a soaking tub allows full body support and deep immersion into comforting waters.
Whirlpool Tubs - Precision-aimed jets of water can relax and rejuvenate the body in a whirlpool bath. Strategically placed jets target different parts of the body for deep tissue massage.
Air Massage Baths - While whirlpools circulate water from the bathtub to massage the body, air baths inject streams of air into the bathing well, surrounding the body with relaxing bubbles. Choices include vigorous hydrotherapy massages and softer, more soothing baths.
Microbubble Tubs - A new generation of bathing experiences for tension-riddled people. The MicroDermTM Therapeutic Bath silently infuses bathwater with millions of microbubbles to help a bather relax, unwind and feel rejuvenated. Oxygen-rich bubbles burst quietly on the skin to help clean and hydrate while exfoliating the skin's outermost layer.
Walk-in Tubs - If getting in and out of a tub is a challenge (or your client thinks it might be in the future), a tall walk-in tub with an inward swinging door is the ideal solution. Created with an ADA-height seat, the Restore tub provides a deep well for bathing with options for air massage and whirlpool jets.
Customize It: What to Ask Your Clients
From chromatherapy mood light systems in whirlpool baths to in-line heaters that keep the bath water warm no matter how long you soak, there are many enhancements that can be selected to create a luxury bath.
"If your clients select a tub with air jets, make sure to have them determine how many jets they want, where they are located and if they are adjustable to maximum comfort," says Davis. "Thinking ahead to customize a tub will make your clients happy for years to come."
To make the bathware selection easier, Davis recommends you approach your clients with a checklist of questions and ideas to gauge their interest in different options.
Start with these questions:
1. Are you interested in a one- or two-person tub?
2. Would you like a whirlpool with a variable speed motor so you can select different settings, or are you comfortable having just one average speed?
3. Are you looking for adjustable jets where you can control the volume of water coming out onto specific areas of the body?
4. Would you like to enhance your bathing experience with chromatherapy mood lighting?
5. Are you interested in having in-line heaters that will keep the bath water warm no matter how long you soak?
Plan for the Future
Finally, make sure to help your clients look ahead to their future needs. Ask the important question: is there anyone in the household who now needs, or potentially will need in the future, a walk-in tub?
If the answer is yes, that doesn't mean a comfortable bathing experience is out of the question. Manufacturers offer some great options for easy-access tubs. For example, Mansfield Plumbing has eight versions of their popular Restore walk-in tub with an easy-access step-in feature and a water-tight swing-in hinged door.
The tubs are taller than standard bathtubs and feature a sculpted 17-inch-high ADA compliant seat, allowing the bather to remain in an upright position while being completely submerged in water. Plus, Restore tubs come in a selection of soaker, whirlpool, air bath and combination styles. With the whirlpool tub, bathers get five multi-directional hydrotherapy jets (each with individual volume control) to help soothe aching muscles and joints. An in-line heater maintains constant water temperature, allowing bathers to relax in non-cooling water.
No matter which bathing experience your customers select, you'll be out of deep water when you work with them early in the tub selection process to choose the options that work best for their lifestyle.