I recently read the 9 glorious tubs post, and found myself drooling… but sad.My apartment’s bathtub is not conducive to a relaxing soak. The back wall of the tub goes straight up at a ninety-degree angle, with a little ledge before the wall. It’s too steep an angle for me to relax against, and the ledge gets in the way of even sitting straight up comfortably!
I’m imagining there must be some kind of wedge shaped bathtub pillow to make the slope a little more gradual, and provide a headrest, but I haven’t been able to find anything like this. Help, please? -Hanna
9 glorious tubs: Draw yourself a fantasy bath and stay a while
BATHS ARE THE BEST! The years I spent living in dorms I was much more upset about my lack of bathtub than about my inability... Read more
Oof, a straight-backed tub? Sounds so… not relaxing at all.
We feel your pain!
We reached out to Offbeat Home readers who’ve dealt with similar issues and came up with a few affordable solutions… because we all want a more comfortable bathtub!
So here are two cheap ways to make your bathtub more comfortable:
Option 1: Inflatable Beach Chair ($23)
From Offbeat Home reader Alissa:
I use one of these Inflatable Beach Chairs to make my bathtub more comfortable! Cheap and works well. I may even try filling one with sand in the bottom to help keep in place, since I have 2. Of course, laying on the flat piece works too!
Hooray for this brilliant and affordable idea. You can also try searching around for bath pillows — they come in a ton of sizes and shapes that you might not expect.
Option 2: Air Wedge Pillow ($23)
These air wedges are meant for sleeping, but can easily be used in the tub.
Any other ideas? What’s worked for you? Leave a comment!
I get it, totally, my parents bath is like that, it sucks. Have you tried going to a matress/ rubber shop? I don’t mean a furniture store that sells beds and pillows and sheets and stuff but a speciality rubber store. We have one here in the town I live in, in Australia. I measured how deep the bath was and how far out I wanted the wedge to come in then went to the shop told them the size and we went through found the rubber/ foam/ pillow/ waterproofy stuff that was right and they cut it. All for about $20.
If not you could try a small pool floaty maybe? A kids one that will fit under your back?
This sounds perfect. One question, does it float? I want to be submerged, not above the water.
I found a fix for me. There are balance pillow fitness products that some people use es squirm pillows for elementary students. Mine is round about 12 inch diameter and the semi air filled nature makes it float use yr back at 40 to 60 degrees angle. Trap it user the lowest part of ribs with body weight. Sorry this window is jumbling my sentences but I think u can get my drift. The brand is harbinger fitness.
yes the bottom edge can be held down with your hip and the rest floats gradually making 45 degree behind shoulders but hold the fort. I found a better way. I had tried the bath pillow and a light beach chair. I cut the seat to get an extra 5 inches of me under water. Pillow bad ,chair ok. I folded the chair while in the tub to have room to wet hair. I leaned back on the folded beach chair and voila 45 degree angle. I stuck the useless bath pillow neck bump through an opening in the folded beach chair and put the rail of the beach chair on the back ledge of the bath tub and sheer heaven. Wish I could attach a photo. So experiment with these things and I think you will have a fast drying solution. Cheers Cindy
I wish I had some advice but I’ve just got my own uncomfortable tub. The back is fine, it’s just that it’s too small and shallow and so I can’t stretch out or fully relax in it – either my shoulders and torso are out of the water, or my legs are.
There’s no fix for that unfortunately 🙁
Same here– our tub is as wide as my hips and only as long as my legs from butt to toes. It’s awful and all but completely unusable. 🙁
I would recommend a search for “bath pillow”. It’s a really broad term and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are little wedges, others are full-on seats for the tub. Some even come with a massaging function.
Other alternatives might include pool or beach chairs, or a bath towel rolled into a comfy shape.
Ugh yea I feel this pain. The back is straight up with a useless ledge meant to solely annoy you. Mine is also too shallow and short to properly submerge in. To make matters worse it also has a glass door so I can’t even drape my legs over the side if all I needed was a good torso soak. I suffer from major tub envy.
I am not a fan of full-body baths, but I do love soaking my feet. So… if all else fails try to see if you can get the same relaxation with only a foot bath?
Not a cheap option, but adds the recline you might be looking for? http://www.adaptivemall.com/snugseatpenguinbathseat.html
Ha – looked PERFECT until I got to the price. As you said a pricey option. Thanks for sharing though, I had no idea something like this was available and will try to find something like it
I have the same setup. The tub is too short for me to consider adding a pillow under my back or I might as well just sit in there crosslegged. The best thing that I have found is to lay diagonally in the tub with a small towel resting under the base of my skull. Also, the overflow drain in my tub is incredibly low so I just taped over it and am careful about the water level.
I to suffer several health issues (fibromyalgia, lupus and arthritis in my hips) my tub is also 90 angle But I am also short so I slide under water! I would love a 45 degrees angle pillow for my back.
Try a hammock style pool float. I put the head support lower by rolling it up a little. The other part of the float supports your legs. The only problems, I didn’t totally submerge, it took 30 minutes to alternate running hot water and heating pans of water on the stove to have it full enough to relax.
Ugh, I’m searching for the same solution. I’m leaning towards trying to find a custom option like L mentioned, but otherwise have found nothing that would work. Have you by chance come up with anything yet?
A friend of mine ordered 6 different bath / spa pillows from amazon for me. One is as large as a mat, but it is a thin pillow. I can get so many in the tub that i am not sure i ever touch the tub. I am handicapped so getting in and out of tub is a challenge, i used to spend as little time in tub as possible because my legs would go numb. Now i am cradled in my pillows and soothed by the water. Win win.
I found a pretty good solution (I think) because I’m miserable in my new 1914 home! The internet comes up bare…unless you live in England and have a million dollars or something. A modified (by me) adjustable bath stool. It cost me $9, in the medical devices aisle. They seem to average $25 and go up to about $50. The stool seat is perfect as the backrest and you can modify the legs to fit in your tub to get the angle right. Some of them have suction feet and legs and all sorts of parts you can play with. They have to be assembled anyway, so you get to assemble how it works best for you. Available in plastic or teak. I hope it works for you.
I to suffer several health issues (fibromyalgia, lupus and arthritis in my hips) my tub is also 90 angle But I am also short so I slide under water! I would love a 45 degrees angle pillow for my back.
My problem is 3 part. Uncomfortable angle, I’m short/very large tub so I slide. By the time I have enough water to submerge myself, the water is at best warm. I’m currently experimenting with pool floats. The first was a hammock style. It worked pretty well except I couldn’t completely submerge myself. The next, I’ve received today and I’m about to try out. It’s the Air Wedge. So, wedge pillow, but the bottom is designed as a mat to sun on the beach. Fingers crossed. I’ll let you know what the verdict is. However, I suspect that there will still be one problem. It takes too much water to fill the tub. My bath will only be relaxing if it doesn’t break the bank.
Best idea ever—cheap and works well. I may even try filling one with sand in the bottom to help keep in place, since I have 2. Of course laying on the flat piece works too! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K8ANZK4?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
Woah, this is exactly what I was thinking is the back part, omg I am totally excited, I hate my tub right now and this would be so great. Thank you so much for the answer to my dilemna as I’m reading everyone else’s here.