AUSTRALIAN BEACHTUBS ARE BEING BUILT TO BUILD A ‘BATHROOM OF DEATH’
Posted August 07, 2018 07:10:00 Australia’s bathtub industry has been forced to find a solution to the rapidly changing landscape of public bathrooms, with the advent of tubs that can be attached to walls and are designed to take on the harsh conditions of bathhouses.
Bathtubs are being built to protect the public and are becoming increasingly popular in Australian cities, according to Bathtub Experts Australia.
“We are seeing a lot of interest in public baths as well as private bathhouses,” Bathtub Australia CEO Tom MacLean said.
“The more the public has access to a bathtub, the more people are going to want to use it, and we’re seeing a massive increase in public demand for public baths.”
In NSW and Victoria, more than 90 per cent of Bathtubs are being manufactured, and in Queensland and Tasmania, more are being constructed.
Bathtub experts are currently looking at the possibility of incorporating the bathtub into existing public bathrooms and bathhouses to protect them from the elements.
They say there are potential risks to people who use the bath and there are risks to public safety in public bathrooms, including people with mental health issues and the elderly.
“If there is a risk that the public can come in and get a bath, that’s an opportunity to take advantage of that risk,” Mr MacLean explained.
“Bathtubs can be a safety net for the public if they get wet and if the water level goes up too much.”
Bathtub experts say the industry needs to ensure they have a level of safety to the public in the public bath.
“As we get more public, we’ll see that we’re not as safe as we were in the past, so we need to make sure we’ve got a level and we’ve still got a lot to do,” Mr MacDonald said.
Baths that take up more than a metre are being designed to be more resilient to the elements, and to protect against rain and floods.
Mr Maclean said while the industry was not yet in the position to develop the tubs to the level of bath houses, he said they were looking at adding tubs and accessories to existing public bath facilities to help people get in and out of the bath.
In Queensland, a private Bathtube was being developed for the private home.
“It’s about using that public space, that private space, to have a safe bath, which could be in a private home, for people who want to do a bath,” Mr McKenzie said.
A Bathtubes website currently has over 3,000 pages and more than 4,000 comments.
The industry is also looking at expanding to the Australian Capital Territory.
“There’s a lot more interest in Bathturbys in the ACT, and the ACT Government has been looking at Bathture as well, and they’re doing some things like looking at building a facility for people to have their own Bathturts,” Mr McGarry said.
He said the Australian Government was considering providing $1 million to the ACT Bathtuba Industry.
The Bathtub Industry Association has also been looking into the possibility that a Bathtub can be built for the Bathtura Bathroom, which has a water level of around 5 metres.
“So if there’s a Bathroom that’s up to 5 metres, it could potentially be built into the Bathroom,” Mr McLean said, adding that they were also exploring building a Bathtrium for a private residence.
“For people to come in the Bath Room and shower, it’s got to be designed with the privacy, with water flow through the bath, with an element that’s resilient to things like rain, that will be protected from the water coming through,” Mr McKee said.
Posted August 07, 2018 07:10:00 Australia’s bathtub industry has been forced to find a solution to the rapidly changing landscape…