When choosing a shower for your home, you should select the model that best serves your needs. Two of the most popular shower types are step-in and walk-in showers. Though these models sound similar, they have many fundamental differences that can impact how you use them. When it comes to choosing a walk-in vs. step-in shower, consider the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Walk-In Shower Pros and Cons
Walk-in showers don’t need a door and are free of curtains and a bathtub, so you can enter them without navigating any steps or obstacles. These modern showers can be partially enclosed with half walls and panes of glass or totally open with no surrounding barriers, offering a unique bathing experience.
Pros
Because walk-in showers are modern and popular with current homeowners, they come with many benefits:
- Spacious: Walk-in showers create an open and expansive space since they don’t require curtains or walls.
- Accessible: Walk-in showers don’t have any hazardous curbs or steps to tread over, making them highly accessible for those with mobility challenges.
- High-tech: Many walk-in showers feature a multiple nozzle system that sprays users from all sides.
- Easy to clean: These showers are easier to clean than standard step-in showers. Walk-in showers typically contain tile, which doesn’t lock in dirt as easily, plus they completely eliminate the risk of moldy shower curtains.
- Versatile: You can install a walk-in shower in any bathroom, regardless of size.
Cons
Walk-in showers also come with a few downsides:
- More expensive: Walk-in showers are more expensive than standard models.
- Less privacy: Without curtains or walls, these showers offer less privacy to the user.
- Harder to bathe children: It’s generally easier to clean children in bathtubs than open showers.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Step-In Showers
Step-in showers are the traditional models you see in most residential areas. These showers typically have a built-in tub to step into and are surrounded by curtains or walls.
Pros
Consider the advantages of owning a step-in shower:
- Higher resale value: Homes with at least one standard step-in shower typically have a higher resale value than those that don’t.
- Less expensive: Standard showers are less costly to install than walk-ins. Plus, most homes are already equipped with step-in showers, so you won’t have to spend money to install one.
- Easy to bathe children: You can seamlessly soak your kids in the tub of your step-in shower.
- More privacy: Some individuals feel more secure when surrounded by walls or curtains in step-in showers.
Cons
Like walk-in showers, traditional showers also have their disadvantages:
- Harder to clean: Step-in showers typically have porcelain tubs that collect grime and can be difficult to clean.
- Not accessible: Traditional showers have bulky and hazardous steps that are difficult to navigate for those with mobility issues.
- Difficult to install: Step-in showers are not conducive to all bathroom shapes and sizes, making them more challenging to install.
- Cramped space: Walls and curtains can create a tighter area.
- Less innovative: Standard showers lack high-tech features that can enhance your showering experience, such as multiple nozzles.
Install Your Custom Shower Door at Garrety Glass
For the best shower glass installations on the market, choose Garrety Glass. We have a wide range of shower enclosure types and finish options at the most affordable prices to suit the needs of any individual.
Contact us to learn more about our services.