American Standard Walk-in Baths Reviews

I just turned 90 and at my age, I just can't keep stepping over that bathtub and taking a shower. So, I got the walk-in tub. And whoever moves into my house is gonna enjoy that. I lived in East Peoria and I had this, and when I got ready to sell the house, that's what sold the house. So, I sold the house the same day they listed it. The Realtor told me that the lady had arthritis really bad and that they had different people going on until about 7 o'clock that night looking at the house. At about noon, she called me and said these people offered me $5,000 more for the house because the house was too nice to go for what I was asking.

I am very satisfied with the walk-in tub. It was gonna cost me but at least I can take a shower every day. I've got my money's worth. The first time I had it, I filled it up and that night, I was in the living room and I kept hearing this stuff would kick on and run and it scared me to death. Finally, I called the company the next day and I asked what that was. They told me that it kicks in because it takes all the water on the pipes. So now, I just shut the door. The walk-in tub seems like it's slow to fill up. I get in there and it'll fill up the bottom, where your legs are. I put some soap on my spongy thing that I use and it didn't look like a lot. So, I put more on there. And by the time the tub filled up, I had so many bubbles that you couldn't even find me and it was just going over the side of the tub. I learned that lesson. Once the jets kick in, look out.

I was hoping it would go fast to get in it, but I had to wait a day for it to cure. They left the original wall and they fixed it because there was a shower unit. They put a hole up there because they thought I wanted it but I didn't. I just wanted the handheld one. So, they plugged up the hole with something and you can't even tell. It's a little round silver thing, and it looks like it belongs there. They had to take off the door because it wouldn't fit in. That was one thing that pissed me off about the guy that came out. He took measurements and everything of the tub area and he didn't include how wide the door was. So, the installers had to take it off and some of the moldings but they put it back and you can't even tell. It was nice.

The installation guys were nice. They put the pad down so they wouldn't track any of the dirt in. It went smoothly. As far as the presentation, I called them and told them that I was looking for that. So, they came out and the lady kept talking to me. The guy came and took the measurements, and he left me a pamphlet and said if I wanted to change my mind, I could call.

I already knew I wanted the tub. My favorite feature are the jets. The only part I don't like about it is I have to get a wall heater because it's cold in there. So, you have to sit in the cold for a little while, while the water fills. After that, it's really nice. The walk-in tub came with the grab bars and the inside grab bar. I didn't get any extra ones. He left me with some safety strips for the inside of the tub because it gets slippery in there.

When the installer put it in, we joked about how expensive it was. I'm a 71-year-old woman who lives by herself and I was fussing about how much it cost. But he said that it's a whole lot cheaper than a hip replacement. He had such a good attitude about it and he knew I'm obviously not broke or I wouldn't be putting it in. Also, out of the two companies that I compared, I liked that American Standard had a choice. They had two levels and what I needed was $5,000 cheaper than the other company. So, it was priced fairly for what they have to do.

Since I had good luck with them the first time, I called them again. And now, I have a shower in one bathroom and a tub in the other. The price was right and the people that I talked to on the phone were awesome. The people that showed up here were awesome, too. The same guy that put in my shower called and set up the appointment. Also, the installation was done a week sooner than they thought they were going to. Somebody canceled and they got my appointment in sooner. We had a good working relationship. He even remembered that I lived in Rusk, I live on the corner, I've got a big nasty orange cat, and that my name is Brenda.

The men who were with him were excellent, too. They had to cut my door out to make it bigger and said that we'd probably have to paint or do something after. And that would be my responsibility. I have a daughter-in-law who sees every flaw and after they put it back together, she could not even tell that they had cut it out. They also cleaned up when they left and I was very happy.

I've told everybody I know that if they need a walk-in bath, they need to call American Standard. I don't use the tub every single day but when I get in it, I love it. I have a granddaughter who comes to my house just to take a bath and my sister comes to visit quite regularly, and she loves it. If she could take it out and take it home, she would. My favorite feature is that it stays warm for a long time and it's well insulated. It fills and drains quickly, too. And it feels awesome when you're in it. American Standard's reps also called later and checked on me. They sent me questionnaires, too.

The installer came a week earlier to do a walkthrough and make sure any of my questions were answered and also to understand if there were going to be any issues, which there were a couple. One included that I had two flights of steps and the installer did it by himself. Although, after he saw my house, he decided he needed to have some help getting the tub into the house. He had some help for that part. He showed up when he said he was going to be there and left approximately when he said he was going to leave. I was very satisfied mostly with the installation.

Along with the installation of the walk-in tub, they had a promotional deal where they gave me a free bidet. I would never have ordered a bidet, but I had some medical issues and it has been wonderful. I love the bidet. But when the installer was done with the installation, I had somebody go under the house checking on a issue that he had identified and the person I had determined that the bidet was leaking. I had several text messages back and forth to the installer, at which point I got frustrated. It was very clear that the installer was not going to fix his installation. Also, I called the maintenance person and asked them if I needed a bigger water heater or not but they could not advise regarding water heaters because they were afraid of liability. I found out that the water heater I had was not the recommended size. I got a slightly bigger water heater.

They had to put in a special circuit for the walk-in tub for electrical. I connected the electrician to the installer and the installer was so impressed with the electrician that he offered to work with the electrician for future installs. The electrician was also very happy with how things had gone and gave me some free service as a result of me making that connection. The whole thing was very positive and worked exactly as I had been told it would work.

The other thing is that the chrome bar on the right really is somewhat useless. It's not in a very good place to put any pressure on to pull yourself up. Aside from that, the handle for the spray is very upright. It comes out of a little hole and there's this handle with a sprayer on it and it's difficult to maneuver that. If you're bending over and you want to wash your hair, it's hard to get an angle. It would be nice if the sprayer was one that had an articulated one where you could move it around, left and round, and up and down.

Other than that, the installation went great. We have an interior townhome and our electric panel is on the outside of the wall for the building next to us. So, in order to wire this thing in, the installers had to go up the side of the garage, across the roof, all the way across our townhome, then down into the bathroom. It was a major install and it wasn't convenient at all. I also had some questions as to whether they could even do it. But the installing crew was excellent and I was very pleased with them. They were neat and courteous. They got things done all in a day, which I thought was amazing considering the electrical things. All in all, the tub is lovely and very relaxing. It doesn't take long to fill and it's easy to empty. It's easy to clean, too.

Before we had our American Standard tub, I could not get into or out of my bathtub. So, it's made it much easier to sit down and be able to relax and enjoy a tub. Using a shower is something of an occasion because I have to hold on to a rail in order to keep myself upright. And so, this is really great. All in all, American Standard is a firm and old company that makes great plumbing supplies.

The installation was awesome. There were three of them. One did the electrical and they had one guy that had to cut the doorway to get the tub in the house. They had a main guy who was in charge of the whole thing, but he did a lot of the work, too. It was seamless. You could tell the crew had been experienced. The guy set it up originally then they called me a couple of weeks later and said they needed to do it differently and make it a garden tub. When the construction people came out, they said, "No, they don't need to do that. We'll put it in the way the old one was on the wall." I'm enjoying the tub. The way everything is made from the plumbing to the fixture, the tub is top-of-the-line which should be 'cause the price is accordingly. The jets could be a little more powerful but there's enough of them.