I am 77 and DH is 82. We are fast becoming old people who stumble a lot. He put a rod near the end of the bathtub to aid us in getting into and out of the shower. For the past few months, I have noticed that we both get our toes entangled in the step out rugs, especially at night. So I took all my rugs out of the bathroom.
When we shower, we just spread another bath towel and toss them all in the wash when we finish. It sounds odd especially if you happen to be a "pretty bathroom freak" such as I. I feel safer wandering around at night now that we have no rugs anywhere in our house. Our heating ducts run under the house with floor registers in every room so our feet don't get cold.
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Instead of using bath rugs that are hard to keep clean, I use cheap small towels to step out of the tub on. I just replace it daily.
To keep your bath mat from molding, hang it on a towel rack. Do this as soon as you get out of bath or shower.
This is a tip for all the golfers out there. Try using a bath mat to sit on when you are riding a golf power cart. The rubber backing will keep the mat in place and stop the mat from sliding around/off the seat.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What do you use to catch the water when you step out of the bathtub or shower? Do you have a bath mat (small rug which is costly) or towel?
Onesummer
I use a bathmat sometimes, depends on how cheap. But honestly most of my "bathmats" are thick handtowels I get at TJ Maxx for cheaper than a real "bathmat", they match the decor, do the job and are cheaper. How much better can you get than that!
These handtowels are the size of a small country sometimes, nothing I'd be able to keep on the handle of my towel hook. So I use Target, Mervyn's, WalMart (higher WalMart brands) for my handtowels. they are lighter and smaller and do the job, I have lots of them because I was them often. And the "luxury" handtowels for bathmats.
Hope that helps!
I use bathmats, the kind that are like thick towels.
I do use handtowels sometimes if I'm out of laundry!
I also get them at discount stores like Target, Marshalls, etc.
I use a large wicker place mat in front of the shower. We have indoor/outdoor carpet in our bathroom. I found a large wicker place mat soaks up water, and is not hard to stand on either.
Bath mats don't have to be costly; plain ones are like $7 at Wal-mart or Target.
I have 2 matching rugs that I bought at the local Goodwill store. Rugs do NOT have to be costly!
I don't need a bathmat because I stand IN the bathtub to dry off. I start at the top and dry myself off ending with one foot and then step over the tub and then dry the other foot and over the tub.
I agree whith Cindy S. We do exacly the same thing.. dry off while your still in the tub.. dry your feet last as you are stepping out and there will be no worries about wet floors/towells :)
I USE BATH MATS, I do dry off IN the shower, however, that does not mean I can get the rest of the household to do so!! I do this mainly because I can NOT stand to feel a wet floor or mat under my feet in the bath room..it just feels dirty to me!! I know, weird
Me??? Neither...but not for the reasons Cindy S or Kimmcg gave. I use whatever clothes I just took off as my "floormat". For example, if I'm showering in the morning when I wake up, I put my dirty nightgown down on the floor to step on when I get out of the shower.
God Bless,
Sheila in Titusville, FL
I saved all my old handtowels, cut them into a feet design and sew 2 pcs together and arranged them on the floor that looks footsteps , I used them 2-3 times before I will throw them away.Try it, they are pretty accent on the floor.
We dry off inside the tub, but have a bath mat on the floor to step on. Towels are dangerous as they lack the rubberized backing to keep them from slipping. Most accidents happen in the home and about 60 % of home accidents happen in the bathroom. Even auto accidents happen more often within a quarter mile of your own home. (lol) So for those reasons, I'd stick with a bath mat or small rug with rubber backing. I recently bought one for $4 at Big Lots.
I use the bathmats that are like a heavy towel and I buy them when they're on sale.
I dry myself off in the tub or shower as much as possible but step out and onto the mat to dry my feet (where I won't lose my balance and slip in the tub or shower).
I am using the same set of bathmats we got for a wedding gift 5 years ago.
They started out white, but when we moved 2 years ago, the new bathroom seemed like it would look better with off-white mats, so I dyed them using tea.
I use a towel to wrap around me and step out onto an old towel on top of the rug, and I sit on the toilet to air dry. A pet Peve... I hate to walk on a wet rug in my socks.
Any ideas on a simple way to hang my tub mat so it can dry and stay clean?
By Lorraine from Bristol, CT
When I had a tub I would pick the mat up and shake it out really good into the tub, and then lay it over the edge of the tub. Now I have a walk in shower that the bottom is so texturized nothing sticks to the bottom of it.
Install another shower curtain rod somewhere maybe in the middle of your shower (width-wise) and then use a skirt hanger to hang it centered over the tub. I actually use a second shower rod that I thrifted as another towel rod, but I think it would work for your purpose.
Perhaps a towel rail mounted high on the wall that you could drape the mat over between uses?
Just hang it over the tub edge, shower curtain rod or top of the shower door if you have glass doors.
Hi - shake mat and then I use a wide skirt hanger or a dress hanger that has clips for hanging a skirt; clip on end of bath mat and hang over the shower extension. If your bath extension does not work (curved or) then hang over rod or door frame.
Everyone needs to dry their bath mat to prevent mildew.
I live in Colorado where the air is pretty dry most of the time. I used to just shake out the mat and hang it on the shower wall since the suction cups hold it up there.
I'm with cybergrannie - only I think a skirt hanger is too flimsy for most tub mats, so I would get one of those real heavy-duty wooden hangers with heavy duty clothes pins. You can either clip it up or just hang over the hanger rod. When it is dry, spray with Lysol or some bacteria-deterrant. Bath mats are one way to get a fungus.
I use plastic pant hangers from Walmart. Clip the mat onto the hanger and hang it over your shower head.
I have a bath mat with the suction cups on the bottom. Is there any way to keep this from growing mold? After every shower, I hang the mat up to dry. I leave the shower curtain open for a while to let the air circulate. I soak it in bleach and hot water every so often. This takes care of it for a little while, but the mold is back within a week. Does anyone have a solution for this?
One solution would be to take the mat and scrub it with hot water and bleach. I'd add a splash of bleach to a bucket of hot water and use a scrub brush to clean it good. Be sure to wear your gloves, that stuff will eat your skin! I would use the bleach sparingly, it does go a long way. I know when my shower is gross, bleach water will take off all that ick and leave it nice and white. Hope that helps you out. :)
I would give it a spritz of lysol spray after it has dried off then maybe you wouldn't have to do the bleach cleaning as often. You could try Tilex mold and mildew remover, I use this in my shower and it does work well, but the fumes are terribly strong.
Possibly your bath area needs a stronger vent to eliminate humidity. Get the most powerful one you can afford.
You could try that cleaner that is made to spritz the shower after you are done and see if that works. Good luck!
I use Tilex Mold & Mildew spray. I think it is also used for soap scum too. I spray my bath mat down let it set for a bit then rinse. Every day I hang it to dry. I usually do it every 2 weeks to keep up with it.
Rather than using a bathmat, try using an anti-slip treatment. I bought InvisaTread online and now we threw away the rubber mat. Safer tub, no worries of mold.
I turn mine suction cup up in the tub with hot water and some bleach. The trick later is to drain the mat after each use.
