When looking for a new bathroom for student accommodation, wet rooms can be incredibly tempting. They have a smaller footprint than a conventional shower cubicle and require simpler plumbing. However, there are a few downsides to wet rooms that are not often mentioned. Exploring all available options when looking for a shower to install in your student accommodation is imperative to getting the best possible option available for your situation. This is why you should consider shower pods as an alternative to both tile and tray showers and wet rooms.
If your student accommodation is carpeted, which is an extremely common design; wet rooms present one major downside- carpet damage in the event of leaks. Many wet room designs are more prone to leaks than conventional showers, unless they are strictly maintained. Even if you don’t have carpeted floors, wet rooms can still damage flooring and furniture dramatically through residual leakage that may go unnoticed for some time. This is especially true for wooden floorboards, which can rot if exposed to too much water.
The potential damage that wet rooms can cause makes them a poor choice for student accommodation, unless the architecture and plumbing infrastructure is already set up to accommodate them.
Looking at all the alternatives when deciding on the right type of shower for your student accommodation is the key to saving you stress and money. A great alternative to wet rooms can be shower pods. They reduce your budget, are easy to install, and sit flush with any flooring thanks to the adjustable feet that come as standard. Despite being slightly more expensive upfront than conventional showers, shower pods are cheaper than wet rooms. They also end up lowering your budget due to the lack of maintenance required – something we call “fit and forget”. Fitting and forgetting is a luxury that not many showers or wet rooms can offer, which is one reason shower pods are unique.
Aside from the aforementioned benefits, shower pods are also extremely easy to install. Installation can take less than a day in some cases and often is mess free due to the sectional design. In addition to this, shower pods are leak-free and pose no risk of damage to your university’s flooring.
If your university campus includes confined or irregularly shaped rooms, corner pods can be a great option. These are shower pods designed to fit snugly into a corner and can be ordered in a range of sizes. In addition to this, corner pods could potentially give your campus bathrooms more space than a wet room would provide, as corner pods are designed for buildings without much space.
With growing pressure on existing student accommodation, it can be important to reduce your university’s footprint. However, it is also important to consider the downsides of any investment you may make. Wet rooms lower your space footprint but are expensive, disruptive to install and costly to maintain. Shower pods are an easy alternative that is quick to install, adaptable to any space and allows you to save thousands of pounds in maintenance and repair over the life-cycle of the unit.
If you’re not sure which option is best for you, download our free EBook called The Shower Pods Guide. The guide includes all the information you need to make an informed decision about shower pods. Click here to download your copy.