Kathy G.
Go for it!
I have been meaning to share my thoughts about the Shower Bay portable shower since shortly after receiving it but things just careened out of control for a time and I was in no position to do anything but attend to the basic necessities. That said, I'm kind of glad I couldn't because, as our circumstances changed so radically with the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent quarantines, my feelings about the Shower Bay portable shower changed exponentially from "excellent" to "excellent X infinity..." My husband and I had brought my 94 year old mother down with us from Michigan to Alabama to avoid the bulk of the winter weather. Our home in Alabama was not super conducive to my Mom's care -- especially as it relates to the bathroom. I would not have been able to get her into the shower or the tub so all I would be able to giver her would be sponge baths. Mom just loves her daily morning showers. So we splurged and got the Shower Bay even though we were only planning to be here for a relatively short time. Well, we are now well into our third month here and there is still no end in sight. Then, on top of that, when we were home in Michigan, I had a paid caregiver come in to spell me. We had found someone down here but when she thought she may have been exposed to the virus, I decided I couldn't afford having anyone in who may result in Mom getting sick. So, I quickly became the 24/7 caregiver and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. As such, I am that much more glad we got the Shower Bay!!! Now on to our experience with the Shower Bay... It was SO easy to set up. It was up and ready to use within less than an hour. I viewed the video and was able to assemble it myself as my husband was busy with another project and I didn't want to wait. It worked like a charm. I did experience a couple of "operator errors" that resulted in a little flooding in the bathroom but they were easily remedied. At first, we had both of the hoses running water to and from the sink. However, the suction cup of the discharge hose wasn't very strong so I bought a suction shower head holder that held it wonderfully well! I strongly advise getting one. Then, I just didn't like having the discharge water going into the sink (sometimes we have a more "messy" shower than other times) and for hygiene reasons, I just didn't like the dirty water going into the sink not to mention that our bathroom sink is pretty shallow so the dirty water would slosh out sometimes. The solution for that was to run the discharge line directly into our shower. The suction shower head holder worked well there and we had enough line to reach the shower. This setup has worked perfectly! My other "tweak" was to get a rubber backed area rug to place under the ramp and have it extend past the ramp. As I am going back and forth to turn the water on/off or to adjust the temperature, I can wipe my feet so I don't slip on the floor. You gotta take care of the caregiver too! And Mom just LOVES her shower. In fact, we are thinking about taking it back with us to Michigan when we go because it is actually safer than her current walk-in shower there. And as far as Mom's experience? Mom and I ask "Alexa" (her Echo Dot) to play Doris Day songs and we sing (and I dance) while we get her ready for the day. My favorite part, though, is how she will just close her eyes and sigh deeply or say, "Mmmmmm..." while we run the warm water over her arthritic shoulders. It is just music to my ears. In fact, she said, "It (Shower Bay) is humanizing..." And I agree. Being able to take a shower and feel safe and comfortable is something we all pretty much take for granted but, for some folks, it is taken off the table. This gives that back. I am so very grateful and I think of the creators many times while I'm giving Mom her shower. If you're on the edge about whether or not this will work, I encourage you to go for it. It was so worth it to us. God bless you.