One of the design features I'm most excited about in my little house is the entrance through the shower. Through the shower? you ask. Yes. Where I now live, most people who visit me have to go take a shower, wash their hair, scrub down with baking soda and then change into house clothing that I provide in order to visit with me. The chemicals in their laundry and personal products make me really sick. Having the entrance to my house be a kind of decontamination chamber makes a lot of sense. It would be simple, though not cheap, to make it a stainless steel shower stall, with lockers built into one side, and a window into my greenhouse on the other.
My problem is that I want the space to do multiple things and I'm not sure how to make it work.
This is the entrance to my home. It's important to me that it be beautiful and inviting. I am already committing a Feng Shui felony by having my front door face the bathroom, although I have some ideas about how to remedy that. But a soap scum covered steel tunnel isn't very appealing.
In a space with a lot of water, the most critical thing is preventing mold and bacteria from cohabiting with me. So the materials need to be waterproof and easy to clean. Tile is lovely, but the grout takes a lot of care to stay mildew free, and grouts and caulks that have added mold retardants are toxic. Plus the constant vibration of travel will make it crack. Most people get shower pans that are made of resins and other synthetics, but those aren't a good option for me. Stone is hard to maintain well. Most bathroom stone has to be sealed to prevent it becoming porpus over time. If it's super polished, it's dangerously slippery. If it's rough, it hosts mold.
So I'm inviting you all to help me figure this out.
I need a shower/bathroom floor that is:
My problem is that I want the space to do multiple things and I'm not sure how to make it work.
This is the entrance to my home. It's important to me that it be beautiful and inviting. I am already committing a Feng Shui felony by having my front door face the bathroom, although I have some ideas about how to remedy that. But a soap scum covered steel tunnel isn't very appealing.
In a space with a lot of water, the most critical thing is preventing mold and bacteria from cohabiting with me. So the materials need to be waterproof and easy to clean. Tile is lovely, but the grout takes a lot of care to stay mildew free, and grouts and caulks that have added mold retardants are toxic. Plus the constant vibration of travel will make it crack. Most people get shower pans that are made of resins and other synthetics, but those aren't a good option for me. Stone is hard to maintain well. Most bathroom stone has to be sealed to prevent it becoming porpus over time. If it's super polished, it's dangerously slippery. If it's rough, it hosts mold.
So I'm inviting you all to help me figure this out.
I need a shower/bathroom floor that is:
- Non-toxic
- Beautiful
- Mold resistant
- Easy to clean
- Easy to maintain
- Durable
- Resistant to vibration damage
- Not ridiculously expensive
- Not dangerously slick
- and that doesn't require toxic adhesives or finishes.
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