Sinks generally have faucets, usually cold and hot, and a drain. When a sink becomes stopped-up or clogged, a person will often resort to use of chemical drain cleaner or a plunger.
Electrical appliances, such as lights, heaters and heated towel rails generally need to be installed as fixtures, with permanent connections rather than plugs and sockets. This minimizes the risk of electric shock.
A bathroom is a room that may have different functions depending on the cultural context it is used in.
Jacuzzi is a company producing whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The trademarked Jacuzzi name is commonly misused to refer to any bath with water jets, and can thus be considered a genericized trademark. Sometimes spas and hot tubs are also mistakenly referred to as Jacuzzis.
Today there are a wide variety of sauna options. Heat sources include wood, electricity, gas and other more unconventional methods such as solar power. There are wet saunas, dry saunas, smoke saunas, steam saunas, and those that work with infrared waves as described above.
The design of a bathroom must account for the use of both hot and cold water, in significant quantities, for cleaning the human body. The water is also used for solid and liquid human waste to a sewer or septic tank. Water may be splashed on the walls and floor, and hot humid air may cause condensation on cold surfaces.
Jacuzzis are commonly found in bathrooms in residential homes, hotels and aboard cruise ships and have become popular in high-end spas around the world. Jacuzzi products are distributed in about 60 countries.
Steam showers have become a more common bathroom fixture in recent years, primarily due to technical innovations resulting in lower costs, along with an overall increase in the appearance of luxury spa products in the bathrooms of middle and high income families.
En-suite (French for in room) refers to a bathroom attached to a bedroom, or shared among several bedrooms. If it is attached to a master bedroom it is known as a master bathroom.
Modern bathtubs encompass an overflow and waste and may or may not have taps mounted on them. They may be built-in or free standing or sometimes sunken.
In the UK you can buy bathroom fixtures and accessories from Plumbworld, Cotswold Co and Roper Rhodes.
Ground-fault circuit interruptor electrical sockets can reduce the risk of electric shock, and are required for bathroom socket installation by electrical and building codes in the United States and Canada. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, only special sockets suitable for electric shavers are permitted in bathrooms.
A Belfast sink is a large ceramic sink with a traditional appearance, often set under work surfaces. An automatic sink is a sink fitted in a public restroom that is motion-sensored and detects motion beneath its surface.
Bathrooms can also be a source of decorative inspiration. One can easily decorate the bathroom by choosing shower curtains or cubicles to match a theme.
A walk in bathtub differs from a conventional bathtub in that not only is it smaller and deeper, but it also has an inward-opening or outward opening door which is self- sealing. Those with inward swing doors may require more water to fill as the tub must be larger to accommodate the door. An inward opening door may be considered a disadvantage due to the fact that emergency access is impossible since the pressure of the water on the door holds it closed.