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Portable Bathtubs for Every Home Without a Tub

Fits the Shower. Drains Out. Folds Away.

Portable bathtubs for renters with a shower-only bathroom, RV, van and tiny-home owners, and caregivers who bathe someone at home. Pick the type that suits your space and the person bathing, then measure the shower before you buy.

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A collapsible portable bathtub with grey-blue walls on a white folding frame, filled with water inside the walk-in shower of a small tiled bathroom, its drain hose running to the shower drain and a rolled padded lid at one end.
A collapsible tub set up in a walk-in shower. The hose at the base runs straight to the shower drain.

Four kinds of portable bathtub

They differ in how you sit, how they pack away and how much work they take to set up. Sizes vary too much from one model to the next to quote typical figures, so measure your space and read each listing's dimensions.

How the four types of portable bathtub compare
TypeHow you batheBetween usesSetup
FoldableHow you bathe: Sitting, knees bentBetween uses: Folds into a flat panelSetup: Unfold and lock the frame
InflatableHow you bathe: Sitting or recliningBetween uses: Rolls up when deflatedSetup: Inflate with a pump
Tall soakingHow you bathe: Sitting upright, deepBetween uses: Poles out, wall foldsSetup: Fit the poles and wall
Bed bathHow you bathe: Lying down in bedBetween uses: Rolls up when deflatedSetup: Inflate on the bed
A collapsible portable bathtub folded flat and standing on its edge in a hallway closet, next to towels, a mop and a coiled drain hose on a hook.
Folded flat, a collapsible tub stands in a closet with its drain hose hung beside it.

Foldable and collapsible tubs

A rigid plastic rim and base sit on a folding frame, and the soft walls between them, usually TPE or PVC, collapse like a concertina. Unfolded, it stands on its own in the shower. Folded, it is a flat panel that slides behind a door or into a closet. You sit in it with your knees bent, a bit like a deep, short bathtub. Many come with a padded lid that keeps the heat in, and a drain plug or valve at the base.

Good for

  • Firm enough to lean back on
  • Stores flat, with nothing to inflate

Watch for

  • Measure the unfolded length against the inside of your shower
  • Check the maker's maximum load rating
  • Folding joints need to be dry before you store it
A pale grey inflatable bathtub with ribbed air chambers, half full of water in a tiled shower, with a drain plug on its side and a hand pump on a bath mat outside.
An inflatable tub in a tiled shower, with its drain plug on the side and the hand pump outside on a dry mat.

Inflatable tubs

Built from layered PVC air chambers that you blow up with a hand, foot or electric pump. The air-filled sides are soft to lean against and, once deflated, the tub rolls up small enough for a drawer or a car trunk. The trade-offs are the time it takes to inflate and deflate, and the risk of a puncture or a slow leak at a valve.

Good for

  • Packs down small
  • Soft, padded sides
  • Light to carry when empty

Watch for

  • Check valves and seams before each fill, and keep the repair patch
  • Soft sides give less support when you stand up
A tall round foldable soaking tub with a charcoal grey wall held by white plastic poles, filled with water and half covered by a padded lid, in the corner of a wood-panelled tiny-house bathroom.
A tall round soaking tub in a tiny-house bathroom. The padded lid sits half open on top.

Tall soaking tubs

Round, narrow and deep, these are made for sitting upright with the water up to your shoulders, in the way of a Japanese soaking tub. A ring of poles holds up a laminated PVC or fabric wall, so the tub takes up little floor space for the depth it gives. They are also sold as cold-plunge tubs. The high wall is the catch: getting in means a high step over, which matters for anyone unsteady on their feet.

Good for

  • The deepest soak for the floor space it takes
  • Fits a corner of a room with no shower

Watch for

  • A high step in and out
  • More water to heat and to drain
  • More weight on a small patch of floor
An empty inflatable bed bathing basin with a raised headrest laid on a home care bed, its drain hose running into a bucket, with a water container, hand shower and folded towels on a bedside table.
An inflatable bed bath on a home care bed. The drain hose runs to a bucket on the floor; water comes from the container beside it.

Bathing systems for care at home

For someone who cannot get into a tub or a shower, caregivers use an inflatable bed bath. It is a shallow basin with a raised headrest that is blown up on the bed itself, with the person lying in it. Warm water comes from a container and hand shower, and a drain hose at the side carries the used water to a bucket on the floor. Smaller inflatable basins do the same job for washing hair in bed.

Good for

  • Bathes someone without moving them from the bed
  • Drains through a hose, away from the bed
  • Folds small between uses

Watch for

  • Setup is easier with two people, and the mattress needs a waterproof sheet
  • Keep the room warm and the person covered

This guide is about tubs for adults. Baby bath tubs are a different product, made to their own federal safety standard, and are not covered here.

Who uses a portable bathtub

Renters with a shower-only bathroom
Many apartments have a walk-in shower and no tub. A portable tub sets up inside the shower, drains into the shower drain and folds away, with no work on the building and nothing to leave behind when you move out.
RVs, vans and tiny homes
Small bathrooms on wheels rarely have room for a tub. A collapsible or inflatable one fits in the shower pan when you want a bath and stores flat when you travel. Check its capacity against your fresh and grey water tanks before you fill it.
Caregivers and home health
Caregivers use bed baths and inflatable basins to wash someone who is bed-bound, and low portable tubs in a walk-in shower for someone who can sit but cannot step into a full bath.
Small bathrooms
When a bathroom was remodeled with a shower in place of the tub, a portable tub brings the bath back for the evenings you want one, without giving up the floor space every day.
Soaking and recovery
Some people want a long warm soak after work or sport. Others fill the same tub with cold water as a plunge. Either way, a lid keeps the water at temperature longer.
A collapsible portable bathtub with grey walls on a white frame standing in the molded shower pan of a small RV bathroom, beside the toilet with a folded towel on the lid.
In an RV, the tub stands in the shower pan and folds flat for the road.

Measure the shower, then choose the tub

Most portable tubs go in a walk-in shower, so the shower decides what fits. Take five measurements with a tape before you look at a single listing.

Plan of a shower stall with a portable tub inside, showing the inside length A, inside width B, the door opening C, the curb height D in a side view, and the drain position E.tub walloutsideshower floorABCDE

Top: the shower from above, with the tub drawn in place and its drain valve facing the floor drain. Bottom: the same shower from the side. You step over the curb, then over the tub wall.

  • A: Inside length

    Wall to wall at floor level, inside the curb or tray lip. This has to be longer than the tub's unfolded length.

  • B: Inside width

    The other way across, at floor level. Leave room for the frame's feet.

  • C: Door or curtain opening

    If you set the tub up outside and carry it in, the opening has to clear its width. If not, check there is room to unfold it inside.

  • D: Curb height

    The lip at the shower entrance. You step over it first and then over the tub wall, so a high curb and a tall tub mean two high steps.

  • E: Drain position

    Where the drain sits decides which end of the tub the valve and hose should face.

What to compare

Fit in the shower footprint

Measure the shower first and compare it with the tub's unfolded length, width and frame. A tub that only just fits leaves no room to step in.

Height and depth

A taller wall gives deeper water, and a higher step to get in. For anyone unsteady on their feet, compare the step-in height before the depth.

Material

Foldables use soft TPE or PVC walls on a plastic frame. Inflatables use layered PVC. Tall soaking tubs use laminated PVC or fabric on poles. Check what the maker says about hot water limits.

Drain and hose

Look for a valve at the base you can open and close, and a hose long enough to reach your drain. A plug with no hose means bailing out or tipping a heavy tub.

Lid or insulation cover

A padded cover over the top slows heat loss for a long soak, and keeps a filled tub covered between uses.

Weight and stability

Check the empty weight if you will carry it, and the maker's maximum load. The frame should sit flat with every foot on the floor.

Floor protection

Water weighs about 8.34 pounds per US gallon, so every 10 gallons adds roughly 83 pounds before anyone gets in. Set the tub in the shower where spills can drain, and ask before using one on an upper floor, a deck or in an RV.

Water volume and your water heater

Look up your heater's first hour rating, the gallons of hot water it can supply in an hour starting from a full tank. A big tub filled mostly with hot water can use up a small heater before it is full.

Safety for older users

Look at the step-in height, a non-slip surface inside and outside the tub, grab bars, and whether the person can get out without help. If they cannot, someone should be with them.

Setting up, draining and putting it away

The same six steps every time, from the first fill to folding it away dry.

The drain valve at the base of a grey collapsible bathtub on a tiled shower floor, with a clear hose carrying water from the valve into a stainless steel floor drain.
Draining: a clear hose from the valve at the base to the shower drain.

  1. Set it up where it can drain

    Stand the tub in the shower on a flat floor, with the drain valve at the end nearest the shower drain. Lock every part of the frame and check it does not rock.

  2. Close the drain and fill

    Close the valve or push in the plug, then fill from the shower head or a hose.

  3. Check the temperature

    Check the water with an accurate thermometer before anyone gets in. The CPSC gives the same advice for hot tubs.

  4. Drain it after the bath

    Run the hose from the valve into the drain and open it. Empty the tub as soon as the bath is over, so no filled tub is left standing.

  5. Rinse and clean

    Rinse out soap and hair, then wipe the walls with a mild cleaner the maker allows. Clean the valve and the folds, where water sits longest.

  6. Dry it before you fold it

    Leave it open to dry, with the lid off. The EPA says damp materials dried within 24 to 48 hours will not grow mold in most cases. Fold or deflate it only once it is fully dry.

Water temperature and bathing safety

A portable tub is filled from the tap rather than heated. The closest official figures for a hot soak come from the CPSC's hot tub guidance, with MedlinePlus for bathing someone in bed and for water heater settings.

Water temperatures in US safety guidance
TemperatureWhat the guidance says
100°F38°CHot tub water the CPSC considers safe for a healthy adult, and the most it advises for pregnant women.
104°F40°CThe CPSC's ceiling for hot tub water: never above this.
about 106°F41°CThe warm water MedlinePlus lists for washing someone in bed. A wash, not a soak: the CPSC warns that soaking at 106°F can raise body temperature to the point of heat stroke.
120°F49°CThe highest water heater setting the CPSC and MedlinePlus recommend, to help prevent scalds.
An empty collapsible bathtub standing on a non-slip mat in a walk-in shower, with a plastic shower stool beside it and a stainless steel grab bar on the tiled wall.
A non-slip mat under the tub, a stool to sit on and a grab bar on the wall.

For older users

Falls happen in the bathroom
MedlinePlus calls the bathroom the place in the home where falls most often happen. In 2008, about 234,000 people aged 15 and over were treated in US emergency departments for bathroom injuries that were not fatal (CDC).
Grab bars inside and outside
The CDC suggests grab bars both inside and outside the tub or shower. MedlinePlus advises two, fixed vertically or horizontally, never diagonally, and never using a towel rack as one.
Non-slip underfoot
Use non-slip mats or decals in the bottom of the tub and a non-skid bath mat outside it for firm footing (MedlinePlus, CPSC).
A seat to sit on
MedlinePlus advises sitting on a bath chair or bench in the shower. With a portable tub, a stool beside it gives a place to sit while stepping in and out.

For everyone

Children
The CPSC warns that a child can drown in as little as 2 inches of water, quickly and silently, and that two-thirds of child drownings inside the home happen in the bathtub. Stay with a child the whole time, and drain the tub when the bath is over.
Alcohol and drowsiness
The CPSC warns that drinking alcohol before or during a hot soak raises the risk of drowning, and that people taking medicines that cause drowsiness should not use hot tubs.
Health conditions and pregnancy
The CPSC advises people with heart disease, circulation problems, diabetes or blood pressure problems to ask a doctor before a hot soak. It advises pregnant women to keep to 100°F.

Portable bathtub questions

Information only. This guide is general and educational. It is not medical, safety or professional advice and does not replace the tub maker's instructions or the advice of a doctor, nurse or therapist. Check it before relying on it. Read the full disclaimer.

Will a portable bathtub fit in my shower?

Only if its unfolded length and width fit inside the shower at floor level, with a little room to spare for stepping in. Measure wall to wall inside the curb in both directions, the door or curtain opening, and the curb height, then compare them with the tub's listed dimensions, including the frame and feet.

How much does a filled portable bathtub weigh?

Water weighs about 8.34 pounds per US gallon, or 1 kilogram per litre (USGS). A tub holding 40 gallons carries about 334 pounds of water before anyone gets in, plus the weight of the person and the tub. Check the maker's load rating and keep within it.

Can I use one on an upper floor or in an RV?

Ask first. Under the International Residential Code, house floors are designed for a minimum spread-out live load of 40 pounds per square foot, or 30 in sleeping rooms. A filled tub can concentrate more weight than that on a small area. For an apartment, ask the landlord or building manager. For an RV or a deck, ask the manufacturer or a builder.

How hot should the water be?

The CPSC considers 100°F safe for a healthy adult in a hot tub and says hot tub water should never be above 104°F. Check the water with an accurate thermometer before getting in. To help prevent scalds at the tap, the CPSC and MedlinePlus recommend setting the water heater no higher than 120°F.

Will my water heater fill a portable tub?

Look at the heater's first hour rating, which is the number of gallons of hot water it can supply in an hour starting from a full tank (ENERGY STAR). If the tub needs more hot water than that, the last part of the fill will run cooler. A lid helps hold the heat once it is full.

How do you drain a portable bathtub?

Most foldable tubs have a valve or plug at the base. Attach the hose, run it to the shower drain and open the valve. Inflatables usually drain through a plug on the side, and bed baths drain through a hose into a bucket on the floor. Set the tub up with the valve facing the drain so the hose run is short.

How do I stop it getting moldy?

Rinse it after each use, wipe out the folds and the valve, and leave it open to dry before you fold or deflate it. The EPA says damp materials dried within 24 to 48 hours will not grow mold in most cases.

Is a portable bathtub safe for an older adult?

It can be, with the right setup. Choose a low step-in height, use a non-slip mat inside and a non-skid mat outside, and fit grab bars inside and outside the shower rather than relying on a towel rack (MedlinePlus, CDC). If the person cannot get in and out on their own, someone should help. Their doctor or an occupational therapist can advise on what is safe for them.

How does a caregiver give a bath in bed?

An inflatable bed bath or basin goes on the bed with the person in it, and a hose drains the water into a bucket. MedlinePlus advises warm water of around 106°F, a warm room with doors and windows closed, uncovering only the part of the body being washed, rinsing off all the soap and patting the skin dry, including the skin folds.

Is a foldable or an inflatable tub better?

A foldable tub is firmer to lean on and sets up without a pump. An inflatable packs down smaller and has soft sides, but takes time to inflate and can puncture. For an RV or a small closet, the inflatable stores more easily. For daily use in the same shower, the foldable is less work.

Can children use a portable bathtub?

Only with an adult right there the whole time. The CPSC warns that a child can drown in as little as 2 inches of water, quickly and silently. Drain the tub as soon as the bath is over. Baby bath tubs are a separate product with their own federal safety standard.

Does a lid really keep the water warm?

A cover over the water slows the heat lost from the surface, so the bath stays warm longer than an open tub. How long depends on the room and the starting temperature, so check the water again before topping up with hot.

Request pricing on portable bathtubs

Tell us who the tub is for, the space it has to fit and how many you need. You will get a reply, usually within one business day.

  • Foldable, inflatable and tall soaking tubs
  • Bed baths and basins for care at home
  • Single tubs, agency and retail quantities

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