Multi-Family Residential

Most architectural-grade dog tubs are fabricated from stainless steel sheet, grade 304 stainless steel with a No. 3 coarse abrasive, mechanically applied finish. This is widely used for commercial kitchen countertops and equipment, which has demonstrated good serviceability. While thinner material may be acceptable for light-duty tubs in single-family residences, 14-gage (1.9-mm, [0.07-in.] thick) sheet will stand the test of time and heavy use in multi-family facilities.

All joints should be welded for durability and watertightness, with all tub edges smoothed and hemmed to eliminate sharp edges that could pose hazards. A rolled—rather than blunt or squared—front edge is most comfortable for the person or dog that may be leaning over it.

Many pet owners living in multi-family buildings wash their dogs in the same bathtubs used by the human occupants. This method may seem to have an initial cost advantage for the owner of the building, since a tub is standard equipment in a residence and does not occupy the additional floor space required for a communal pet wash. However, this apparent savings can be offset by ongoing maintenance needs to clear drains clogged with hair and the premature replacement of tubs scratched or damaged by a dog’s nails.
Tubs designed for the human occupants of a building have additional disadvantages when used for pet bathing, including ergonomic injury due to lifting a dog into and out of the tub, and kneeling on an uncomfortable, hard bathroom floor. In addition to being visual blemishes, scratches and worn surfaces are more difficult to disinfect.

Adding a community pet wash area to a multi-family building adds an amenity that is a benefit to both the residents and the building owner. The clogging of drains by pet hair and damage to bathrooms and other surface areas can be avoided, plus a building with a pet wash is truly pet-friendly, appealing to the pet-owning demographic.

ADA accessibility requirements are becoming an increasingly important consideration when choosing the design of a pet-wash station. Currently there is no clear definition for pet wash accessibility. Exactly what qualifies as an ADA compliant pet-wash tub is subject to interpretation.

In general, the requirements usually cited to qualify for ADA compliance include some or all of the following:

• Amount of clearance between the bottom of the tub and the floor. This is to allow adequate access for persons in wheelchairs.
• Rim Height of the tub.
• Depth of the tub from rim to tub bottom (or from rim to the surface the dogs will be standing on).
• Faucet unit control mounting elevation and maximum reach to operate the faucet handles and access the hose and sprayer.
• Tethering restraint point maximum reach requirements.
• Size and configuration of undertub obstructions attached to the tub structure.

In some cases, interpretations of ADA compliance will result in the need to install a pet-wash tub that is less than optimally user-friendly, even though the tub meets the technical requirements. In such cases, it may become necessary to install more than one pet-wash tub so that there is a combination of ADA compliance and user-friendliness, space permitting.

Bathtubs for Pets manufactures the ADA60HTY to address the requirements previously mentioned.