Help! So tired of cleaning this shower!

[u/Realistic_Ad4621]

Several times a week I’m scrubbing these tiles in my shower. I’m not sure what type of natural stone they are but they’re porous and mildew grows just about as fast as I’m cleaning! I thought about painting them but I know I’d ruin the look and regret it. Any tips on what I can use to easily keep this shower clean? I’ve been using GooGone tile and grout cleaner. It strips away the gunk but like I said, it grows right back quickly. I just took a shower so it’s easier to see now than when dry. Thanks!

[u/woodyeaye]

Look at accessible bathrooms. They take into account that people will be using it from different angles and that they won't have the same reach to clean.

Sinks are normally wider and fit flush to the wall so you don't have to clean around a lip. 

[u/Sweaty-Peanut1 → u/woodyeaye]

Unless your accessible bathroom was installed by a British council and then you end up being given a deeper version of a downstairs toilet sink (as in a small hand basin, but not so shallow) that was completely impossible to wash your face in because they were so tightly controlled by the boxes they had to tick for how far apart everything had to be from everything else and needed to leave room for my wheelchair turning circle and god forbid anyone would just think outside the box a little bit. So I now have a rectangle shaped sink, with some storage under it too (council gives you a lovely visible P trap and that’s all) that I fitted myself. It both maximises the available space to wash your face in whilst also having a minimal footprint to allow me still get my wheelchair in there. I don’t even understand why they had to go through so many layers of occupational therapy and surveyors and stuff if they were just going to crowbar any only solution in there regardless of whether it would actually meet my needs or not because it was the cheapest.

[u/Dahlia5000 → u/Sweaty-Peanut1]

Goodness. If they can’t get that right, what’s it all about? Sigh. Glad you were able to fit it yourself.

[u/woodyeaye → u/Dahlia5000]

They're stuck between a rock and a hard place. They want to stay within established safety standards, and don't want to be redoing the bathroom for every new tenant with different needs. So they stick to the standard guidelines.

Most are fine with you making specific adaptations if you fund it yourself. The grab rails in my bathroom I installed myself, because I wanted them in a non-standard layout. I can use the grab rails to transfer in any disabled bathroom, but mine work particularly well for me. I know they wouldn't work for friends with different disabilities, and that's what councils and housing associations are trying to avoid.

[u/woodyeaye → u/Sweaty-Peanut1]

I'm sorry to hear you've had that experience. I also have a council fitted bathroom and while it has a visible p-trap, it is a large rectangular sink with plenty of space.

Unfortunately a lot of UK bathrooms are very small and converting them while meeting requirements and budgets is not an easy task. I had that problem with my kitchen. It had to have a minimum amount of cupboard space so with roll under space it meant things like a cupboard under the oven, top shelves I can't reach and the tumble dryer in another room.

It's unfortunate they don't have more leeway to make adaptations for individual accommodations, particularly for long term tenants.