Acrylic or steel bath - which is best for you?

Buying a bath is one of the biggest decisions you'll make for your new bathroom. Wander around any showroom and you'll see stacks of styles, shapes and sizes, from complex spa baths with moulded head rests to sleek, freestanding designs. Tap the bath with your fingers and you'll notice another major difference – in materials. While cast iron is still used for period-style baths, most baths these days are made of acrylic or steel. So which is better?

The Steel Bath vs Acrylic Bath - Price

A pressed steel bath will generally come with a porcelain enamel finish and a high price tag to match, while comparable sized acrylic baths can be a fraction of the price. Part of the reason is the production process. According to Dr Steve Cummings, research and design manager at Caroma Dorf, moulds for steel baths cost around $300,000 each, while those for acrylic baths might cost only about $20,000. And that has knock-on effects in terms of shapes. "Because of the capital investment with metal, you tend to come up with a classic shape that's going to last. Whereas with acrylic, you can have a more fashionable approach," he says.

The Steel Bath vs Acrylic Bath - Durability

The steel bath is usually very hard wearing because their porcelain enamel coating isn't affected by chemicals or household cleaners and won't scratch. "But if you dropped something like a hammer on it from a height, you might chip it," Dr Cummings says, adding that specialist companies can fix the problem at a price, although colour matching might prove difficult. At steel bath can last decades, but Dr Cummings points out that bathrooms are commonly renovated every 10 or 15 years, making the bath redundant anyway. "I've had an acrylic bath for 18 years and did an extension where we put one in the ensuite and it's been there for about 10 years. It's still looking good," he says. "I'd expect at least 20 years out of a good acrylic bath."

Good acrylic baths are often made of sanitary-grade acrylic, reinforced with fibreglass and steel rods, and installed on a baseboard to achieve the required rigidity. Some will also be UV resistant so they don't discolour under prolonged exposure to natural light. Acrylic baths are more flexible than steel bath varieties, so they resist chipping but not scratches. Shallow scratches can be buffed out with metal polish, but this can leave a dull patch in the otherwise glossy finish.  

Some people argue that an acrylic bath has better heat-retention properties than a steel bath. However, experts say any advantage would be marginal and that most heat is actually lost through the water surface area. Weight is another major difference between an acrylic and steel bath. Acrylic baths are much lighter and so are easier to transport and install.