Baths are a great way to indulge in self-care because they trigger multiple senses—including sight, smell, sound, and touch. Whether you add candles or meditative sounds, soaking in the tub can help you escape your daily chaos and focus on mindfulness. Warm baths also soothe sore muscles and bath salts or essential oils can be used for further relaxation. Some people choose to add a bath tray to their space because it provides an area for reading, enjoying a drink, burning a candle, or holding other bath accessories. They also serve as a good gift for anyone wishing to add dimension to their at-home bath time. Here are the best bathtub trays on the market. Made with durable bamboo, the tray is eco-friendly and resists mold. The light wood composition and sleek design are crafted to fit well with any bathroom decor. Plus, the tray comes fully assembled, so you won’t have to work hard to put it together before you enjoy a relaxing bath. It’s also ideal for people with small bathrooms and limited storage. The quilted pillow also lends itself to a soothing bathtime experience.
Design
If you only need a place to hold a drink and a book, a smaller bath tray will be perfect for you. If you like to keep around other pampering accessories, a tray with a lot of compartments and a larger surface is a good option. If style is a factor, try to find a tray with a basic and versatile design. Bamboo generally has a natural, spa feel while acrylic and metal work best with a modern bathroom.
Price
If baths are a regular part of your self-care routine, then it’s wise to invest in one that perfectly suits your needs and style. It’s also better to make an investment in a product with high-quality materials so it stays in good shape over time. If you’re unsure how often you’re going to use your tray or what you’ll need to keep on its surface, spend money on one with custom options, like removable compartments.
Why Trust Verywell Mind?
As a Licensed mental health counselor, Mary K. Tatum has spent over 15 years working with children, teenagers, and adults who struggle with effective stress management. Baths can be a very effective part of a good self-care routine physically, mentally, and emotionally. While we adjust to life changes, it’s important to equip ourselves with as many helpful stress-relief tools and options as possible. Start by determining what you want to put on your tray and make sure it’s wide enough to hold your essentials. Next, measure the width of your tub (from left to right as if you are sitting in it). Mark the length of the wood to extend slightly further than this measurement, and cut it with either a handsaw, a table saw, or a circular saw. Sand the edges to eliminate any roughness. After, flip the slab of wood so that the bottom faces upward and measure the width of the wood (from top to bottom). Cut two additional pieces of wood with a diameter of approximately 2x2 inches or 1x2 inches to the width of your tray. These will serve as bumpers to keep it from sliding off the side of the tub. Ensure these bumpers extend outside the width of your bathtub, and secure them on the large slab of wood with two screws each. Finish by sanding any rough patches. Most of the trays we found extend from approximately 26.5 inches to 42 inches. But if your bathtub dimensions measure outside of the average, trays can be as short as 24 inches and as long as 43.3 inches. The trays above range in width from 5.8 inches to 10 inches. Make sure you know what you want to place on your tray while using it and choose an option that can fit all of your items at the same time. While some bathtub trays are unilaterally dimensional, some feature multiple levels. Others feature unique characteristics like grooves to keep your soap from slipping, cutouts for glasses, or metal bars to hold tablets or books, among other things. These additions may not be necessary, but they may be helpful depending on your needs. You can prolong the life of your bathtub tray by coating it with an outdoor stain or polyurethane to add more water resistance. It’s also advisable to dry it off after use to avoid any mold or mildew on the wood, or any rusting on exposed metal hardware.
