Whirlpool baths and personalized shower systems topped the wish lists of American consumers in a recently released study conducted for American Standard. The 1999 Bathroom Habits Survey found that 29% of respondents wanted a whirlpool and 26% hoped for a personalized shower system in their dream bathrooms.

Fifty-three percent said they prefer a hot shower to a bath after a long, hard day. Daily showers are the habit of 57% of respondents, and 30% said they never take a bath. The average length of time spent in the shower is five to 10 minutes for 60% of those studied.

Consumers said they spend the most time in the bathroom on Saturday and Sunday, followed by Monday. While the average time spent in the bathroom each day for all respondents was reported as 35 minutes, 27% of consumers in the 18 to 24 age range said they spend an hour or longer in the bathroom daily.

Reading, talking and singing in the bathroom were habits reported by 42%, 22% and 17%, respectively, of those surveyed.

The biggest pet peeve consumers have with the bathroom is cleaning it, according to 38% of the women and 29% of the men studied.

These results were obtained from responses to a survey mailed by NFO Research to 860 U.S. residents age 18 and older, selected to represent a geographic and gender proportionate sample of the population.