Are you in need of a tub transformation?

It isn't fun to take your daily shower in a deteriorating tub or stall shower. In fact, it can be highly unpleasant and even frightening because climbing into a tub/shower combination can be difficult as you age. When your tile is chipping and cracking and your shower is suffering from an invasion of mold, this daily task becomes downright off-putting.

That is why the Daily Herald will once again team up with Streamwood-based Bath Planet of Chicagoland for its Tub to Shower Transformation Sweepstakes - the fourth annual. Entries will be accepted from March 17 to April 14 at events.dailyherald.com.

The grand-prize winner, to be announced in May, will win a prize package valued at more than $7,000, which includes a white shower base, a smooth acrylic wall system, one shower accessory, chrome fixtures and a glass shower door with chrome trim.

Bath Planet will randomly select 10 semifinalists who be contacted the week of April 15 and asked to send in a photo and details about their existing bathtub with a brief explanation of why they should win the prize package.

Three finalists will then be chosen and site inspections scheduled. The grand-prize winner will be notified during May and work will be completed soon thereafter.

The Tub to Shower Transformation Sweepstakes' previous three winners have been thrilled with the results.

Brenda Skittone, a sales clerk for a Carpentersville manufacturing company, significantly upgraded her 1960s Elk Grove Village home when she won in 2018. She had the rusty old tub in her master bathroom replaced with a white shower base, a smooth finish white acrylic wall system (which was installed right over the aging tile), glass doors, chrome trim, a shower accessory and chrome fixtures.

All of the replacement work was completed by Bath Planet in one day, Skittone said, and the installers were exceedingly clean, informative and professional.

The previous year Jan and Harry Raimondi of Schaumburg were the winners. They had Bath Planet remove the old tub in Jan's bathroom, replacing it with a shower similar to the one Skittone won.

"I have to admit that it sounded a bit scary when they said they were going to rip out the old tub to replace it with a shower, but they did a great job and now the bathroom feels luxurious," Harry reflected afterward.

All of the replacement work was completed by Bath Planet in one day, he said, and the installers were exceedingly clean and professional. In fact, five minutes after they left, he added, you couldn't even tell they had been there.

The first winner of the annual contest back in 2016 was Renee Vogt of Lombard. Bath Planet replaced the Vogts' old 1940s tub with a new one and put in new acrylic walls for a great, modern look. And winning the makeover turned out to be the impetus Vogt and her husband, Richard, needed to gut the whole bathroom.

Homeowners who are tired of the look of their bathroom or whose circumstances have changed and they are now in need an accessible tub or shower are flocking to Bath Planet for an economical solution.

The company offers stylish, cost-effective, low-maintenance acrylic bath improvements that are made locally.

Many Bath Planet products install right over failing or ugly wall tile and chipped or faded tub or shower stalls for maximum cost-effectiveness and minimum mess. When a tub is being replaced with a walk-in shower, on the other hand, the tub is cut into two or three pieces and hauled away before the new shower base is installed, followed by the wall pieces. The existing wall tile is thoroughly cleaned and then left in place, but covered, said Kevin Gustafson, sales manager at Bath Planet.

Bath Planet's products feature the elegant look of ceramic tile, granite or marble - in a wide variety of colors and finishes - but without the grout, mess and irritating maintenance because the liners are made of a nonporous, easy-to-clean material. Add to that the array of finishing touches that are available including shower caddies, soap dishes, grab bars, curved shower rods and a selection of shower doors, and homeowners can easily create a complete, unique bathroom that meets their particular needs and desires.

"And if you sell your home within the first two years after a Bath Planet tub or shower has been installed, the lifetime warranty can be transferred to the new owners," Gustafson said.

To enter the contest, visit events.dailyherald.com.