Having a warm towel ready for use after a bath or shower can give a warm feeling to the whole room. Heated towel racks and rails can bring this luxury into even the most simple of bathrooms.
Electric Towel Warmers
An electric towel warmer is a wall attachment, with several rails to hold one or more towels. It is wired directly into the bathrooms GFCI outlet, and will frequently have a small on/off switch located somewhere on the unit. It warms only the towel or article of clothing that is coming into direct contact with it, and will frequently need to have the towel spread over a few rails to help it reach the optimum temperature.
Electric towel warmers come in multiple shapes, sizes and finishes and can be installed at just about any time. It is helpful to brace the studs in the wall, particularly for larger units, before installing, and an electrician will need to be on hand to wire the unit into the bathroom’s electrical system. Depending on its location, this may be done with little inconvenience to the homeowner, or may become a larger project.
A good time to have an electric towel warmer installed would be during a bathroom renovation, an electrical upgrade, or at any time that a general contractor will be in the bathroom working, as the walls may need to be opened to install the warmer properly.
Hydraulic Towel Warmers
An hydraulic towel warmer uses hot water, circulating within the frame to warm the towels. It is hooked directly into the home’s heating system, and works well with radiant heat, or other heating systems that use continuous hot water circulation. An hydraulic towel warmer makes efficient use of its heat, and in some cases can even transfer heat to its surroundings. In many cases, however, an hydraulic warmer will use convection to simply warm what touches it, and nothing else.
These warmers will remain on and in use as long as the heating system of the home is in use. Large apartment complexes, or hotels that use forced hot water to maintain water temperature for showers can make use of hydraulic towel warming systems, easily as well.
An hydraulic towel warmer would need to be hooked up to the home’s hot water source during a major bathroom or home renovation, as this will require both the opening of the wall, and the routing of hot water pipes to the source required.
Hot Air Towel Warmers
A fairly inexpensive system that requires little professional installation is a hot air towel warmer. These units will frequently plug into a bathroom’s GFCI unit, and will warm the towels placed on them much like a hair drier, by blowing hot air onto the towel.
These towel warmers are extremely effective at warming a towel quickly, and can be turned on moments before the towel will be required. They will be mounted to the wall in the same manner as other bathroom accessories, by screwing the escutcheons into the studs.
Heated towel rails can be found at most plumbing or home improvement retailers. Be sure to speak to a contractor about what kind of work will need to be carried out for installation, to ensure that this will not require more work than previously thought.
For any home in the midst of a bathroom renovation, adding a towel warmer can be an easy addition to make. Check out the styles and systems available, and begin adding comfort to the bathing experience today.
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