Choosing a Radiator for your Bathroom: Making the Right Choice
It’s important that your bathroom is warm and well aired. It is the dampest room in the house, and without adequate heat and air, mould can quickly develop and grow. This causes many problems, from unsightly black patches to dangerous spores that you can then inhale. When choosing a radiator for your bathroom, it is important to think things through properly. Here, we have produced a brief guide to choosing a radiator for your bathroom.
How Much Heat Do You Need?
You need to buy a radiator that can produce enough heat to warm the room. This is true of any room, but in the bathroom, the choice is not as straightforward. When calculating energy requirements you can use an online Btu calculator. All you need to do is enter the dimensions of the room (H x W x D), and whether the room is single or doubled glazed, or if there is no window. These calculators will give you the results for a normal room, so you need to add 10% to calculate the additional heat required for the bathroom.
Next, you need to consider whether you will use the towel radiator to dry towels. If you do, you may need to add an extra 5% to cover this. Some people have towel radiators, but they dry their towels somewhere else.
You must ensure that the room is also well aired, so if there is no window, you need an extraction fan instead. We prefer the extraction fans that are damp-sensitive, because these will come on as soon as the humidity reaches a certain level, rather than just when you switch the light on.
Space
You need to work out how much space you have to hang the radiator. Bathrooms tend to be small, which a lot of vertical space wasted. Radiator manufacturers are aware of this, and so, when it comes to towel radiators, they tend to make radiators that are taller than they are wide. When calculating the space required for radiators, do remember to consider the height of the radiator, rather than just its width.
Design
Towel radiators are our favourite in terms of design. You have so many options. There are thousands of different designs out there. Some of these designs are practical. For example, you can buy towel heaters that double as shelving. You can fold your towels (the ones that are not in use) and store them on the radiator. The heat will ensure that they don’t accumulate moisture during storage, which can happen when you leave towels in cupboards (with the exception of airing cupboards). Some towel radiators simply allow you to hang your ‘in-use’ towels. Others combine both storage and ‘in-use- hanging. There is a final category of towel radiator: the artistic ones. These act as features for the room. You can find some really groovy designs on the market. Our particular favourite is the paper clip radiator.
