Posted on: June 11, 2008
Don’t throw in the towel
The home spa experience doesn’t have to stop once the shower is over. Stay relaxed and warm with heated towels
By Melanie Wanzek
CTW Features
Image courtesy Mr. Steam
You may think you have all the supplies for the perfect home spa night – a warm bubble bath, some candles and perhaps a little soft music in the background. But what about when it’s time to step out of your relaxing refuge into the icy cold air of reality?
Fear that frigid air no longer: The comfort of a total spa experience is only an arm’s length away.
“In the aspect of creating that spa-like environment, when you have massages or facials, one of the things a lot of people do is sit on these benches that are always covered by warm blankets,” says Dan Reinhert, vice president of Mr. Steam, a Long Island City, N.Y., company specializing in steam showers and baths. “So why not give people the chance to have a warm towel covering them, too? We’re taking that sort of technology and trying to create that sort of feeling for people.”
Towel warmers, traditionally found in a variety of spas and high-end hotels, come in multiple forms to fit your style and price range. Companies like Mr. Steam, Myson and Wesaunard typically use one of two methods to heat towels – electricity or hydronics, which is when hot water circulates through the bars to create heat. Thermique Technologies, on the other hand, uses panes of heated glass to warm the towels.
Many options mount on the wall, while others are freestanding. Jacuzzi also offers The Home Spa Towel Warming Drawer, which comes unfinished and can be installed into any standard cabinet, warming up to four towels at once.
But what if you’re on the go and don’t want to wait for the warmer to heat up? Reinhart says the process is efficient, safe and convenient.
“Let’s say you take a shower every day at 6 a.m. – you can have a timer turn the towel warmer on at 5 and have that heated towel the minute you walk out of the shower,” he says. “Then it can probably stay on for a couple of hours, dry the towel off, then shut off for remainder of day and start up again when you come home … And they’re safe because there is a temperature regulator that keeps the temperature constant, so if someone touches it, they won’t burnt themselves.”
So if you’re looking to splurge for a spa experience without the trouble of redoing your whole bathroom, a towel warmer might add just the right amount of luxury.
“Is it something you have to have? Probably not,” Reinert says. “But when you do, it is certainly something you use a lot … It gives you something that is uniquely different [and] distinguishes your house – it enhances bathroom design lines and makes you feel better."