Towel warmers are luxury upgrade that can deliver a perfect burst of warmth from stepping out of a great shower on a cold winter's knight.

Sadly many towel warmers warn against placing wet towels on them. I have looked into towel warmers here in Vancouver for many clients. My preference and warmer of choice is made by Heirloom. We have installed many and they are outstanding towel warmers. My clients use them to dry wet rain jackets and the little heat they draw helps warm the bathroom.

Insure your switch or timer is located at least one meter from the tub or shower (check your local code) and plan your tile layout before rough in to insure the warmer gets installed exactly where you want it. With the Heirloom warmers the wire gets concealed by the fixture and no cords (or lights!) are seen but this means you have no margin for error, not even an 1/8".

The warmers can be ordered as to what side you wish the electrical feed to come and this should be planned correctly or a more complicated install will be needed. A dedicated ground fault breaker is recommended (again check with your local inspector).

I won't be splurging on one any time soon but plan on feeding a wire in before drywall so an upgrade will be an easy thing!

Here is a link that might be useful: Heirloom Towel Warmers

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Many of the towel warmers recommend more towels - or folds -so overlapping won't be a problem. They work better with more towels on them. I do hear that the bottom towel get's toastier, so you and your wife will have to fight for that one, but both should dry and get warm. The timers also let you preset what time they come on - so you could have it come one at 3 am for your 6 am shower and then run for another few hours to dry the towels, or however long you find you need it to run to get the towels warm and then dry.

I have the Runtal electric towel warmers in all of my bathrooms. they are on automatic timers so that they come on automatically each morning and then turn off after the time that I'd normally be done showering. If my schedule changes for a day or two, it's no problem, I can simply override the programming with the push of a button.

I have the tall Neptune model, which is 19.5" wide and 45" tall, plenty big enough to warm two large bath towels simultaneously. A shorter version is also available.

I'd estimate that it takes about 20 minutes to warm up, when switched on from cold, and about ten minutes longer to get the towels really nice and toasty. Damp towels placed back on the rack dry completely in about ten minutes. The large Neptune model consumes 600W (at its highest setting) and produces enough heat to warm an average sized bathroom, in addition to warming the towels. Many lower wattage racks won't provide any heat to the room, so are only good for taking the chill off of towels. The Runtal models are radiator/warmers, and designed to provide room heat. The heating level is adjustable by thermostat.

Runtal makes numerous models available in a whole range of colors and finishes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Runtal Towel Warmer/Radiators

Thanks to all for the comments and feedback.

Wa8b, Runtal is one of the ones I've been looking at, after seeing several positive comments on them in previous threads on this forum. After you hang your damp towels on the rack, do you leave them there until the next day, or do you dry them briefly and then move them to a conventional towel rack? Also: is the timer and thermostat you have the one Runtal sells, or something else? I had been thinking of using a simpler shut-off timer from Lutron to match the other switches and dimmers in the bathroom and house, but if the Runtal programmable timer is more functional, perhaps I should consider that.

I welcome additional thoughts and experiences with towel warmers!

-- Eric

Eric,
I just leave the bath towels on the warmer all the time. It would be a bit of a hassle remembering to move them back and forth. Smaller hand towels and the bath mat hang on other towel bars or rings.

I have the Runtal automatic controller. It allows you to program different on and off cycles for each day of the week, multiple on and off cycles per day, and to control the temperature setting. Since I'm a creature of habit, the week days are all programmed the same, but at the weekend, the warmer comes on later and goes off later, as I tend to get moving later on those days. If my schedule deviates from normal, I can easily override the programming.

The warmers in my guest rooms are programmed to be on in the mornings and again in the evenings, but off during the middle of the day. When I don't have guests, I simply set the temperature to "0", and they don't come on at all.

The controllers are hidden away in cupboards or closets, where they're out of sight, but easily accessible, so their appearance wasn't a consideration. If you choose to go with a Lutron timer, be sure it's one rated for a heating appliance, and be aware that it probably won't provide as much flexibility or allow you to control the temperature level. I usually don't operate my warmers at their highest setting, and I appreciate being able to lower the settings on them during the warmer seasons.

I've been totally happy with Runtal and recommend them.

Thanks, wa8b -- very useful information. I hadn't been thinking about needing to control not only the time but the power level as well, so I see why the Runtal controller makes more sense than what I had envisioned originally. (Especially in the summer, when I want to add the least amount of additional heat to the already-warm second floor bathroom!) I like the idea of putting this in an out-of-sight location -- I just have to figure out where that will be, as there is no closet or hiding place in the immediate vicinity of where I'm planning the towel warmer (but it's easy enough to run electrical cable to the other side of the room).

-- Eric