February 15th, 2023 by Sarah Miles

For the majority of heaters and radiators, the advice is to never hang wet items on them. On a standard radiator it blocks heat and can make walls damp and on a panel heater, it’s downright dangerous. However, a heated towel rail is the opposite; it is designed as a perfect solution for drying wet towels!

You always need some kind of heat source in a bathroom, and we think that a heated towel rail is a perfect choice, for the following reasons:

Effective towel drying

Towels don’t need washing after every use. After all, you use them after a bath or shower so you are clean, plus we’re all trying to reduce the amount of energy we use and that includes not doing excessive laundry. If you are not washing them every time, you need to find a way to get them dry because nobody enjoys stepping out of the shower to a damp towel.  Most heated towel rails feature several rails so that the whole family can get their towels dry in between uses.

It protects against mould and bacteria

Bathrooms generate a lot of moisture and that can lead to mould, mildew, and bacteria forming in there. A heated towel rail helps to keep it at bay in a couple of ways. Firstly, it dries towels effectively. Damp towels can be a breeding ground for bacteria as the moisture gets trapped in the fibres and persistently damp towels add to the moisture levels in the room.

Secondly, it warms the room and this helps steam and moisture from the shower to dry out, reducing the risk of mould developing on walls, ceilings, tiles, and grout. Mould not only looks unsightly but can be very damaging to health.

It warms the room

We have touched on a couple of the benefits of warming the room already but ultimately, the greatest advantage to this is that a warm bathroom in the winter is much nicer than a cold one (it’s hard enough to get out of our warm beds on a cold winter’s day without the thought of having to step into a cold bathroom to attend to morning ablutions).

It takes advantage of vertical space

Bathrooms often tend to be quite small so finding space for radiators can be a challenge. A heated towel rail uses vertical space as they are usually tall rather than wide (though they do come in various size and shape options), which is usually more readily available in a bathroom than horizontal space. They are therefore easier to accommodate but still provide plenty of warming areas.

Electric towel rails can be easier to install

Heated towel rails come in a range of options, including wet system models that can be added to your central heating system. However, this can be a big job – especially in a ‘new’ space, such as an extension or loft conversion, where there is no existing radiator. An alternative is an electric towel rail, which is a

simple installation job for an electrician. Having a towel rail on a separate system from the central heating can also be useful in the spring and summer when you just need a little heat in the bathroom to dry towels but don’t want to turn the heating on for the whole house.

They look good

A towel rail can really complete the look of a bathroom and there are different finishes and styles to choose from. Available in chrome or white, they can be ladder-style, S shape, or panels with a single rail, and there are even variations in the spacing of the rails.