My familiarity with a towel warmer came about ten years ago when I was visiting a friend’s house in Colorado during his wedding to his high school sweetheart. The winter temperature in that state can get below zero on some nights.
When I went into the master bathroom to take a shower I noticed a small cabinet that looked more like a wine cooler. My buddy sensed my sensed my confusion and explained it was a cabinet styled towel warmer and the clean ones I needed can be found inside once I exited the shower.
Despite the presence of a small heating pipe within the bathroom itself, I felt the chill cold weather hit me as I stepped out of the bathtub. Towel warmers come in different designs and types, but a more specific definition is appropriate for the device before we get to the reviews of some of the best brand.
How Can a Towel Warmer be defined?
What exactly is a towel warmer? In simple terms, it is a device one can use to warm up bath towels before using them during the cold winter months. Some of you might consider buying one frivolous spending, but nothing could be further from the truth, especially if you reside in a colder climate region.
Due to modern technology, towel warmers can be divided into three main types, cabinet style towel warmers, wall attached towel warmers and free-standing towel warmers. Most are designed to utilize electrical current to function.
In the beginning, towel warmers were mostly found at high-end spas and hotels due to their high cost, but the recent improvement in technology contributed to lowering cost, and the device can now be found in millions of households all across America.
Before we get to the best towel warmers, let’s look at the ways the device can be set up to function either using electric or the hot water from your building’s plumbing system.
Ways Towel Warmers are made to Function
Towel warmers are designed to function using either electric currents, the hot water that can be sourced from your building’s plumbing system, or come with an internal hot water making system.
Electric Towel Warmers
Electric towel warmers are made to use electricity, and the cost is comparable to the one generated by a single light bulb. Among the units that use electricity, some are made to heat up your towels using carefully mounted low wattage elements.
The other type of electric towel warmer come with a device to heat up the mineral oil located within the unit, thus making your bath towels warm. The electric towel warmer you buy will either require hard wiring or plugged in.
As you can tell, hardwired units will probably cost you more as that might require you engage the services of an electrician if you’re not familiar with basic electrical wiring setup. Also, hardwired units tend to be the larger sized electric towel warmers.
Hydronic Towel Warmers
Hydronic type towel warmers are made to function using the hot water plumbing system of your dwelling or it can come with its own hot water heating system. One with its own water heating system is just as cost efficient as a plugged in electrical unit.
Most will probably have an internal mechanism to heat the water and then create the heat needed to keep your towels warm. A good brand will come with adequate safety features like a thermostat and auto shut-off commands.
The Types of Towel Warmers
From all the models available for sale online, towel warmers can be found in three types, towel warmer cabinets, wall mounted towel warmers and freestanding towel warmers. After a brief description of how each type is designed to look and work, we bring you a few units you can buy online with value.
Towel Warmer Cabinets
Most of the units can be mistaken for a college room refrigerator or a wine cooler. A cabinet styled towel warmer will require you fold or roll up your bath towels so that you can put several inside a unit.
Some will have carefully set up holes for each towel, while others will come with an open space for you to use as you please. Most of the cabinet sized towel warmers are only capable of holding smaller towels.
Best Towel Warmer Cabinets
1 – Elite Hot Towel Cabinet – Mini
It is right to call it a mini towel warmer cabinet. This can hold at best, two large bath towels or twelve small wash cloth towels. It is capable of maintaining a regular temperature between 150 to 160 degrees.
Another great feature is the internal temperature mechanism, which helps to keep the unit from overheating. The heating elements are hidden behind the insulated cabinet. This unit is suitable for both home and commercial use applications.
2 – Spa Luxe Hot Towel Cabinet Towel Cabi
Just by looking at the product, the familiarity with the top unit is quite obvious. The Spa Luxe cabinet is designed to keep your small bath towels steamy and warm. It will hold just about the same quantity of small bath towels like the unit reviewed above.
It is an electric unit that functions on 110-voltage setting, which means it is suitable for the North American market unless you get an adapter for outside the continent use. It has two interior shelves and designed to maintain a consistent temperature of about 160-degrees.
3 – Spa Luxe Double Towel Warmer – SL32
This is another unit from Spa Luxe with a double door cabinet and the ability to hold more small sized towels than the other two units reviewed above. The aluminum interior is made from rust proofed materials.
The double towel warmer from Spa Luxe can maintain a consistent internal temperature of around 160-degrees, which is ideal for those seeking a refreshing, hygienic treatment.
Wall Mounted Towel Warmers
This is another type of towel warmers that uses electricity to heat your bathroom towels. Typically, this type of towel warmers will require a permanent attachment to your wall, so choose your installation location carefully.
If you have the extra space, the walls in your bathroom will make an ideal place to install one. Most units can also be attached to the walls right outside your bathroom so you can easily reach one once you get out of the shower.
Best Wall Mounted Towel Warmers
Be certain you have the required space before investing in a towel warmer unit that requires permanent attachment to your living space walls.
Most of the wall attached towel warmers will require some form of hard wiring, so be sure you’re familiar with the electrical wiring needs or buy the additional installation service offered with each unit.
Some of the best walls attached towel warmers are:
4 – Warmrails HW/SW Kensington Wall Mounted Towel Warmer
The Warmrails HW/SW Kensington towel warmer can be purchased in either a nickel or chrome finish. It requires permanent attachment to your bathroom walls and can hold both large and small hand towels.
Apart from the wall attachment, it also requires hardwiring electrical connection to make the unit function effectively. The unit dimensions are 6 x 24 x 40 inches, and it has a manual switch you can use to regulate usage. You get a one year warranty from the manufacturer to cover any factory defects.
5 – Amba RWH-CP Radiant Hardwired Curved Towel Warmer
There are several towel warmers from a company called Amba, and the RWH-CP is capable of heating up quickly. The Amba RWH-CP Radiant Towel Warmer is made from stainless steel and has a built-in switch you can use to regulate how the unit operates.
The dimensions for this best towel warmer are 31.5 x 6 x 23.8 inches and weighs about 12-pounds. The unit comprises 10-heated crossbars you can use to keep warm both large and small towels. The unit needs to be hardwired and permanently attached to your bathroom wall for you to get the most use out of it.
6 – Amba RWP-CB Radiant Plug-In Curved Towel Warmer
This unit is from the same company like the one reviewed above, but can be plugged into any electrical outlet to get it to function. It is constructed from high-quality stainless steel, and will heat up quickly. While it looks similar to model RWH-CP, this unit is slightly cheaper.
The ten vertical and horizontal bars are capable of holding different sizes of bath towels including the smaller ones. Keep in mind the switch to operate the towel warmer is on the left side and has the following dimension 31.5 x 5.8 x 23.6 inches.
Free Standing Towel Warmers
A free-standing towel warmer can be moved around with ease, as long as you have an electrical outlet close by that is needed for it to work. The portability features for this type of towel warmer should not be taken lightly, for it might be the ideal type for those with limited bathroom space.
Top Free Standing Towel Warmers
7 – Modern Italian Classic Freestanding Towel Warmer
This is a free-standing towel warmer is made by a company called Italian Towel Warmers, and the 150-wattage would keep both your large and small towels warm. It can reach up to 167 degrees and it is constructed from durable stainless steel material.
The fact that this unit is free standing should not be discounted, especially if you lack the space in your bathroom for a permanently wall attached towel warmer. It has a depth of 12-inches and will accommodate several sizes of bath towels and washcloths.
8 – Pursonic TW300 6-Bar Review
This unit from a company called Pursonic can either be used tree standing or wall attached if you have the extra space. It is capable of reaching up to 122 degrees within thirty minutes based on the feedback we got from the manufacturer.
If you choose to attach it to the wall, all the brackets you need are included in your delivery package. Also, the freestanding feet comes with the unit if you choose to use it that way. The dimensions for this unit are 23 x 2.4 x 35 inches and it weighs about 5-pounds.
Buying Guide for Top Rated Towel Warmers
Within this niche market, there are several top rated towel warmers one can select from, but certain crucial features must be kept in mind. The most important features one must pay close attention to are:
Take the Exact Measurement of Your Space
This is not a device you by using guesstimation, for you need the exact measurement of the space where you intend to put the towel warmer.
Mounting Requirements
With different types of towel warmers, you have to decide how the unit you have in mind will fit into place. A hardwired towel warmer will require some electrical work and it will be nice to have an electrical outlet close by for whatever type you choose to purchase.
Also, keep in mind that most of the units have the plug or hardwired on either the left or right side of the towel warmer, for you should keep that in mind as you calculate the best way to mount the unit if purchased.
What Size Do You Need?
The cabinet style towel warmers are only capable of holding smaller wash cloths and most suitable for commercial use. The wall attached and free standing units can hold several bath towels of different sizes including the smaller wash cloths.
Warranty
The industry warranty average is about one year and the unit you buy should at least be covered for that length of time.
Customer Feedbacks
This is not a product most people can afford, but most of the brands will come with some feedbacks from existing customers and you should take a few minutes to read a few of them. It is one of the best ways of spotting units with consistent and persistent problems, which might be a sign of a defective product.
You should also keep in mind that it is impossible to have a product with 100% satisfaction ratings, but at least, the majority of the current users must like it for it to be worth the asking price.
Cautionary Tale
If you have kids in the house keep in mind that towel warmers can get very hot and might become a burn hazard for your little ones. Now, if you have separate bathrooms you can always install one in your space and keep your kids out of it.
Luckily, most of the units will have an on/off switch one can use to regulate the usage of the towel warmer.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, from this best towel warmer reviews you’ve learned a few facts about the device and how it operates. A Towel warmer is certainly not suitable for everyone or every region of the country. If you reside in a hot climate you would be wasting your money if you invest in a unit.
For those residing in colder climates, a free standing or wall attached towel warmer can improve your quality of life significantly. I certainly would not live in a state with freezing temperature during the cold winter months without .
