SEARCH
FIND A DEALER
This week, Mr.Steam is answering some user questions about our luxury towel warmer collections. Have a question for us? Enter it in the comments! Here are our questions for the week:
"I love the idea of having a towel warmer in my bathroom, but don’t know very much about how they work. How are towel warmers heated? Do electric towel warmers have an on/off switch? If not, are they on all the time? Is a thermostat control included? What are the benefits to the different types of towel warmer controls?"
Inside Your Towel Warmer
Mr.Steam towel warmers come in free-standing and wall-mounted options. You can heat your towel warmer in two ways:
- By hydronics, using a residential closed-loop hot water heating supply
- By electricity, operating on a standard 120v household circuit
If your home does not have a central hydronic boiler, electric towel warmers on 24-hour, seven-day timer are a very efficient method for providing on-demand comfort in the bathing space and a warm towel when needed.
Electric towel warmers also have the advantage of being wired by a licensed electrician into your home's electric system and operated by an optional on/off wall switch. You typically wait 20-30 minutes for them to heat up, unless you add a programmable timer which allows you to turn the warmer on and off at preselected times.
A simple plug-in electric towel warmer, such as the free-standing F328 model towel warmer, needs no installation and can be moved throughout the home as desired. Moving the towel warmer to the bedroom to warm up blankets in the winter time is just one great way to take advantage of this flexibility.
Turning Your Towel Warmer On and Off
Most Mr. Steam electric towel warmers do not come with an on/off switch. A standard wall switch or optional timer installed by a licensed electrician may be used to turn them on or off. However, the plug-in towel warmer mentioned above does come with an on/off switch. Hydronic towel warmers have no electrical components and do not have an on/off switch.
Timers are optional add-ons for Mr.Steam towel warmers. If you choose to add a towel warmer timer, it will be mounted in the wall and will provide a 24-hour electronic timer for pre-start and automatic shut-off of the towel warmer at programmed times.
As an added benefit, electric towel warmers can provide supplemental space heat when sized accordingly. They are inexpensive to operate - an electric towel warmer switched on for an hour a day costs only a quarter to operate. However, the electrical demand and service requirements are an additional planning step and cost to keep in mind.
Controlling the Temperature of your Towel Warmer
All Mr. Steam electric towel warmers are UL listed. Of our three towel warmer collections, the liquid-filled models in the Broadway and Fifth Avenue Collections use UL-recognized heating elements that have built-in thermostats. The dry wire towel warmers in the Metro Collection are designed with UL-recognized self-regulating heating wire to maintain temperature.
Specifics on Mr.Steam Towel Warmer Energy Use & Requirements
Depending on the model and size, Mr. Steam towel warmers utilize anywhere from 100 to 400 watts. Mr. Steam electric towel warmers need a 120 volt/1 phase circuit with amps ranging from 0.83 to 3.33, depending on the model. You can learn more about the specific energy use and electrical requirements of each Mr.Steam towel warmer by downloading the specifications for individual towel wamer models.
If you have any questions about the operation and installation of Mr.Steam towel warmers , please share them in the comments and we’ll answer them. Our Towel Warmer Buying Guide, which you can download for free, is also a great resource filled with information about towel warmer installation and the many benefits to having one in your home.
