Live In Luxury With The Best Electric Towel Warmer

Buying Guide

Bath towels can be tough to keep clean. After you use them, you have to hang them to dry, but moisture and humidity tend to hang on in bathrooms throughout the day. For that reason, towels can invite mildew and bacteria between uses.

Europeans have a simple solution to that problem. Instead of washing and drying their towels multiple times each week, households instead use towel warmers. In America, towel warmers are also called towel racks, and they can be a useful addition to your bathroom.

While towel warmers are fantastic for drying towels quickly, they’re also nice to use with towels and robes that are already dry, especially in winter. Set your towel and bathrobe on the heated-up towel warmer as you step into the shower and when you get out, you’ll have both a toasty-warm towel and robe to use.

One added bonus to using a towel warmer in your home in cooler temps is that the warmer emanates heat. This will help warm up your bathroom, making it nice and toasty when you step out of the bath or shower.

Towel warmers are typically made using stainless steel. This allows them to endure the constant moisture present in every bathroom. As with any towel hook, you’ll also need a warmer that can withstand having wet towels on it every day.

Beyond the material, there’s also the build of the towel warmer. Many are wall-mount racks, with bars that you use to hang your items. But there are also cabinet-style towel warmers. Slide your towel inside, set the timer and wait for your items to warm up. Lastly, there are high-capacity towel warmers that operate similarly to hampers. These can be fairly large in size, letting you drop in multiple towels and bathrobes in at the same time.

There are two types of towel warmers on the market. One is called hydronic, which means that it uses water to warm up the rack. Hydronic towel warmers must be connected to your plumbing, which means you might have to loop a plumber in. That’s why you’ll often see electric towel warmers recommended. Electric towel warmers operate on electricity alone. You’ll either plug this type of warmer into an outlet or wire it to your home’s electrical system.

Additionally, a towel warmer can simply add a little decoration to your bathroom. If you choose the right one, it can blend with your other furnishings to complement your décor. But don’t assume you can only use them in the bathroom. They also can be great for sunrooms, pool cabanas and laundry and mudrooms.

• Not all towel warmers heat at the same speed. Some can take as long as 45 minutes to heat up. While this will help make your bathroom nice and toasty, you’ll be frustrated if you can’t always remember to start it up ahead of time. One that heats up quickly will likely be more convenient.
• For best results, try not to overlap multiple items when you hang them on your towel warmer. Otherwise, you’ll find you have to go a second round when a section of one of your towels or garments remains wet.
• Some people leave their towel warmers on 24 hours a day. But towel warmers do come with timers, so you can let the warmer shut off after it’s done drying your towels.
• There are a variety of towel warmers on the market. Before you start shopping, make sure you know whether you want a cabinet, bucket-style or wall-mount version. Measure the space where you plan to store the towel warmer to make sure the model you choose will fit.
• Towel warmers aren’t just for towels. You can also use them to dry bathrobes, bathing suits and other wet garments.
• Make sure your towel warmer has an auto-shutoff feature. Many have timers that you simply set for an hour or two. But having that automatic shutdown can keep you from leaving the house worrying that you’ve left it on.
• Towel warmers can be great for laundry rooms. Simply set some of your items on them and let them heat dry rather than running them through the dryer. It’s a great way to quickly finish a piece of laundry you need.
• Some towel warmers have programmable thermostats. That means you can set them to click on at the same time every day. The only issue with that is that you might forget to shut off the timer when you leave for a trip.
• Energy efficiency is an important issue when choosing a towel warmer. You won’t want a unit that consumes excessive electricity. Fortunately, you can easily find warmers that feature energy-saving features.
• Some towel warmers work better if the towels are moist, while others are best with dry towels. If you’re using your towel warmer to heat up your towel or bathrobe for a great after-shower experience, you’ll want to go with one geared toward dry towels. But you might not get the experience you need when hanging wet towels and clothes to dry on it.
• Towel warmers can be prone to overheating. Some are built with an internal thermostat designed to keep that from happening.
• If you’re limited on space, you’ll want to track down a towel warmer that has a small footprint. Keep in mind that these types of warmers won’t be able to handle large towels or bathrobes, though.
• If you’re going with a hanging towel rack, consider whether you’re going to plug it into a wall outlet or connect it to your home’s wiring. Many hanging-style towel warmers come with both options so you don’t have to decide right away.