Which Towel Rail to Choose?

 A towel rail is an essential bathroom fixture, and it can also be the most stunning. It is so essential in fact that it is unlikely that you will find a domestic bathroom without one. There are a few things to consider before purchasing your towel rail, not least of which is do you want a heated rail or just a regular fix to the wall rail. Further points to consider are:

• What room do you have available for your rail?
• What style do you want?
• How many towels do you want to keep on it?
• What is the style of your bathroom?
• Do you need to match it to any other accessories that are currently in your bathroom and will not be changing?
  

When I say regular I don’t mean it to be derogatory, I merely mean non-heated. No matter your budget you will be able to find the ideal towel rail to suit. If you are refurbishing a place to sell on, or you even doing it to rent out to a bunch of students then without a doubt I would recommend buying a plastic towel rail. They’re cheap and don’t corrode easily, therefore if it does stay on the wall for a long time it won’t deteriorate and if it does find it’s way off the wall then it’s cheap enough to replace.

If this towel rail is for your home though you may want to make your decision a little more wisely.  You can get towel rails two main material that is a form of metal be it chrome plated or stainless steel and wood. On my previous hub I about xyz I made reference to using wood in the bathroom and that you should try to use a hard wood, or if you like to be eco friendly a bamboo based wood. If you do for a chrome rail make sure that is has a goo thick plating of chrome. If you spend $50+ on chrome towel rail you should definitely makes sure that the material is brass, which will not corrode. The problem with getting a cheap rail is that the chrome plating will chip and if it is mild steel underneath the humidity in the bathroom will gradually corrode it. It will cause the plating to bubble up… and this isn’t a great look.

A towel rail is usually fixed to the wall using nails, you can get rails with self adhesive pads, and suckers, both of which I’ve had bad experiences with. The self ashesive variety stay stuck for a while, but eventually the humidity in the bathroom gets to it and it will fall of the wall. If you prefer not to drill tiles though it is a better option that the suckered variety. Where do I start with the suckered variety… well they’re only any good if you’ve got a tiled wall to stick them to. They can stick to gloss painted doors, for about an hour. So if you’re in the situation where you have a tiled wall you’ll then be faced by trying to make sure it sucks to the wall so it’s level. Good luck.

Although more effort, I would always recommend getting a towel rail that screws to the wall, look for rails that have concealed fixings, that way they look really neat on the wall.

I know this may sound ridiculous but when you put your towel rail on the wall, make sure it not next to the toilet roll. Wet hands + damp towel = soggy loo roll. Not good.

Remember if you are getting a heated version that they will require some form of power, be it a direct connection to your central heating or an electrical connection to the ring main. If you’re a competent DIY’er you may well fancy the challenge of fitting the towel rail your self. Bear in mind though that an electric towel rail will needed to be fitted by a certified professional unless you are replacing an existing towel rail.

If you are replacing a radiator that you have in your bathroom then you will need to get an appropriate sized radiator so that it still heats up the room. The amount of heat given out by a heated towel rail that is the same dimensional size a normal radiator is not equal, it is much less. So if you are replacing a radiator and your pipes are already in situ then it is easiest if you get a taller radiator to go in it’s place. This may not be achievable if you have a window above your radiator.

Most heated towel rails are chrome plated, you do see the occasional white one but the cas majority are chrome. There are all generally in a ladder configuration that are either flat to the wall or bow out slightly. My preference is the sort the bow out slightly, you can get your towel on to one of the rungs easier. If your budget allows there are some designer heated rails that look superb.