Your Bathroom Towel Rail Questions Answered

With winter fast approaching, it makes sense to turn our attention to the parts of our homes that keep us warm during these cold months. When it comes to bathroom radiators theirs a whole host of styles and sizes to choose from, but we should also make sure we're getting the most out of that winter gas bill we all love to pay.

Do Towel Radiators Heat the Bathroom?

More and more people are choosing to replace their standard radiators with heated towel rails. Their modern design and range of styles make them attractive options over standard radiators. A lot of people are also wondering if towel rails heat the bathroom.

When correctly sized for the room it's placed in a heated towel rail will have no issue heating your bathroom while also keeping your towels nice and toasty. A small towel rail, like the Eastbrook Biava 360mm x 400mm pictured below, is designed to heat towels and probably won't make much of a difference to the rest of your bathroom during the winter.

If you were to purchase a full-size towel rail that matches the BTU output required for your bathroom, however, you wouldn't need a second radiator in the room. Towel rails usually give out less heat than a radiator of the same size, this is why we recommend people use our BTU calculator to ensure they get the right output for their room.

Are Towel Rails Expensive To Run?

Typically, heated towel rails are either plumbed into your central heating system with the rest of your bathroom radiators or heated using an electric heating element. Both of these methods come with their advantages and disadvantages.

Central Heated Towel Rails 

Centrally heated towel rails depend on your entire heating system being turned on in order for them to work, this is usually not an issue in the winter months when people have their heating on more regularly, but in the summer months, your towel rail might be the only radiator you want to use on the entire system. This issue can be lessened by lowering the temperature of your other radiators via your radiator valves but this still means your boiler is working to supply hot water to the system, consuming gas or oil and contributing to your heating bill.

Electric Towel Rails

Electric towel rails work like any other electric heater you might have around the house, you can turn it on and off with the flick of a switch and control the heat using a dial or buttons. This avoids the issue of having to turn on the heating system for your entire home in order to heat your bathroom and towels. They can be expensive, however, due to the power requirements of the element that heats it. In essence, they function much as a kettle does albeit with less short term power usage. Despite this, an electric towel raid would be more expensive to run for the same length of time as a centrally heated towel rail. The main benefits lie solely with the flexibility of being able to turn them on and off independent of your normal heating system.

Dual Fuel Towel Rails

Many of the towel rails offered by Rubberduck Bathrooms have the option to be dual-fuel. These types of towel rail have all the advantages of both centrally heated and electric towel rails without the disadvantages.

Dual fuel rails can be powered both electrically and by the hot water from your central heating system, meaning it can warm your bathroom when your heating is on and also keep your towels warm easily when your central heating is off. A great advantage of this is that in the winter when your heating is on more often, it will keep your bathroom warm through the day. While in the summer months when your heating isn't on as much, they can be turned on as and when needed to keep your towels warm while you bathe or shower without heating up the rest of your house.

Which is better straight or curved towel rails?

A commonly asked question we see online and in our inboxes is "should I get a straight or curved towel rail?". The answer comes in three parts usually; aesthetics, function and science. 

Straight towel rails are the most common you will see in bathrooms up and down the nation. They offer a clean and modern look that most people are going for with their new bathroom and work perfectly in a smaller bathroom where you want the towel rail as close to the wall as possible.

Curved towel rails, however, offer more versatility than a flat rail. The added space at the back of the rail makes it easier to feed towels through the towel rails bars, meaning you can hang more towels on the rail before filling up space at the back of the rail.

A curved towel rail also enables a larger amount of airflow through the space behind the towel rail and your bathroom wall, this enhanced airflow means your towels will dry and warm up faster than with a flat towel rail.

Which Towel Radiator is the Best?

Deciding which towel radiator is the best for Britains bathrooms in a very subjective matter. Everyone has different styles, sizes of bathroom and heating setups. Below you will find our top picks for bathroom towel radiators that we think you will love. If none of these takes your fancy, we have a huge range of towel rails, most with discounts off RRP and FREE mainland UK delivery.

Click to view the Abacus Plana Range

The Plana range of designer radiators by Abacus has a square design and are constructed from high-quality materials. They are rigorously tested up to 16 bar (232psi) of pressure for your peace of mind and to ensure the highest of quality standards. Choose from mirror chrome, modern anthracite and earthy beige to suit your bathroom or cloakroom space. The plana range of radiators at Rubberduck Bathrooms are 500mm in width and are available from 800mm to 1600mm in height.

Click here to view our range of traditional towel rails

If you're looking to add a classical twist to your bathroom, look no further than the traditional towel rail range available at Rubberduck Bathrooms. Choose from well-known brands such as Abacus, Burlington, Eastbrook Bathrooms and more.

At Rubberduck bathrooms we have hundreds of towel rails to choose from, meaning you can find the perfect heated towel rail for your bathroom, wetroom or cloakroom. Click the button below to browse our entire bathroom towel rail range or click here to go to our contact us page where you can give us a call or send an email to speak to one of our trained sales advisors.