Most bathroom furniture is made from hard ceramics, porcelain and stone; and as functional as these materials are, they can be unpleasantly cold during a freezing winter or on a chilly morning. The thought of your feet touching the ice-cold bathroom floor or that moment when you step out of your steamy shower into the frigid air is enough to put off anyone. But a warm bathroom during the winter months does not have to be an unattainable luxury. There are various easy ways to overcome a chilly bathroom.
Here are some ideas to keep your bathroom toasty warm no matter how cold it is outside.
1. Turn Off or Replace Your Extraction Fan
Having the extraction fan on while taking a shower can pull all the steam out of the room, which will leave you showering in the cold. If you can, keep the door closed and turn off your extraction fan before stepping into the shower to prevent warm air from escaping. If you are planning on replacing your fan, consider replacing it with a bathroom heater. There are many bathroom heaters available and you can read more here about some of the options. Bathroom heaters provide the same functionality of a standard extraction fan, plus they keep your bathroom toasty warm. Like extraction fans, bathroom heaters remove moisture from the air, preventing foggy mirrors, keeping mold and mildew away and removing unwanted odors. You can adjust how warm you want your bathroom to be on a thermostat attached to the wall or on the heating unit itself. Your bathroom will heat up in one or two minutes, giving you a more comfortable morning shower experience.
2. A Case of Cold Feet
Touching cold tiles with your bare feet is one of the worst bathroom experiences imaginable. There are several ways to mitigate this problem. The most simple one is to place thick fluffy mats in the areas that you will be standing, such as in front of the sink, toilet and shower. Not only will they keep your feet warm, they also bring a soft, cozy and stylish vibe to your bathroom. If you are really concerned about having your feet warm underneath, consider renovating your bathroom with radiant floor heating. Whilst not common in the West, this kind of underfloor heating is standard in countries like South Korea and Japan where the winters can get very cold. A heated floor will create warmth that rises from the floor to heat your room naturally. This solid heating solution will significantly increase your quality of life during a frigid winter.
3. Efficiency Check
If your bathroom feels chillier than the rest of the house, your windows may be letting draughts in. Check if your bathroom windows are the culprit and take extra effort to fix them, because there is no point in trying to fill up a bucket with holes. The job can easily be done with some inexpensive silicone caulk made for weatherizing. Also, make sure that there is nothing blocking the heating source of your bathroom, whether that is the heat vents or your heater itself.
4. A Warm Welcome
A room that is visually cozy really can make it feel warmer. If you have a cold bathroom color scheme, consider incorporating some warmer colors or changing the theme entirely. Colors in warmer schemes like reds, oranges, yellows and warm wood finishes will lend your bathroom a cozy ambience. Besides changing your bathroom color scheme, adding warm lighting can also create the illusion of warmth for the whole space, especially those bulbs that emit K2500 and CRI 90 or higher. Adding plants can also warm up your space as they release moisture into the air and increase the humidity.
5. Coming In Hot
It is so annoying to wrap yourself up in a cold towel right after a steamy hot shower. You can try hanging your towel on the edge of your shower door so no cold air would reach it by the time you finish, just be careful with water splashes. You can also throw your bath towels in the dryer or store them on a hot radiator for some time before you take a shower. On a more practical note, you can invest in a towel warmer, which is mounted to the wall or plug directly into an outlet and warm up your towels while you are showering. Even better than that, towel warmers also perform as a room heater, which will heat your whole bathroom up.
Gloomy winter months can feel a lot better with a lovely warm bathroom. These simple ideas can keep your bathroom cozy without costing an arm and a leg. Instead of shivering your way through the winter mornings, make them an opportunity to renovate your bathroom and give it a whole new feel. Get ready to kiss the shivers goodbye!