Baltic Bathroom? Keep it warm this Winter!

*Collaborative Post

Picture the scene. It’s another cold winter morning, and you’re struggling to get out of bed because you’re just so cosy. You know you have to get up and face the day but there’s one big hurdle in front of you before you can even think about getting dressed; the dreaded run to the bathroom.

When your heating isn’t up to par, those few seconds where you have to zip out of your room and run to the bathroom without Jack Frost being able to nip at your bare toes are precious. There is something though that can make the little trip just that much worse; the even more dreaded cold bathroom.

All I have to do is say “feet on cold tiles”, and you can already sense the little jumps on the spot you do while waiting for the shower to heat up. It’s like you’re doing a special pre-shower shimmy as some sort of rain dance. If this all sounds all too familiar for your home (and that’s before I get to having to dry off with a rough, cold towel) then dear reader, you’ve come to the right place, as I have assembled some of the ways you can avoid ever having to live through the torture of early morning Ice Capades just to shower and brush your teeth.

If your bathroom isn’t getting warm in winter, here are some ways you can make small changes for maximum impact.

Tip 1: Rug it up

Now I’m not talking about getting a nice bath mat that’s roughly the size of a placemat but getting an actual rug you cover most of the floor with. Because bathrooms can be tricky shapes at the best of times, it’s ideal to measure how much free space you can have without a rug encroaching on the bottom of the sink, bath, shower or toilet.

Some brands will have an anti-slip layer on the bottom. Others don’t, but you can easily buy anti-slip bits and bobs from Amazon.

Once it’s down, no more cold toes, but it doesn’t solve the problem of a cold bathroom.

Tip 2: Get that towel ready

After a nice warm shower, there’s nothing like the feeling of a cold towel, and not for any good reason. I fear for anyone who can go for their morning shower and leave the towel on the floor getting in.

Having a heated towel rail is a great idea, especially if you have a tiny bathroom. They’re great space savers, and you never have to worry about touching a cold, damp towel to dry your hands ever again.

Tip 3: Steam it up!

A bit of a fancy idea, but if you can do it, get a steam shower. They’re not that common in the UK, but oh my they’re great for getting all your muscles to loosen and wake up first thing in the morning.

Now it doesn’t mean that the shower will be a bazillion degrees to get in to. It’s merely that a steam shower will produce more steam than average, and the shower unit will be sealed to keep it all in. After just a few weeks use your pores will feel amazing.

Tip 4: Work out your BTU

Your BT what now? Every room has what is known as a British Thermal Unit (BTU). Technically, the measurement is used to figure out how much heat is needed, so one pound of water goes up by one degree Fahrenheit. Not so technically, if you know the dimensions of any room in your home, you have a rough idea of how much BTU you need from a radiator.

Why is this important? Well if you know the figure, you can get a radiator to match. Buy a radiator with a BTU lower than what you need and your bathroom will never get warm. Buy a radiator with a massive BTU, and you’ll be wasting energy every time you turn the radiator on.

Tip 5: Get a new radiator without the plumbing

Have an old bathroom but dread the idea of having to get new pipes in so a radiator will work? Skip all that and buy radiators online. Instead of needing new pipes, you need an electrician to wire a plug in the room that you can plug a radiator in. Electric elements have their own element and fluid inside so they heat up without the need for hot water. You will probably need an electrician for this but once it is done it will be really worth it. Pop a timer on it and you can have it set to come up and heat up before anything else in the morning – the ultimate solution to early morning winter woes.

Got bitten by the DIY bug after reading this post?

Then check out some of the recent posts from the lifestyle section of the blog, including this post on Updating Your Kitchen Décor.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.