Protect your home, health by getting rid of shower steam
As New Zealand finally wakes up to the reality that insulation is vital for a warm and healthy home, another product is already lining up as the next household essential, this time by eliminating harmful bathroom moisture.
Showerdome® shower tops pick up where insulation leaves off, because while insulation creates a barrier to the outside, the shower tops do so within the home, stopping the problem of moisture at its source.
Shower steam is one of the main contributors to a damp, cold home. As it settles on walls and drifts down hallways, the moisture makes air harder to heat, drives up power bills and creates a ready environment for mould to damage furnishings and joinery.
Showerdome® shower tops put an end to this with remarkable simplicity. Fitted snugly over the top of a shower cubicle, they prevent hot, moisture-laden air from leaving the shower and meeting the relatively cool, dry air of the bathroom.
It is in that interaction that steam is formed, so by preventing it the shower tops are able to keep bathrooms miraculously clear. Mirrors stay fog-free, water doesn’t condense on walls and there are no billowing clouds waiting to escape the room when you open the door.
This leads to drier rooms that can be heated more efficiently, creating an allround healthier home, particularly for residents with respiratory conditions.
The shower tops are a Kiwi invention designed to deal with one of the major problems of New Zealand’s ageing housing stock. But with the results in retrofitted homes so impressive, the company is increasingly supplying shower tops for new builds too.
Available in 13 sizes, the shower tops are made locally, cost $299 and can be
installed professionally for about $150. They can also be supplied by themselves for DIY installation.
A lifetime guarantee ensures users will have a clear, attractive shower top for as long as the shower lasts.
With air easier to heat and less need for heated towel rails, mirror demisters and extraction fans, homes with a Showerdome® shower top soon see savings on their electricity bills.
Researchers at the University of Waikato independently tested the shower tops over eight months and found the devices could pay for themselves within two years.
‘‘Depending on the consumer’s use of electric heaters to preheat or dry out a bathroom, plus their use of heated towel rails, the Showerdome® could save a consumer hundreds of dollars per year,’’ Professor Dr James Carson reported.
Showerdome® chief executive Maurice O’Reilly says the findings are testament to the product’s value in New Zealand homes.
‘‘Customers have also expressed the benefits in terms of reduced maintenance costs and reduced allergy symptoms,’’ he says. ‘‘Many have said their wallpaper doesn’t peel anymore, mould and mildew doesn’t grow in the bathroom, and the house doesn’t feel as damp.’’
The advantages for property owners mean Showerdome® shower tops are more than ever being included in new bathrooms as a standard feature.
The clear acrylic domes are at their most effective in winter when airborne moisture does the most damage to homes, making now the ideal time to end shower steam forever.
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