Sometimes you really can have the best of both worlds. For anyone who’s ever craved the convenience of a shower, but not at the cost of their beloved bath, there is a solution.
Let’s start by clarifying one thing: a mixer is not the same as one of those old detachable shower heads with suction cups. (Does anyone else remember those?) A mixer is a very sophisticated piece of kit comprising everything you need to enjoy fully powered showers, without the necessity of cubicles, enclosures or shower trays!
The mixer comes in many forms and may be attached to walls or fitted into the bath’s own plumbing (complete with taps), depending on the specification – and your requirements. In both cases, it will enable you to enjoy a shower as and when you want it. (And just as easily as you’d enjoy a bath.) The mixer works by mixing together the hot and cold water supplies that ordinarily feed your bath, delivering them at the required temperature by means of a conventional shower head. (This may be supplied with your mixer kit or sold separately – allowing you to customise it with the rest of your bathroom.)
In many cases, mixer showers actually produce a higher flow rate than conventional electric showers. Not bad for something that doesn’t require any electrical wiring and can cost anything up to hundreds of pounds less!
Mixers are available in just as wide ranging an array of styles as any other shower attachment and designs take in classic and contemporary forms. Fittings are sleek and subtle, emphasizing clean lines and chrome over flash and fancy. Safety is given equal emphasis. Thermostatic valves with built in ant-scald properties ensure that you can enjoy piping hot showers at perfectly safe temperatures.
So, are there any disadvantages? None that we can think of. Mixer showers are an affordable way to enjoy showering, without giving up your bath and without forking out for a cubicle. Sounds good to us!
© Bathroom Furniture.org.uk 2006
