How to choose the perfect shower?

Choosing the perfect shower for your bathroom can elevate your bathroom experience and turn it into a relaxing spa treatment.

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One of the most satisfying experiences in this world has to be renovating your bathroom, and of course, upgrading your shower. But the whole experience can be easily ruined, if you don't choose the right shower, and end up with low pressure or failing to set the right temperature.

Choosing the best shower for your new bathroom can be confusing - the choice on the market is overwhelming, and often you won't be sure what you need exactly. Or you'll find a gorgeous appliance but it'll turn out that it's just not ideal for your space.

To help you avoid mistakes and disappointment, we've narrowed down the 5 most common shower types, and the differences between them.

In this blog we'll be talking about:

mixer showers
thermostatic showers
electric showers
power showers
digital showers

Before you make the big decision you'll also need to figure out how many people will use the shower, and what their individual needs are, as shower heads and handsets can be fixed, or flexible, single of multifunctional, which is a shower head with adjustable settings.

Most importantly the type of shower to install will depend on your plumbing system, so it's always useful to consult a professional plumber before making a purchase, especially if it's a new installation, not a swap.

Once you've established this, it's time to choose your shower:

Establish Your Needs

Mixer Showers

A mixer shower takes water from the existing hot and cold water supplies and combines them within the shower unit. They're best suited for homes with readily available hot water, either ones with a combi boiler or a hot water cylinder. It's worth remembering that mixer showers will not increase the flow of water to your shower, so if your home suffers from poor water pressure you probably want to have a pump fitted, to increase water pressure

Power Showers

When you fit a pump to a mixer shower, this is called a power shower. Typically you'll find two types of pumps on the market - plastic and brass. While plastic pumps are cheaper, they can be noisier and less reliable long term than brass.

Thermostatic Showers

Like the two previous types a thermostatic shower takes water from the hot and cold water supply but in the same time allows you to have prefect control over the shower temperature. The pre-set thermostat that's part of the system allows for consistent water temperature, which is why this set up is extremely popular with young families with children and for elderly customers.

Electrical Shower

Electric showers are usually chosen for households where hot water isn't readily available or is in limited supply. They take cold water from the cold water supply and an element inside the shower heats it up.

Electric showers can be used in any home, and they guarantee instant hot water, as it's heated up on the spot, not taken from the hot water supply.

The flow rate of the electric shower depends on the KW power rating to heat water, which simply means to higher the KW rate, the more powerful the shower will be.

Digital Showers

Digital showers are the millennial of the shower world. It works in a similar way to a thermostatic shower but allows you to pre-set the exact temperature on a wireless digital screen in the shower. This means no more freezing and jumping around on your toes in the shower - the water will be pre-warmed before you step in the shower.

Other Showers

Of course, there are other types of showers on the market, such as more eco-friendly options, and the newest in smart tech. The five types we mentioned, however are the most popular and widely-available on the market.