Who doesn't like the comforting feel of a warm fluffy towel when stepping out of the shower? The modern heated towel rails of these days are designed to keep both you and your bathroom feeling cosy, mostly during those colder winter months. These appliances can be easily integrated into a bathroom of all sorts and sizes, and there's no need for remodelling. However, you still have to be well acquainted with the different types of bathroom heated towel rails, so you can choose the most suitable one for you and your bathroom.

Grabbing a warm towel after a shower is one of life's little luxuries, but that's not the only benefit that a towel warmer provides. A towel warmer also provides a stylish and practical addition to your bathroom. Aside from being great for drying towels, it is also good for drying small items of clothing. Towel warmers also prevent mildew by drying towels more rapidly, thus keeping then fresher. The hot towel warmer acts as a supplemental heater in the bathroom as well, providing a soft ambient warmth and this helps to keep damp at bay.

There are three basic ways to use a heated towel warmer.

The electric towel warmer is powered by the mains electrical supply and it is a self-contained unit that operates independently from your heating system. You can find an electric towel warmer available in different models that stores and online retailers offer. This type of towel warmer has to be installed and mains-connected by a qualified electrical engineer. When choosing an electric heated rail, you have the option to choose whether you want it to be non-thermostatic (the temperature remains the same) or thermostatic heat (you can adjust the temperature settings).

Electric towel racks are usually a preferred choice for apartments and high-rise buildings. Basically, areas where it's quite difficult to achieve the required pressure for central heating, and in homes where there's no central gas or gas present. Installing an electric towel warmer is easy and simple to set up and it's a cost-effective way of keeping your towels warm and heating your bathroom. It usually represents a cheaper alternative to central heating and dual fuel options.

The central heating style of towel rail is powered by a gas boiler connected to a thermostat. The boiler heats up water and pumps it through a network of piper into the radiators that, in fact, give off heat. This is one of the easiest and least expensive to instal heating styles of towel rails which also makes it a pretty popular choice.

This heating system is a combination of the two systems above, meaning it gives you the ability to run your heating via a conventional gas-powered central heating system or via an electricity supply. This way, you can still enjoy warm towels or dry them after washing even if your central heating is turned off for the year.

These are the most common and popular styles of towel rails. They are known for their stylish simplicity and they are available in a massive range of sizes. Aside from looking fantastic when being installed in bathrooms, but they also look great in kitchens and en-suites.

In rooms where space is at a premium (as in small bathrooms, en-suites and downstairs toilets), horizontal heated towel warmers really come into their own and provide a very useful function. They are also popular for under bathroom windows or cupboards.

This is a variation on the ladder-style heated towel rail. The design can best be seen when looking at the towel rail in profile, where you can see the horizontal bars curved outwards. This curvature of the bars allows extra space behind the rails, and this, in turn, makes it easier to tuck and hang thick towels.

If you have a higher budget and you are looking to achieve a top-end, luxury finish, you may want to choose some model out of the wide range of design heated towel rails. These look amazing in high specification homes.

This style of towel rail provides some rustic style, therefore it can be usually seen in period properties, but also in homes that simply want to inject some homely character into the bathroom. Traditional towel rails are very practical in nature. Thanks to their large chamber, they emit a high heat output.

Stainless steel and chrome are examples of classic heated towel rail finishes. Both these finishes are high quality and durable materials. As expected, they are corrosion and temperature resistant too. They are also long-lasting, have an attractive appearance and match up well with almost any decor.