Steam shower cabins, shower enclosures and whirlpool steam showers from Smart Price Warehouse.....

Buying a Steam Shower Cabin is certainly a substantial purchase and with the vast amount of models, makes and offers available on the Internet and elsewhere, the old saying "you get what you pay for" has never been more true. And that's just not in the quality of the steam showers supplied, but also in the level of reliability, service, after sales support and the availability of spare parts, should there ever be a problem in the future.

Whilst price is likely to be at the forefront of many peoples thinking when making a Steam Shower Cabin purchase, all these other important factors should be duly considered, to ensure you receive the best in terms of both product value and service.

At Smart Price, we do not sell cheap Steam Showers Cabins. What we do supply though, is a top quality steam showers and other products at a very competitive price that is based and discounted purely on high volume purchases, but without cutting corners on quality. In this regard, we and our trading associates are likely amongst the largest and most successful resellers and suppliers in the UK and have over 6 years of specialist experience in this particular market sector.

So although at first glance a particular Steam Shower Cabin may appear to be good value, do ensure and check that the following are also offered:-

1. High specification quality product - as a guide, please see the Smart Price manufacturing specification further down in this article.

2. Fitting and Operational instruction manuals.

3. Technical Support Line - for direct advice on installations.

4. After Sales Service.

5. Spare Parts Availability.

6. Warranty.

Manufacturing Specification

GLASS: All our Steam Shower Cabins and enclosures comply with ISO9001, CE and are fitted with tempered safety glass of between 5-6mm in thickness and have passed the necessary testing to ensure that in instances where the glass should break, this will simply shatter into very small pieces with no sharp edges. Unless otherwise specified, the back panels of the shower cabins are made of mirrored, tempered glass that has also undergone the same tests.

FRAMES: The frames on our core steam shower cabins and enclosures are manufactured in 1.2mm aluminium, which provides for excellent structural support, stability and finish. On cheaper and inferior models, frames can be plastic and sprayed to look like aluminium and thus not as sturdy or long lasting.

TUB/BASE: The tub bases and higher trays and are fitted with a fully supporting, steel framework bonded to the tub, which affords both a stable footing and assists in offering overall structural stability. Unless a ultra-low tray is being supplied, do be aware that if a shower base is not supported on a steel frame, it can have a tendency to flex, leading to cracking of the base or unbalancing the occupant(s) whilst in use.

Most quality Steam Shower Cabins, are designed to be free standing units that once assembled, connect to the electricity and water supply much like a washing machine or dishwasher. Accordingly, there's no tedious drilling and fixing components to walls or tiling to do when fitting steam showers.

In general, we would always recommend your Steam Shower Cabins be installed by a professional plumber or installer. In this regard and if you should decide to purchase from Smart Price Warehouse, we may be able to refer you to a local installer, if you do not already know of one in your particular area or, to an approved nationwide team of installers.

If you have some knowledge and familiarity with the water supply to your property, the information below should be sufficient for you to determine what your individual plumbing requirements are likely to be for installing Steam Shower Cabins. If this is a subject totally alien to you, the information should at least enable you to discuss this with an installer, with some degree of confidence. If there is anything you are unsure about though, we'll be happy to answer your questions on 0208-166-5994 anytime from 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday; 9am to 6pm Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.

CONNECTIONS: As mentioned above, quality Steam Shower Cabins are designed to be free standing units that are connected in much the same way as a washing machine or dishwasher.

Connections for hot and cold water, and power are at the back of the unit. On steam shower cabins supplied by us, depending on the model and size, the water connects at the diverter which is positioned about 1250mm off the floor at the rear of the unit....in the corner on a quadrant or elongated model or at the centre on a rectangular model.

Each unit comes supplied with flexible connector hoses of approximately 950mm length for both hot and cold water feeds. The 13a power supply is typically from under the base and has a cable approximately 1700mm in length.

WATER PRESSURE: All Steam Shower Cabins require between 2 and 3 bar of water pressure for optimum results and a flow rate of at least 7.5 litres per minute is required and the water supply to the unit, must also be balanced. Be aware that steam showers do not have independent means of heating water for showering - this comes direct from your existing hot water installation.

WATER SUPPLY: If you already have a modern Combi Boiler fitted, this will be fine because most will output a minimum 1 - 3 bar of the required pressure. However, because they typically use mains pressure cold water, you must have a Pressure Equalising Valve (PEV) fitted, to ensure that water pressures to the steam shower unit, are always balanced. We are able to supply PEV's if required.

Be aware that if you have a Gravity fed hot water system, this alone will not produce sufficient pressure to the steam shower cabin. Although this can be easily overcome, it is an important issue when considering your steam showers purchase. In these types of  circumstances, we would recommend the fitting of a Twin Impeller Pump to be used, so that the hot and cold water are sent to the unit at the same pressure. We can also supply pumps if required.

PIPING: Good quality steam shower cabins should have all internal piping included within the unit. With the models we supply, these have a flexible waste pipe located underneath the tub which must then have an ‘inline trap' fitted to it, available from all plumbers merchants and DIY stores.

The pipes to supply the various services on the unit are all connected to the back of the 3 way valve in the central control panel. These should all be labelled as to which service they should be connected to such as the monsoon shower, hand shower, back jets, steam generator etc. All of the models  supplied by Smart Price Warehouse include the necessary 15mm connectors.

ELECTRICITY: As mentioned above, steam shower cabins require a 13amp power supply and our models come ready supplied with a cable approximately 1700mm in length, which is typically found under the base. To connect, this requires a 13 amp isolated fused spur socket outside of the bathroom area.

The sockets must have their own separate RCD to isolate the unit if required, but the cable supplied with most units, already has an inline trip defence system integrated within it. The power is converted within the unit to operate the lighting and radio etc to a safe 12 volts. In general, LED lights in steam showers should all be low voltage. Most models supplied by us have 2 lighting circuits, one for the ceiling lights, and one for the low voltage LED side lights. The wires simply twine together and go into the same connector, simple as that!

No introduction to Steam Shower Cabins would be complete without including and underlining the benefits of Hydrotherapy to personal health and wellness. As you are probably already aware, Hydrotherapy is the use of water to promote health and healing. By using the effects of water on the body; buoyancy, warmth, and turbulence (Hydro-massage) we are able to help reduce the effects of pain, stress and discomfort.

Hydrotherapy is found to be especially beneficial for people with sports injuries, Arthritis, aching joints, muscular pain, stress, stiffness, Rheumatism, Sciatica and general tiredness and aching brought on by modern living and much more besides.

HYDROTHERAPY: When the body is immersed in water it is as much as 80% lighter and this removes the pressure on the muscles, joints, ligaments and spine. The warmth of the water (or steam) makes the blood vessels dilate (increase in diameter), which increases blood circulation around the body. Heat also enables the cells to more easily rid themselves of metabolic waste, which is replaced by oxygen and the body's natural nutrients.

The movement of the water passing over our bodies gives the body direct and often immediate relief as it massages the muscles and joints. This is most especially noticeable in Whirlpools where the powerful jets massage the body. This direct stimulation relaxes the muscles in the area, so allowing the muscle or joint to mend. As the water massages areas of the body, endorphins are produced, which in turn further assist pain relief.

When you are in pain or under stress, chemical changes in your body can cause the blood pressure and pulse rate to increase, but having regular hydrotherapy treatments can help you to reduce these symptoms by slowing down the process of stress reaction. Hydrotherapy is also thought to also help regulate the body’s temperature by improving the efficiency of the body to perspire. This further helps the body remove toxins and can lead to a much improved skin appearance and healthy glow.

Steam Shower Cabins ©  Smart Price Warehouse 2011