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How is a steam shower different from a regular shower?

5 years ago

I'm debating a steam shower but I don't understand what it is. My current shower is not a steam shower and it certainly gets steamy. How is a steam shower different? I love the steamroom at the gym and if a steam shower is like that, that might be worth it to me.

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Comments (4)

roarah
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
A proper steam shower uses very little water. There is a steam generator housed usually in a closet near by or attic connected via pipes to a fixture in the shower. It heats a small amount of water to generate a thick steam. The shower stall is fully vapor proof and sealed to enclose all the steam in the stall. The stall should have a sloped ceiling to prevent condensation from raining on your head. It is about a 10 k upgrade in labor and material cost from a regular shower cost.

Just like the spa or gym.
PRO
Klein Kitchen and Bath
5 years ago
Yes it functions very much like the spa or gym steam room. As roarah said there's a small steam generator that needs to be installed (usually inside nearby closet) where you have to run plumbing and electrical to. They have to run an electrical line from your electrical box to the seam generator so that can increase labor cost if your electrical panel is far from the bathroom. They have to run plumbing (usually) from sink area to steam generator and then run another pipe (which steam will run through) from generator to your shower.

When we do steam showers, we usually install a bench in the shower so you can sit down and relax. You do want to have a decent size shower (has to be bigger than at least 3'x3'). Shower glass enclosure seals the shower area and usually we put a small window above shower door so when you aren't using the steam function.
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I don't understand the last post to this thread? Thermasol offers a 5-year replacement warranty on all their controllers. Why would you pay to replace it? Maybe you had it more than 5 years? If so, then it's too bad it failed but how long do you expect it to last? I doubt you could expect a car to last reliably with no problems longer than 5 years, so why expect that of your steam shower. I have a PRO-395 that I installed 14 months ago. It just failed tonight. Not sure if it is the controller board or the heating element, but it stopped producing steam. Called tech support and they are shipping me a new replacement unit tomorrow and paying for the install, all at no cost. I am going to call them tomorrow to talk to them about the fact that it failed so soon. They are supposedly the best and charge a premium for their product. I am curious how they will explain that it failed so soon. Will update this post if they say anything interesting. Update: Spoke to them this morning and they are sending me a new unit, and pay for installation charge. One other thing. Someone in the tread above talked about making their shower with a 10 ft ceiling. Don't do that! That is just dumb, and will affect the experience of a good steam. If you ever want to make your steam shower bigger, do it in the length or width but never in the height. My house has 10 ft. ceilings, but my shower has a 7.5 ft up to an 8 ft. ceiling and that is plenty high enough. The 7.5 ft part is over the bench so the fact that it is lower there makes no difference because you are sitting down.
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roarah
5 years ago
I forgot to mention extra insulation to lessen noise and increase efficiency costs too.
PRO
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Try one at your gym or spa for a month before committing to the large extra cost of installing one in your home. I’m betting that the novelty wears off after a week. It does for about 90% of the people who install them.

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