The 14 Best Towel Warmers to Make Your Bathroom Feel Like a Spa
Keep the post-shower chill at bay with a towel warmer that will add a luxe touch to your bathroom.
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Towel warmers aren’t just for high-end hotels. These devices can be installed in just about any bathroom to give you access to a warm, fluffy towel anytime you want to feel cozy.
They’re perfect for drying off after a steamy shower in the winter when the chilly air can feel especially harsh against freshly cleansed skin. They can also enhance an at-home spa treatment, like a body scrub or face mask. Wrapping yourself in a snuggly towel after a hot bath can be the ultimate way to ease stress and enjoy some self-care.
Yes, towel warmers are a luxurious upgrade to your bathroom. But they also have a practical purpose, too. They can help damp towels dry quickly, eliminating the need to wash them as frequently and reducing the risk of harboring gross bacteria. A towel warmer can also be a nice touch to a vacation rental or guest bathroom.
We researched and evaluated over 35 different towel warmers to help you find the one that's perfect for your bathroom set-up.
The Best Towel Warmers
- Best Overall: Keenray Bucket Towel Warmer
- Best Value: Brandon Basics Wall Mounted Electric Towel Warmer
- Best Hardwired: Amba Radiant Collection Towel Warmer
- Best for Couples: DOACE Towel Warmer Bucket
- Best Budget: KEG 6-Bar Freestanding Towel Warmer
What to Consider
As much as we love finding products that are the best of the best, there’s not a singular perfect towel warmer that works for every bathroom, given space constraints and layout limitations. Here are a few things to keep in mind to find the best towel warmer for your space.
Style
First, we recommend determining what type of towel warmer you want. Depending on what style of towel warmer you opt for will affect its look, functionality, and the number of towels it can simultaneously warm. Here’s a short list of the most common styles of towel warmers you’ll likely come across.
- Bucket: This type of towel warmer looks a bit like a laundry hamper. Since they’re freestanding, you can easily move them from place to place. Most bucket-style towel warmers can accommodate two large bath sheets or a pair of pajamas or robes. There are smaller countertop bucket towel warmers for people who don’t have enough floor space or access to an outlet to plug them in.
- Rack: A heated towel rack is typically attached to your wall so it won’t take up precious floor space, but you’ll likely have to hardwire it to your electric system. This style can be used to heat and dry towels. For those who don’t want to fuss with installation, there are freestanding electric towel warming racks available (our favorite is the KEG towel warmer) and even plug-in wall-mounted racks, like the Myson Pearl electric towel warmer.
- Hydronic: This type of towel warmer uses hot water or steam to heat its towel rails and hooks up to your home’s plumbing. Electric towel warmers are a lot easier to install, but hydronic towel warmers, like the Hudson Reed Marquis electric radiator heated towel warmer, can also serve as supplemental heaters for your bathroom. Liquid-filled units take longer to heat up, but they are easier to repair.
Editor’s Note: We chose to omit hydronic-style warmers for this guide given their complicated installations — we only recommend this type of towel warmer if you’re building a new bathroom or are fully renovating it. If you’re considering a hydronic model in the name of lower energy bills, just know that an electric towel warmer uses the same amount of energy as two lightbulbs, so your savings won’t be that significant.
Size
Just as they vary in shape, towel warmers also come in different sizes. There are compact towel warmers that can be placed on your bathroom vanity for easy access to warm washcloths, tall freestanding racks that can toast several towels, and deep bucket-style warmers for big waffle towels. Rack-style warmers differ in the number of racks they have and how far the bars are spaced apart. Be sure to measure your space before purchasing one to ensure it’ll fit.
Capacity
The size of your towel warmer will determine how many towels you can warm simultaneously. It typically takes four racks to warm one towel, meaning you can dry three towels with a model that has 12 racks. As you'd expect, the larger the towel warmer, the higher the price tag will likely be. Bucket towel warmers are typically limited to one or two big towels at a time, so keep that in mind if you’re hoping to warm up a bunch of towels at once.
Features
Most towel warmers are simple appliances that only serve one purpose. You guessed it… they warm towels! However, a few models have extra bells and whistles, like adjustable temperature settings and timers that switch the warmer off after a certain amount of time to conserve energy or rather to turn it on at a specific time so your towel is warm at just the right moment. Some towel warmers are also equipped with handy hooks that allow you to warm smaller garments, like socks or gloves.
HEATGENE even makes a smart towel warmer that you can turn on with your phone or smart speaker. If your towel warmer doesn’t have a built-in timer, you could use a separate programmable timer like the ones from Honeywell and Leviton. Basic electrical work is required to install these timers, though.
Whether a wall-mounted option works best for you or you're looking into a freestanding canister, we’ve found towel warmers that can fit your needs. Just make sure that you don't purchase a hardwired warmer if you don't plan on hiring a contractor or installing it yourself! Bucket towel warmers are often the simplest solution if you’re looking for something with no electrical work required.
How We Selected
We read reviews of more than 35 towel warmers at major online retailers, including Amazon, Wayfair, and Lowe’s to see which ones were winners with customers. We strived to find towel warmers that offered a variety of capacities and installation methods — some people will prefer the ease of plugging in a bucket towel warmer and bringing some calm into their bathroom almost instantly, while others won’t mind recruiting an electrician to help install a wall-mounted rack towel warmer. In addition to positive reviews and varieties, we also considered cost, style, and bonus features, like automatic shut-off and built-in timers, to narrow down the best towel warmers out there.
Joni Sweet is a freelance writer who covers travel, health, wellness, and anything else that piques her interest. When she's not traveling the globe in search of stories, she can be found sprucing up her home in the Hudson Valley, playing with her two cats, practicing yoga, cooking vegetarian food, and hitting New York's rail trails on her bike. She has written for Real Simple, Forbes, TIME, SELF, Health, Lonely Planet, Frommer's, and dozens of other publications. Learn more at www.jonimsweet.com.
Brandon Carte is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience covering technology, gadgets and appliances. His reporting has been featured on Best Products, Top Ten Revies, Good Housekeeping and USA Today. When he's not researching washing machines or testing robot vacuums, you can find him at concerts, swimming laps, or at the movies. He thinks smartphones are too big, prefers MP3s to Spotify and misses his iPhone’s headphone jack.
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