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Heated towel rails have become increasingly popular in recent years.
These devices are the same as any other radiator, with a slightly different tubular design, making it easier to drape wet towels over them. They’re usually taller, with attractive chrome coatings to blend them in with the rest of the bathroom.
There are no real technical differences between heated towel rails and radiators, so adjusting them is the same as adjusting any radiator.
Here’s what to do:
How does a heated towel radiator work?
Heated towel radiators are radiators designed for draping towels over in the bathroom. You can also use them for dressing gowns or clothes. They’re not electric, which makes them perfectly safe for the bathroom, and it doesn’t matter if they get damp or wet.
The radiator is connected to a hot water supply, such as a gas central heating system, and is heated by hot water pumped through the radiator. The water heats the metal bars.
The only difference between heated towel radiators and normal radiators is the shape. They’re often taller, with bars that make it easy to drape towels over.
How to use your towel radiator controls
Towel radiators are easy to control. If your towel radiator is too hot or cold, then perform the following procedure to adjust it.
- Identify the type of radiator control you have. Towel radiators can be operated by either manual or thermostatic controls. Manual valves are simpler and lack the cap and dial of a thermostatic valve.
- Manual valves don’t monitor ambient heat, so you simply open them to increase heat or close them to decrease heat. You may be able to do this by hand, or you might need a spanner. Most manual valves are marked.
- Thermostatic valves automatically moderate radiator heat to maintain a steady temperature relative to the room. So, if the room is hot, then the valve will reduce heat - as only a small amount of heat energy is needed to heat a radiator when it’s already warm. In contrast, if the ambient temperature is low, a thermostatic valve will increase radiator output to maintain the set temperature.
- Thermostatic valves are easy to adjust by simply twisting the valve to the desired level, with 0 being off and 5 being the highest setting on most models. These will be marked.
Once you’ve adjusted the radiator, wait to see how it responds and tune accordingly. If your radiator isn’t behaving as you expect, there might be an issue (see below).
How do you turn off a heated towel rail?
You can turn off a heated towel rail or other radiator by closing the valve to 0.
This is the case for both manual valves and thermostatic valves. You’ll almost certainly need to turn the valve clockwise - but do check.
How do you turn down a heated towel radiator?
Like all radiators, heated towel radiators are controlled via the central heating thermostat and valves.
Like your other radiators, the thermostat dictates the temperature you want to keep your house at. If you turn your thermostat up to a higher temperature, your boiler will increase its heating power, thus causing your radiators to heat up more.
Thermostatic valves are for adjusting radiator temperature relative to other radiators. You can turn your valve up or down to adjust the temperature of just that radiator.
In short, adjust your heating with the thermostat and individual radiators by the valve. Turn the valve down (to the left) if your towel radiator is scorching hot at your favoured ambient temperature. On the other hand, if your home is warm and your towel radiator is cold, turn the valve up (to the right).
Reasons your towel radiator is still not working?
If your towel radiator either:
- Heats up slowly compared to others
- Doesn’t seem to reach the heat you expect
- Is cold at the top
- Had cold spots
Then there might be another issue worth investigating.
Air in the system
If the heating system is exposed to air, then air bubbles might get into the system and build up towards the top of the radiator. This might cause the radiator to stop working correctly.
Normally, it will heat up ok at the bottom, but the top will remain cold. Or, there might be cold spots over one side of the radiator.
In this situation, you should bleed the radiator. Follow the procedure here. Bleeding releases excess air in the radiator and should be seen as the first troubleshooting procedure you carry out if a radiator isn’t working properly.
Towel radiators are particularly susceptible to air blockages as they’re taller than average. If your radiators consistently fill with air, you might have a leak somewhere in the system and pipework.
Blockage
There might be a blockage in either the radiator itself or one of the valves. However, if the towel heater radiator is relatively new, it’s pretty unlikely that there’ll be a blockage inside the radiator.
If the heating system is fairly old, then sludge can prevent the proper circulation of water around the radiator.
Valve issues
If the valves are faulty, worn or blocked, then the radiator may fail to heat up.
You can isolate the radiator and partially disable the valves to check for obvious sludge or dirt if you’re comfortable doing so.
Be careful with older manual valves - they are prone to breaking if you mess around too much. It might be worth upgrading your heated towel radiator to a newer model with thermostatic valves.
Thermostatic valves automatically regulate heat and are more efficient.
Get help with your towel radiator
If your towel radiator isn’t working properly and you’ve tried to bleed it, it’s worth contacting a plumber or heating engineer.
Towel radiators can sometimes be tricky, mainly due to their taller and more stylish designs. Issues are typically easy to fix, however.
Contact us if you’re experiencing issues with your towel radiator - we’ll get it back running as it should.
