Tag Archives: shower

What Are The Best Showers For Large Families?

Summer is (apparently) approaching fast, and this time of year typically brings summer holidays from school, and lots of playing outside for the kids. Summer is the time of year when children love to get outside and play, which usually ends up with them getting as muddy as possible.

So, the little monsters are more likely to make trips to the bathroom to wash and shower off. It’s therefore important to think about what type of shower would be best to cope with the extra demand that the summertime brings.

Households with large families may find that an electric shower is the best option to ensure hot water is available at any time of the day. Electric showers provide instant hot water, which means there is no waiting for the hot water tank to fill up if someone else has had a shower before you. Electric showers feed off the mains cold water and are completely independent from your household’s hot water system. They have an internal heating element, which heats the cold water as it passes through, to deliver you a nice, warm shower.

Electric showers can also be an economical choice for families, as they only heat the water required so there is no wasted hot water sitting unused in a cylinder.

So whether it’s a muddy football match, or a wet fishing trip, the summer will no doubt bring with it lots of showers (and hopefully not from the weather!)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Electric Showers, Fun Stuff, Showers

Wonder Dog Saves Owner Who Slips In The Shower

I read a lovely story this week about a Yorkshire Terrier, named Louis, who saved his owner after she collapsed in the shower.

Little Louis (look at him below, cute!) was trained by his owner, Victoria Shaw, to call for assistance in emergencies. Mrs Shaw is registered disabled and carries a panic alarm with her. She trained Louis to press the button, but it had always been a game. This time, Louis had to act for real.

Louis the Wonder Dog

Image courtesy of The Telegraph

When Mrs Shaw came out of her shower, she tripped on a rug, fell and hit her head. When she came to, Louis was right by her side and she could hear the voice of Telecare operative Sarah McLoughlin. Sarah called an ambulance and stayed on the line to reassure Mrs Shaw. Sarah asked who raised the alarm and they realised it must’ve been Louis. What a clever little dog! Luckily she was only left with a headache and dizziness, nothing too serious.

And to continue the dog/shower/water theme for today, here are some wonderful photos of dogs swimming underwater from amazing photographer Seth Casteel (you may have seen some of these online already, they’ve been a huge success).

Underwater Dogs

Underwater Dogs

Underwater Dogs 3

Underwater Dogs 4

Underwater Dogs 5

Underwater Dogs 6All photos courtesy of Seth Casteel

Happy Friday everyone!

Leave a Comment

Filed under Fun Stuff

Friday Poll Time!

We’ve not run any polls on our blog so far, so we’d thought we’d introduce our first one to you today in a post. We’ll be running a different poll each month, on a range of varied topics relating to showers so make sure to look out for them!

We’d love to get your feedback  so please vote and leave your comments.

Here’s our Poll for April (a couple of days early). For our first poll we thought it would be interesting to find out what type of showers our readers have in their homes. If you have more than one type of shower, you can tick multiple choices.

2 Comments

Filed under Fun Stuff, Showers

How To Clean Your Shower

Spring is finally here! The clocks have gone forward; it’s time to rejoice in the longer evenings, Easter eggs, daffodils and new-born lambs jumping around…. The sunshine does have a habit of showing up the dust that’s collected over the winter, so what better time to have a spring clean?

At Gainsborough Showers, we believe that regular shower maintenance is essential for a healthy lifestyle, so if your shower is looking a tad neglected, these handy tips should have it looking as good as new in no time at all.

With any product you use, always make sure it is suitable for the materials & surfaces you are using it on. Some products can actually damage your shower, particularly abrasive cleaners, so please make sure you check before using them. Usually, the more natural the product is and the fewer chemicals it has, the better it is for your shower and for you.

Getting Organised

First of all, clear a morning or afternoon to dedicate to cleaning your bathroom. Open the window or keep the bathroom door opening to ensure the room is nice and ventilated and put your rubber gloves on. It’s time to tackle that dirt!

Cleaning the Shower

Clear the shower area of any bottles, loofahs, soap and other items. Put them in the sink or onto the side. Take the opportunity to throw away any bottles that are empty and anything else that is no longer used.

Bathroom Set

If you have an adjustable shower head, use it to rinse the surrounding shower area. If your shower head is fixed, then fill a bucket with warm water and rinse all surfaces in the showering area. At the moment, you are just trying to rinse away any hair or dirt particles.
Next, you’ll want to remove any mildew that’s built up. You can either buy a mildew remover spray or research and make a homemade recipe (these usually involve baking soda and white wine vinegar). Spray the surfaces affected, leave for a few minutes and then rinse off (again either using the shower head or bucket). When using a spray, always make sure to follow the instructions carefully.

How To Clean The Shower Head

Shower Head

Shower heads can be breeding grounds for harmful bacteria if they are not kept clean so it’s very important to clean your shower head regularly. Vinegar is effective at cleaning shower heads. You can either use cotton wool pads soaked in vinegar or an old toothbrush to clean the head and nozzles. If your shower head is particularly dirty, remove it and soak it in a bowl of vinegar for a short while. You can then scrub the head with an old toothbrush to take off the dirt before rinsing and re-attaching it.

How to clean the shower curtain

For shower curtains made from plastic or vinyl, usually a solution made from water and vinegar and applied with a sponge should be all it takes to clean, but check first to see if your shower curtain has any specific cleaning instructions. Always remove the shower curtain from the hooks or rings and lay it flat before cleaning as shower curtains have a tendency to rip easily. The hooks and rings can also be cleaned using the vinegar/water solution. Rinse both the hooks and curtain with water before hanging back up to dry.

How to clean the shower door

If you have a glass shower door, soap deposits and limescale can leave it looking dull and dirty. Using a white wine vinegar and water solution should get it looking nice and sparkling. Leave it on the door for a few minutes before wiping clean with a soft cloth. If you’re finding the marks a little more stubborn, a teaspoon of dishwasher detergent in with the vinegar mix can help to shift them.

The type of shower gel and shampoo you use can actually affect the amount of residue that is left on your shower door. One with a neutral pH level can reduce soap deposits. After each shower, try to rinse down the door and wipe off the excess water with a squeegee. This will leave the door looking cleaner for much longer.

How To Clean the Tiles

Scrub your tiles well, ideally with a mixture of water, vinegar and baking soda. Using an old toothbrush between the tiles can get rid of dirt in those hard to reach areas.

Cleaning the Drain

Finally, you’ll need to clean out the drain, which unfortunately is the worst part of the process. If you or anyone in your family has long hair, it may be worth investing in a drain cover to prevent hair getting caught in the drain.

Drain

And finally…

If you do decide to use a vinegar solution whilst cleaning your shower, using a few drops of your favourite essential oils can help to minimise the vinegar smell.

To avoid spending another afternoon cleaning your shower, the best option is to clean it regularly. How often you use the shower will determine how frequently you need to clean it.  Just giving the showering area a quick rinse and wipe down after each shower, however, can go a long way to keeping the area nice and clean for much longer, leaving you time to enjoy the sunshine outside!

1 Comment

Filed under Showers

Do Cats Like Showers?

We all love cat videos. Be honest, you could spend all day watching them couldn’t you?

How about a cat taking a shower under a bathroom sink?

Of course you want to watch it, and here it is:

The common misconception is that cats dislike water, but this video seems to prove otherwise. Or perhaps this cat is just slightly odd.

Do you have cats, or any other pets? Do they like to have showers?

Leave a Comment

Filed under Fun Stuff

What are the Best Showers for Combi Boilers?

Combination boilers, frequently referred to as combi boilers, are now one of the most popular types of new boiler installations in the UK. Their popularity comes from their compact size and the fact that they are highly efficient. They are called combi as they not only work as a water heater, but also a central heating unit.

With a combi boiler, the need to store hot water is completely removed as the boiler heats water on demand. This therefore eliminates the need for a hot water cylinder, giving you more space in your airing cupboard. It is essential to have an adequate supply of mains cold water with a combi boiler to ensure that the flow rate is good.

The best showers for combi boilers are mixer showers. To ensure the best performance from your shower, it’s advisable to buy a shower that works with the characteristics of a combination boiler. Our popular Ambassador Range has a category of mixer showers that are specifically designed to work best with combi boilers.

Combi mixer showers

The Ambassador combi showers are available either as exposed or concealed, depending on your needs. Exposed showers are quicker to install, but take up more space in the showering area. Concealed showers require a more complex installation, but give a minimalist finish once installed. All Ambassador mixer showers come in a stylish chrome finish, which should suit most bathroom designs.

There are also universal mixer showers that are designed to work with any hot water system. These are an ideal choice if you are unsure of your water system, as no matter what system you have, the shower will work.

Gainsborough mixer showers are all thermostatic, meaning that you are protected from sudden changes in the water temperature. Plus, our mixer shower all have a free 2 year guarantee, giving you peace of mind. Take a look at our full range of mixer showers for combi boilers.

1 Comment

Filed under Mixer Showers, Showers

What Do You Think About In The Shower?

Seeing as it’s Friday again, here are some funny shower-related comics and tweets we’ve stumbled across over the past couple of weeks…

Is this you?

Shower Routine
We definitely admit to the singing part, although, anyone who takes 46 minute showers seriously needs to reassess their water usage! Credit to Undeclared Comics for this one.

Another comic posted on Twitter recently by @hesgeunine in response to hashtag trend #WhyDontYou was:

#WhyDontYou admit that this is how you take your shower ;)

shower comic

Slightly less complex than the first comic, but again suggesting that the majority of showering time is not spent washing, but pondering the mysteries of the universe….

…And finally

Best Shower-Related Tweet

“Showers are amazing. They make you feel nice & clean, make you sound like a professional singer, & help you make all of life’s decisions”

Thank you @MrEpicMind for that one. We completely agree!

What do you think about when you’re in the shower? Do you have any shower-ponderings of your own to share? Add a comment to this post, we’d love to hear them!

2 Comments

Filed under Fun Stuff, Showers

What is a Mixer Shower?

One of the most common questions we get asked by our customers is ‘What exactly is a mixer shower?’ Many people have mixer showers in their homes yet don’t really understand how they work. By understanding how a mixer shower works you’ll have a better idea of what to do should anything ever go wrong.

How do Mixer Showers Work?

The clue is behind the name – mixer showers mix together hot and cold water to deliver a shower at your selected temperature. The cold water is fed from your mains cold water, while the hot water comes from your hot water system into the shower’s valve where it is blended and sent to the shower head to deliver your shower. Your hot water supply could be a hot water cylinder in your airing cupboard, a combination boiler (usually in the kitchen) depending on the type of water system your household has.

A valve inside the shower blends the two water types together to reach the temperature selected on the controls on your shower.

Does My Hot Water System Matter?

Unlike electric showers, which work in the same way in any household, mixer showers work from your hot water system, and it’s therefore important that when buying a mixer shower that you select the correct model for your particular water system. There are now some mixer showers that are universal i.e. the same model will work on any hot water system which may not be as effective as a system-specific shower but may be easier to install.

So, what’s Thermostatic then?

Thermostatic mixer showers have an inbuilt preset thermostat that regulates the temperature of the water. If it senses a dramatic change in the water temperature (i.e. by someone else in the household flushing a toilet) it will rectify the situation. Not only does this provide the user with a more comfortable showering experience, it’s also an important safety feature and is particularly useful in households with elderly people or young children. Most thermostatic mixer showers will also have a maximum hot water setting to limit the temperature of the water.

Mixer Shower Designs and Style

As well as delivering a good shower performance, mixer showers are also known for their stylish designs. After all, it’s important that the shower looks good in your bathroom. Most mixer showers come in contemporary chrome finishes, which will complement almost any bathroom. Furthermore, with many mixer showers, you have the choice of whether you’d like an exposed or concealed shower. 

Exposed Mixer Shower                              
An exposed shower features the valve and pipe work mounted on the wall, while concealed showers hide everything behind the tile work. As would be expected, exposed showers are quicker and easier to install, but take up more room within the showering area.

Concealed mixer shower

Concealed showers offer a more minimalist design and are ideal for small shower enclosures where space is limited, but have a more complicated installation process and may therefore have higher associated labour costs.

For more information and to buy online, take a look at our range of mixer showers.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Mixer Showers, Showers

Add Some Fun With A Digital Shower

It’s shower time for this adorable little Chow Chow, but he seems to be a little bit reluctant to go ahead!

If scenes like this are all too familiar with your family (maybe with your children, not the dog!), with the newly available Gainsborough Digital Shower, hopefully they will be a thing of the past. Your kids will love watching the red flashing lights – and when they stop flashing, it means the shower is ready to go! Our digital showers are really easy to operate – the simple push button control means the whole family will be able to use them. Clever digital technology and precise temperature control mean they’re safe too.

Digital Shower Push Button Control

Simple Push Button Control

Also available in a pumped version for Gravity-Fed water systems, our digital showers are currently only available to buy direct from us and come with a 3 year guarantee, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy your new shower. If you’d like to find out more about Digital or have any questions, our friendly technical team are on hand to answer any queries you may have.

Give them a call on 01959 560760 (Monday – Friday 8:30 – 5:00) or send them an email.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Digital Showers, Fun Stuff, Showers