5 Steps To Convert Your Shower Into a Steam Room
What can be better than a steam room in your home?
You can get relaxing in your perfect home oasis anytime you want. A steam session after a long day at work is sure to recharge you.
Also, your health improves exponentially with regular steam sessions. For instance, your heart and brain become more robust, and your immunity improves, among others.
That’s precisely why steam has been used as a prominent heat therapy method since ancient times. This age-old craft inspires the modern avatar of a steam bath.
You see, steam room installation in your home has its advantages over a public steam bath. Your cost per steam session in terms of energy consumption is much lower than what you pay at a public bath.
Turning Your Shower Into Steam Room
You can build a steam room anywhere, be it your walk-in closet, storeroom, or bathroom.
However, a piped water connection is a given to build one, which may not be the case with your closet or storeroom.
Building your steam room in the shower, which is already connected to the water supply, is a great way to save time, effort, and money.
You can easily convert your standard shower stall into a steam bath with little investment.
As more homeowners seek to build a comfortable and luxury steam retreat in their bathrooms, steam showers have become a go-to choice.
Interesting, isn’t it?
5 Steps To Build A Steam Room In Your Shower
As you saw, converting your shower into a steam bath is easy and cost-efficient.
Here are some steps you can follow to turn your shower into a steam room.
#1. Choosing the right steam generator
A steam generator is most important when building a steam shower. That is because your experience in the steam bath depends on the steam generator quality and the kind of installation.
You should choose a steam generator based on your shower stall size and usage intensity.
For instance, if your shower stall is small and you expect a couple or so daily steam session usage, a 5–7 KW Steamist generator should be ideal.
Your steam generator is usually installed outside the shower area. Modern-day steam generators are so compact that you can install them anywhere from your closet to the basement.
Some waterproof generators can even be installed in the steam room, tucked under a bench. If you stay in a metropolis where space is premium, these can be your go-to option.
Since your steam bath generator installation includes connecting to the water pipeline and an electric outlet, go for one with the highest safety standards. UL-listed generators are tested rigorously for their adherence to safety norms, so you should choose them over non-listed ones.
You should look for a residential steam generator with the most extended warranty cover. Warranty cover is a benchmark of product quality, and it ensures you don’t end up paying for manufacturing defects.
A right steam generator and you may not want to go back to the public steam bath.
#2. Steam shower connections and electrical setup
Connecting different parts of your steam shower the right way is critical to its smooth running.
That’s why it is important to follow the user manual when installing steam units for your steam room.
It includes important details like the ideal distance between the steam nozzle and shower floor, where you need to install access holes, and how to arrange your steam generator pipes and tubes.
When doing an electrical setup, make sure you’ve turned off the power at the circuit breaker.
Most of the steam generators and other steam room units require their own circuit breakers, which differs for different manufacturers.
Electrical setup is a complex exercise that requires a degree of expertise. So it’s always a good idea to go for expert steam room installation services.
You see, an electrical setup done wrong can be extremely dangerous. It can lead to short circuits and worse electrical fires.
An expert installation, and you can rest assured of safety.
#3. Choose your steam room control panel
You need a steam control panel to turn on/off your steam generator and to set steam temperature and duration.
You can install a steam control panel near the showerhead by connecting to the steam unit through electrical wiring. It can also be wireless and simply installed at the place of your liking.
You should look for basic control panel features like a timer and auto-cut for a smooth steam session. A control panel lacking these features can uncomfortably increase your steam room temperature.
You don’t want an unpleasant steam session. Do you?
However, some advanced control panels go on to include the features of your smartphone.
For instance, Steamist 550 Digital Control offers you features like touchscreen, wifi connectivity, voice control with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, among others. Also, you can tune into your favorite music over Spotify.
Amazing, right?
#4. Modify your shower door
Your shower door should include a vent panel. It is necessary to avoid excess steam in your shower room.
While shower doors usually come with a vent panel, you still need to modify them to meet steam room requirements.
Unless you’re a steam and sauna expert, go for professional steam room installation services.
You see, excessive steaming without a proper vent ruins your steam session. Also, the lack of a proper vent panel is sure to damage your steam unit components.
#5. Seal the gaps properly
Sealing the gaps between surfaces of your steam room is essential for an efficient steam session.
Unsealed gaps allow most of the steam and heat to escape. That means your steam generator will use more electricity resulting in inflated energy bills.
Low running cost is one of the reasons why residential steam rooms fare better over public steam baths.
High energy bills defeat this purpose.
Cost Of Converting Your Shower Into Steam Room
You’ve seen how you can transform your shower into a steam room by following some simple steps.
But you might wonder how much you need to invest in a residential steam bath.
According to Forbes magazine, building a steam room in your shower can cost you $4200 on average.
The total cost ranges between $2500 and $6100, depending upon your steam generator, bath size, control panels, shower finishes, etc.
However, in the long run, you stand to recover your upfront investment in terms of low running costs. For example, a public steam room can charge you up to $50 per session. On the other hand, a residential steam session will cost you less than $1 per session in terms of energy.
That’s amazing for sure, isn’t it?
Conclusion
A residential steam room offers you convenience unmatched by public steam baths.
Also, a steam shower is sure to increase the value of your home. Home-buyers see steam and sauna rooms as a great value-addition, something they’re willing to pay a premium for.
As you’ve seen, building a steam room isn’t very complex. All it takes is investing a little time and money.
