For many years now, steam showers have been very popular as added amenity in gyms, spas and resorts. People pay large amount of money to experience the relaxation and health benefits the steam shower can give. But nowadays, manufacturers have been keen on bringing the benefits of steam shower in the comforts of our homes. Enter the steam showers.

What is a Steam Shower?

A steam shower is basically a room or an enclosure that is tightly closed and is sealed. The doors are usually vapor tight and the walls are impervious to warm and hot vapor. The enclosure is then powered by a steam shower generator that boils water and delivers the water vapor inside the room resulting to a relaxing steam bath. Ideally, all steam showers have their own water controllers and have more than one shower heads inside the enclosure.

Health Benefits of Steam Showers

The popularity of steam showers is not only because people want to enjoy the soothing and relaxing experience of steam baths. It’s also because people want to enjoy the health benefits from steam baths.

There are powerful healing abilities of steam baths, wet rooms and saunas such as good for people suffering from asthma, bronchitis and allergies. Not only that, the increased perspiration you get from the heat also helps in cleaning and toning your skin leaving it moist and soft.

Steam showers also help in removing muscle pains because it speeds up the healing process of your muscle tissues. The increased heat also enlarges the blood vessels to help in blood circulation. With these health benefits, it’s no wonder people are opting to buy steam showers.

Modular Steam Showers

This is the easiest and most common steam shower unit for most people. The enclosure is tightly sealed, mostly made from acrylic, has integral doors, multiple shower heads inside and built in seats. These types of steam showers are usually priced at $3,000 to $5,000 and are easy to maintain. There are a lot of beautiful designs mostly are modern in style and come in the usual white or off-white colors.

People usually get this when they want to install steam showers in their home. It is the cheapest steam shower unit you can get and also quite reliable.

Custom Steam Showers

If you have extra budget though, you can opt to get custom made steam showers. So what is the difference of a modular steam unit to a custom steam shower? Well, custom steam showers are basically walk in showers that have a steam shower generator integrated into it. The walls usually fiberglass are tightly vapor shut so that the heat or steam won’t go out. It should still have a seat, multiple shower heads and tiled interior.

If you want to install a custom steam shower, it will be more costly because it is usually built from scratch. You will need to hire a professional to build you a custom steam shower and also to make sure that your walk in shower is tightly sealed. If it’s not, it could damage your home because of the steams getting out of your enclosure.

Luxury Shower Suites

Now if you really have the budget or usually installed in 5 star hotels and resorts, you can get a luxury steam shower or shower suites. This is a fully loaded room that can even accommodate up to 10 people depending on the size. They can cost you from $18,000 to $35,000 depending on the features you want. Typically, these luxury shower suites are complete with waterproof radios, DVD players, waterfalls, water jets, body sprays and even foot massagers. This is really the real deal but also quite expensive.

Steam Showers Buyers Guide

Now you’re all set and want to buy a steam shower unit. First of all, you need to know what exactly you want. It really depends mainly to your budget as buying steam showers are quite expensive. Now you need to take safety precaution. People with medical conditions cannot use the steam shower and so you need to consult with your doctor. Usually people suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure can be an issue and also pregnant mothers and babies cannot use steam showers as well.

Safety precautions also includes making sure you get a good plumber or contractor to install the steam shower. It’s not easy and will cost you extra. Make sure that the moisture and steam will not get out of the steam shower.

Ideally, you should look for 1 to 3 years warranty when buying a steam shower because fixing a broken steam shower can also be quite expensive. Lastly, when you buy your steam shower kit from a store, you can ask for a contact person who can install the shower unit for you, they will typically have someone that has experience and can also save you money for the installation.