Steam Shower

Steam Shower Tips

What is really a steam shower? A moisture-sealed steam shower housing equipped to deliver clouds of steam prior to, throughout, or after your steam shower.

How a steam shower operates. Cold water piped into a steam generator is heated to the boiling point and then sends fresh steam to an aperture in the shower stall. Digital controls inside the shower let the user adjust the steam's heat and duration and can even add piped-in aromas, lighting, and music.

What to look for in steam showers? Delivery speed. Better models take less than a minute to construct up a head of steam.

Remotes. That way, you do not even have to get up from your bench to adjust steam time or temperature.

Auto-flush. Decreases calcium deposits on the heating element and saves you from a manual flush-out each 50 uses.

What a steam shower costs? A steam shower generator runs about $2,500, installed. For the full spa experience—mood lighting, a stereo MP3 dock, and a pump for aromatherapy oils—expect to pay another $1,800. A custom steam proof, tiled enclosure is additional.

Steam Shower

Where to discover steam showers? Look for local steam shower dealers on the websites of major manufacturers, including Amerec, Mr Steam, Steamist, and Thermasol

A Stall for the Steam Shower

The moisture that a steam unit generates will do a number on your shower stall, not to mention your entire bathroom, unless it's built properly from the studs out. Here's how you can make a stall steam proof.

Slope the ceiling slightly. If you do not, any steam that condenses there will drip down onto your shoulders.

Protect solid wood framing with sheets of 6-mil plastic stapled over studs and joists. Overlap all edges by at least a foot.

Seal the seams between the concrete backer-board panels (which are unaffected by humidity) with mesh tape and thinset.

Cover each inch of steam shower backer board with a waterproof membrane. Use either two coats of a roll-on liquid polymer such as Laticrete's Hydro-Ban, which dries into a seamless, rubbery skin, or embed sheets of flocked polyethylene, like the Kerdi membrane made by Schluter Systems, in wet thinset.

Tile and grout as usual. If utilizing stone, apply an impregnator to seal the stone. You'll need to repeat this treatment each two years on your steam shower.

Seal around any fixtures that penetrate the tile—including shower and steam shower heads, digital controls, and valves—with the gaskets or O-rings supplied by the company.

 Steam Shower