Shower Valves

Crosswater Shower Valves

One of the most important components of any bathroom has to be the shower, whether we have an over bath set up, wet-room or just a regular walk in shower. All require a good quality valve whether manual or thermostatic. Manual valves nowadays are a little old hat, the reason being is they are controlled solely by yourself & dont regulate temperature of the hot & cold feeds into the valve itself. A common problem with these valves is that if you have more than one water source being used at anyone time you have no control of the output temperature. I’m sure you can imagine how dangerous it could be not having control of your hot water feed. For example, you’re in the shower & another family member decides to wash the dishes or maybe put the washing machine on, this will affect the flow to the shower and cause a shift in output temperature. Thermostatic shower valves are total different, they control both hot & cold feeds regardless of any changes in pressure or temperature else where. This ensures that the mix ratio is always kept to a constant output temperature, thus helping to avoid scolding. This gives you total control & a great showering experience.

Improvements in thermostatic shower valves mean that they can now remember your desired temperature and every time you have a shower will run straight to this pre set temperature. Thermostatic or manual are more about what they do for you, they are functional decisions. When it comes to style choices you can expect both thermostatic and manual valves to be the same in appearance, after all there is no need for them to look vastly different, maybe a temperature guide etched against one of the controls. Because of this solidarity in design you can expect to find traditional & modern styles with the manual or thermostatic choices available. A popular adaptation of modern style into the traditional ranges is the ability to have concealed valves (all pipe work & the back of the valve are concealed within the wall), leaving only exposed controls. This trend has been taken a step further with triple valves, that allow you to control any number of outlets, such as taps, body jets, bath fillers etc. Exposed valves, where all components of the valve are visible, still persist as a design choice. An example of such would be bar valves, which are great when you’re on a budget as they often adopt flexible hosing and simply mount onto the wall. In terms of design you’re spoilt for choice whichever valve you go for with SMR offering top quality products at very competitive prices.