Recharging the body with contrasting temperatures under shower rain proves a therapeutic experience that aims to restore vitality, clarity and a heady sense of well being, writes Robert Yawe.
As a child I loved running in the rain. Unfortunately having been brought up in the city, this activity usually resulted in a thorough beating from my parents.
Even today when it is raining I get the urge to just run out and stand under the shower. There is something therapeutic about rain, the water drops falling directly onto your head.
A few times I have actually overcome that societal imposed restriction and walked out into the rain just to feel those drops on my head and feel at one with the elements.
Divine shower
I always wished I could replicate that feeling of rainfall whenever I felt the need for a truly divine shower unfortunately I come from a long line of non-rainmakers.
I still vividly remember those days of the geyser when my siblings, 1 am fourth in line, would use up all the hot water and I would be forced to have a cold shower. My redemption came with the advent of the instant shower which resolved the issue of scheduled hot shower times allowing for hot showers on demand.
The cold shower was usually made worse when the shower rose was clogged and instead of the water coming down as a shower it would pour down in a single ice cold stream. I would normally have to unscrew the shower rose and then hit it on the ground to unclog the holes.
Forced to spend
At times it got worse and I would be forced to spend part of my weekend clearing the holes in the shower rose individually with a pin. Many a times I spent my pocket money on a new shower rose as my parents and siblings did not seem to have an issue with the stream shower.
The worst part of all this is that you only realise the problem when you are already undressed and are standing under the shower, for some innate reason you forgot the experience immediately you leave the bathroom.
Over the years I have had the experience repeated over and over again as I moved houses, the situation is even worse when I travel and have to spend a night in a hotel where house keeping and maintenance are run by river bathers.
To sort out the issue with wanting shower heads, in the various houses I have moved into, I have opted to carrying my own shower rose and fitting it immediately I move in; this has reduced the stress and frustration of
Instant hot water shower
Today, I have installed in my bathroom, an instant hot water shower which has 4 temperature settings and 3 different jet types with a built in pump for those times when I need a needle sharp shower or when water pressure in the system is low.
It cost us a small bundle but it has been worth every shilling spent, too many of us concentrate on the items visible to visitors a.k.a. the Jones’s and continue to suffer mood altering shower roses.
For a while I believed I had achieved nirvana in as far as my showering experience was concerned, until I visited this year’s Ideal Interiors Expo and saw the ultimate shower rose.
It had three distinct shower outlets, waterfall which was a wide thin flow, rainfall which gives you a shoulder wide shower just like would happen if you stood in the rain and finally the massage jets which need to be experienced.
Worth every penny
It was what you would say to die for even with the price tag of only Kes. 150,000/- (US$ 1,800/-) it is worth every penny especially once you factor in reduced visits to your therapist, reduced road rage and by extension increased productivity. Not forgetting the reduced domestic outbursts that result in other stressful situations.
Many of the companies that sell shower roses need to offer a real experience to their prospective customers. A fully functional shower complete with soap, offering a complete full body experience, not just on their hands. If a vehicle dealer can allow you to test drive a Kes. 15 million vehicle, what’s a Kes. 200/- shower (includes water, electricity and soap).
If I had actually experienced my current shower rose the first time I saw it, over 3 years prior to buying it, I would have bought it immediately.
Many of us leave with mediocre shower roses because of what they deem as the high cost of installing a new one.
Here is the fix for the damaged tiles, replace the entire 2 or 3 columns of tiles that you have removed with a painted glass panel or use contrasting tiles. While at it you can also install a new soap bowl to replace the cheap class one that came with the house.
Whatever it takes I strongly recommend that you replace that stress elevating shower rose that looked so lovely when you visited the show house with one that adds to your enjoyment of your home.
