I tested the viral Zadro Towel Warmer, and it's the ultimate 'little luxury' for your bathroom

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Towel warmers are having a moment on social media, touted by many as a "little luxury" for your bathroom. In particular, the Zadro Large Bucket Towel Warmer is one of the most popular models out there, thanks to its sleek and easy-to-use design, but at $170, it's certainly not a cheap purchase for your home.

Is it actually worth spending that much for a towel warmer? Do these bathroom gadgets live up to the hype on social media? We wanted to find out, so I put this best-selling model in my home for around a month to see how it upgrades an everyday experience with the best towels. Spoiler alert: I fell in love! Here's what makes this towel warmer so great and why you should definitely consider adding one to your bathroom.

Design

As its name suggests, the Zadro Large Bucket Towel Warmer is essentially a large, 20-liter bucket with a lift-off lid. It comes in a variety of color options, and I tested the white bucket with bamboo accents. The exterior of the unit and its lid are both made of heavy duty plastic, and the "bamboo" accents are also plastic — I expected them to be real wood given the product's price point, and up close, they look a bit cheap. The interior of the bucket is made from stainless steel for durability and corrosion-resistance, and there's also a cord wrap underneath the bucket where you can wind up the 83-inch power cord, if needed.

The Zadro Towel Warmer is very user-friendly, with just two buttons for operation. There's a power button, which you have to hold down for three seconds to turn on the towel warmer. The second button lets you cycle through the unit's timer settings. You can set the bucket to stay on for 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes, after which it will automatically shut off. For safety reasons, there's no option to leave the warmer on indefinitely.

When you turn the towel warmer on, its LED indicator light turns blue to let you know it's preheating. When it reaches its "optimal heating temperature," the light turns red and starts the timer. After the unit is powered off, there's a "Hot Surface" LED indicator that stays lit until the interior of the bucket is cool enough to touch.

Our review of the Zadro Towel Warmer

My husband and I tested the Zadro Towel Warmer in our bathroom for several weeks. Once you turn it on, it takes just three minutes to preheat, after which the sides of the bucket are around 118 degrees (as measured with an infrared thermometer). However, the bottom of the bucket doesn't heat up at all — there are only heating elements on the sides — and you can't adjust the temperature at all.

It took a little trial and error to figure out the best way to insert towels into the bucket. At first, we tried folding or rolling them up, but this consistently left the middle of the towel cold. Instead, we found it was better to drape towels in loosely to maximize the surface area that touches the sides. The bucket is big enough to fit two full-size bath towels, and I've also used it to warm up my bathrobe.

Our general consensus after a few weeks of use is that your towel needs at least 10 minutes to heat up — but ideally 15 minutes or more. If you take it out any sooner, there are cold spots on the towel which can ruin your experience. I tend to take quick 10-minute showers, so I found it works best to turn the warmer on as soon as I come upstairs, giving it ample time to heat my towel up evenly.

I'll admit: I wasn't sure whether I would even like having my towels warmed, but I became a convert after the first use. Wrapping up in a warm towel on a chilly day is absolutely luxurious, and both my husband and I now use the device daily! The towels are always cozy and welcoming without being too hot, and I'm particularly looking forward to using the warmer during the cold New England winter.

In addition to using the Zadro Towel Warmer as part of my everyday routine, I also ran a few structured tests on it to measure its heating abilities. My towel started out at around 64 degrees (roughly room temperature), and after 10 minutes in the bucket, most of the towel measured in between 105 and 120 degrees. However, the portion of the towel that was at the bottom of the bucket was only 75 degrees.

I took these measurements again after 20 minutes, and the heat was more uniform across the towel. Most areas measured between 110 and 130 degrees, but I was disappointed to find that the bottom was still just 90 degrees. The warmth of the towel also seemed to max out at this point — it was still the same temperature after 30 minutes in the bucket.

Cons to consider

My biggest complaint about the Zadro Large Bucket Towel Warmer is simply that it takes quite a while to evenly heat up a towel. If I put my towel into it right as I'm getting into the shower, it typically has cold spots that ruin its toasty warm feel. For this reason, it does take a little bit of pre-planning for optimal results (unless you take longer showers, in which case you might be fine using it this way). The bottom of the towel is also generally a bit cooler than the rest, as the bottom of the bucket doesn't heat up at all.

It's also worth noting that the inner walls of the bucket get hot — around 120 degrees — and can burn you. You'll want to be careful inserting and removing your towels, and you should keep children away from the bucket while it's on.

The bottom line

At the beginning of testing, I was a little skeptical of whether I really needed a towel warmer, but after a month of use, I can officially say I'm a convert. It's such a luxury to have a cozy warm towel waiting when you step out of the shower, especially on cold days, and the Zadro Towel Warmer is really simple to use. The bucket is big enough to hold two towels at a time, and it was easy to find a space for the bucket-style warmer in our bathroom, which is on the small side.

The Zadro Towel Warmer is a bit expensive, retailing for around $170 at full price, but I think it's a worthwhile buy if you want to elevate your self-care routine. It would also make a wonderful housewarming or wedding gift.