MyBathroomFinder.com

It’s nearly time for one of the biggest design and interiors events of the year – and it could be the perfect place to get inspiration for your home.

100% Design, held at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, is a chance for designers, manufacturers and retailers to get together and discuss the very latest design trends.

Visit its website here >>

The show will feature a huge range of products – including exhibitors Castello Luxury Baths, Universal Toilets, Mimuun, Maybury Home Ltd, Aeon, Royal Mosa, Samuel Heath and Cifial UK.

Search for bathroom products here >>

The British European Design Group will be showcasing groundbreaking concepts and products from designers from 11 countries around the globe.

And the University of Brighton’s IF:Laboratory will be hosting 100% Sustainable – a feature on sustainable design.

100% Design is primarily a trade show – but it is open to the public on Sunday September 21.

Book online and registration costs £15 per adult and £8 per child. Pay on the door and those prices go up to £20 and £10.

Or, for more information, call the visitor hotline on 01923 690699.

Shopping online offers so many advantages that it’s easy to forget the simple pleasures of visiting a showroom to poke cushions and to suck your teeth while tapping doubtfully on the sides of cupboards.

Of course, we at MyBathroomFinder.com would never want to talk you out of the easy convenience of kitting your home out with the click of a mouse – but we’re as keen as the next person on flopping down into luxurious armchairs that we’ve no intention of ever buying, or bouncing up and down on lovely deep mattresses when the salespeople are looking elsewhere.

Which is why we were very interested when we were contacted by the main sponsors of a major home improvements event later this month in London, offering free tickets to all our readers.

The London Lite Home Discount Show runs from September 26 – 28 at Earl’s Court, and will offer a unique one-stop shopping experience with hundreds of home brands under one roof.

There will be more than 200 exhibitors, each offering big discounts – some up to 75 per cent – with each also offering what the organisers are calling a ’star buy’.

So – how to get the free tickets?

Simply go to the show’s website at londonlitehomediscountshow.co.uk/freetickets/ and use the code LONDONLITE to get up to two free tickets.

Shower manufacturer Aqualux says its summer relaunch is attracting a record number of visitors to its website. So we thought we’d join them and see what it has to offer.

According to the company, the site is designed with consumers and trade buyers in mind. It says that visitors can access comprehensive product information in an easy-to-understand format as well request a brochure for more information.

The site’s main purpose appears to be showcasing its product range and positioning this manufacturer as the obvious choice for a shower enclosure or shower screen.

Here the welcome is positive for those visitors with a run-of-the-mill bathroom who want to make the best of it, rather than the owners of a 30-metre-square luxury wetroom overlooking the Mediterranean who never have to pick their own damp towels up off the floor.

This impression is reinforced by the front-page blurb, which tells us: “Whatever the size or shape of bathroom there’s a range of Aqualux products to suit your style and budget.”

Under the Aqualux tab there’s a useful guide to choosing a shower, a FAQ section and details of the company’s warranty. Under Product Range you can see everything the company has to offer, including steam cabins, accessories and its Showerblade cleaning range. Technical details are widely available.

The last tab, Find Stockist, allows you to do a postcode search that will alert you to Aqualux stockists in your area. There are also contact details and a chance to request a range of brochures.

Our verdict: A nicely-presented site for the serious buyer researching products, but probably not somewhere to help you while away the long hours at work dreaming of outfitting your luxury holiday villa.

In summary:

• The pitch: Whatever you’re looking for, there’s something here for you. Aqualux is trying to position itself as the market leader and one-stop destination for shower enclosures and bath screens, whatever your bathroom size.
• Looks: A welcome relief from the ubiquitous white, this site uses colour and images creatively but still retains a clean look. The front page is unfussy, with details relegated below the fold and minimal reliance on Flash widgets. However, we wonder how the towel-draped woman remains so serene – hopefully all Aqualux shower enclosures don’t come with their very own press pack…
• Ease of use: This site gets marks for not making the user labour under a huge weight of Flash. Text scales well in the Firefox browser, although not in Explorer, due to the fact that fonts are set to a given size – this loses it marks. However images are titled, the drop-down navigation is clear and there is a site map.
• Usefulness: Products are sub-divided into categories using images which are handy if you’re not sure of the technical term for the item you want. You can then browse by range or type. There’s plenty of supporting information such as a buying guide and FAQ.
• Realism: Nicely-presented products are nonetheless firmly grounded in reality. This is for serious renovators rather than people looking to play fantasy bathrooms.
• Range: The site has an extensive product range in the specialist shower enclosure and bath screen categories plus details of stockists.
• Final verdict: 7.5/10 – a very strong site that’s well-designed, useful and reasonably accessible. But it’s lacking any ‘big idea’ or stunning design features to make it truly outstanding.

Previous reviews:

• Bathroom website review: GROHE

Summer is the season when bathroom manufacturers relaunch their websites, it seems. There are a few new offerings available – and we’re reviewing the results.

First up is tap and shower manufacturer GROHE which says its newly-launched site aims to offer readers inspiration, information and support on all aspects of bathroom design. It includes the GROHE cube – a new technology which the company says will create a realistic impression of how bathroom fittings will look in situ.

To use it you’ll need to be willing and able to use the Flash player. We also found The Cube was more problematic in the Firefox browser than with Internet Explorer. But, if you’re good to go, you can click on arrows to revolve the cube horizontally to choose between cosmopolitan, contemporary and authentic (think traditional) styles. Revolve it vertically and choose between compact, family or freedom options.

Although we have to say that their idea of compact equates to our idea of ‘bloody enormous’ and freedom is the size of some people’s entire home. Still, anyone can dream…

Next, you click on hotspots to choose which area you’d like to work on. There are hours of fun to be had here trying different styles of showers and taps and seeing how they look with the various designs. And, when you’re done, you can print out your finished work of art and keep it for future reference.

Elsewhere on the site you’ll find useful features such as hints and tips on water and cost savings, the Trend online magazine that features style advice, plus everything you could possibly want to know about the company’s product range. There’s even an eBay shop where you can check out clearance bargains.

Our verdict: This is a strong site overall. The Cube’s a fun idea with a few glitches that prevent it being as widely accessible as it might, which is a real shame. It’s a game of ‘fantasy bathrooms’ rather than something that will help you calculate how much tile grout you’re likely to need – but where’s the problem with that? We particularly liked the sea view that you get while sitting on the loo in Contemporary Compact. Unfortunately, that would possibly take a few hundred thousand more than the cost of a new suite to achieve…

In summary:

• The pitch: An unashamed shot at aspirational fantasy rather than reality that you’ll likely find either frustrating or delightful, depending on your temperament.
• Looks: A clean, contemporary site that makes good use of images – but definitely following an established design trend rather than setting one.
• Ease of use: Navigation is clear and there’s a site map. However some people can’t use the Flash player easily and we encountered problems with the Firefox browser. Text size is very small and we could not make it scale up via Internet Explorer – this is a serious black mark in the accessibility stakes. However, both images and text scaled very well in Firefox.
• Usefulness: We’d say the site scores highly here. As well as the headline Cube feature there’s plenty of product information and design ideas as well as a section on where to buy and another containing FAQs and installation guides. You can even access an eBay shop with clearance bargains.
• Realism: Absolutely not. This is about ideals, not grim reality – but that’s not a criticism, since this will be a feature that appeals strongly to a lot of users. It all depends on your requirements.
• Range: There’s a good range of products and the bathroom offerings are displayed separately from the kitchen ones, which is a big plus. You can browse by application, style or product group.
• Final verdict: 6/10 – and it’s only that low due to the accessibility issues.

* Is there a bathroom website you’d like to see reviewed in this blog? If so, drop us a line – whether you’re a reader or a webmaster, and we’ll consider it.

A new bathroom is one of the tactics being used by householders who are changing their mind about selling their homes and doing them up instead, according to two new surveys.

Renovating or replacing a bathroom or kitchen emerged as the most successful methods of adding to a property’s value in a Lloyds TSB study of more than 1000 homeowners and 500 estate agents. Loft conversions and redecorating were less successful.

And the Liverpool Victoria insurance company found in a survey of their own that some 4.7 million home owners – a third of all those planning improvements – intend to refit their bathroom.

Both surveys found that the current economic climate was causing nervous householders to pull out of selling their homes.

Property TV presenter Phil Spencer said: “The current cooling of the property market is making homeowners think twice about selling up and many are opting to improve instead.”

Lloyds TSB found that more than half of the estate agents it spoke to had experience of customers changing their mind about selling their homes and choosing to improve them instead.

Of the 1000+ householders it spoke to, almost 60 per cent said they’d cancelled plans to sell – and half of those plan to do their home up instead.

Many of those are having to do work that will make it easier to stay in a house that no longer meets their needs, but rather more are hoping to increase the value for a future sale.

Lloyds TSB’s director of personal loans, David Wishart, said the bank had seen a recent increase in home improvement personal loan requests.

He said: “For the last decade homeowners have been able to sit back and rely on rising property prices to increase the equity in their home but sadly this is no longer possible.

“If you want to trade up and avoid substantially increasing your mortgage, you’ll need to add value to the house you’re currently in.”

And Liverpool Victoria (LV) found that more than £4bn is being spent on home improvements during the current 18-month period by people who have changed their minds about selling.

Average spend is likely to be about £5000 – but almost half the householders surveyed plan to save money by either doing the work themselves or bringing in family members.

LV spokesperson Emma Holyer said: “Despite the challenging housing market and lack of affordable mortgages, we are still a nation obsessed with our homes and what money we can make on them.

“Many homeowners told us they were spending this money so they could profit more on their homes when they do come to sell them after the market has stabilised. This shows that although people are concerned about the short term housing market there does appear to be optimism in the long term.”

We’re in one of the gloomiest periods for the housing market in recent memory – but there are still a handful of people out there looking to buy, according to the latest report from a professional organisation.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has released its Housing Market Survey for June – and it found that transactions are at their lowest levels since it began keeping records.

It blames shrinking access to mortgage finance but says there is still activity from buy-to-let investors who want to take advantage of rising rents. And it also points to “predatory buyers” looking for a bargain.

The report says: “The inability of many to get secure mortgage finance is reflected in the collapse in transactions.

“The average number of transactions per surveyor (over the last three months) is now at 15.3, the lowest figure since the survey began and the net balance of new agreed sales remains in negative territory.

“Demand is weak with the balance of surveyors reporting new buyer enquiries still well into negative territory.

However, there has been a noticeable improvement in the trend with 35% more Chartered Surveyors reporting a fall in buyer enquires compared to 50% in May and 69% in April.”

It also points to an absence of “distress sales” (made by people facing reposession) and says that employment is still strong enough for people to generally be keeping up with their mortgage payments.

Jeremy Leaf, RICS spokesperson, said: “With demand so low, would-be-buyers are negotiating from a position of strength.

“Even in a weak market there are always opportunities for investors and buyers to profit and some are starting to circle for bargains.

“However, transaction levels remain incredibly low with many buyers cut out of the process by tight lending conditions.”

Read the full story here >>

A campaign to cut VAT on maintenance and home improvements is supported by MPs and manufacturers’ groups who say it could have sweeping benefits.

Supporters of the Cut The VAT group want to reduce the tax on these services from its current 17.5 per cent level to just five per cent.

They include MPs Bob Russell and Kate Hoey, the Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association, the Federation of Master Builders, the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors and the Civic Trust.

The group says that the cut would help to reduce the ‘black economy’ and create employment by making working legally a more affordable option.

It also believes that cheaper maintenance costs would bring empty homes back into use and so protect the countryside by reducing development.

And it says a cut could also help make adaptations more affordable for disabled people, help create buildings that consume fewer resources and help people living in substandard accommodation.

A the end of June it made its point by delivering a 10,000-signature petition on the subject to 10 Downing Street. And it is calling for people to visit its website and throw their weight behind the campaign.

Learn more here >>

A new study from a group of environmental scientists suggests it might well be, according to the news agency Associated Press.

The scientists, working on behalf of a cleaning products manufacturer, took samples from 20 family homes in seven regions including the UK – and their findings were alarming.

Internationally, 90 per cent of kitchen cloths, 46 per cent of kitchen sinks, 38 per cent of bathroom sinks and 14 per cent of children’s toys had a total bacteria count of more than 100,000 per square centimetre.

Professor John Oxford, a virologist at St Bartholemew’s and the Royal London Hospital, led the study. He is also chairman of the UK’s Hygiene Council – read its recommendations here.

He warned that families put great effort into cleaning toilets but not nearly as much time into keeping their kitchens clean: “You could eat your dinner in a US toilet but there is a lack of appreciation that kitchen sinks can be contaminated with faecal organisms, either coming in with fruit and vegetables or from pets and children.”

The moral of this tale: wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. And disinfect high-risk areas, which apparently includes your bath every bit as much as your toilet.

Dispense with all your horrible old cleaning cloths and replace them, as this is where many of the nasties live. Or give them a one-minute spell in the microwave, as this is a sure-fire way to kill bacteria.

(Except you probably don’t want to do that with the bathroom ones.)

Now feeling inspired to have a good clean?

Here are our top ten products to help you keep your bathroom in a sanitary state and cut down on harmful bacteria:

• Deluxe steam mop from Woolworths – £59.99. Light and easy to use, with continuous high-temperature steam at 110 degrees Celsius to clean and sanitise tiles, vinyl and wood laminate floors.
• Steam Bee from JML – £29.99. Easy to use, lightweight and powerful and great for cleaning and disinfecting your home. A continuous jet of superheated steam uses ordinary water and heats up instantly. Particularly good for wiping away water stains and soap scum from shower doors and restoring shine to mirrors and sinks.
• Michael Graves shower squeegee at John Lewis – £5. Perfect for cleaning windows, mirrors and glass shower units without bacteria-hoarding cloths. Part of a range designed by American architect Michael Graves, who aims to bring style to the unsung heroes of our homes.
• Anti-mould and mildew spray from Screwfix – £4.89. This trigger spray removes unsightly mould and mildew and prevents its reappearance. Highly effective and non-flammable with a pleasant fragrance.Also check out this retailer’s washable microfibre cloths at £1.99 – this product can be washed up to 400 times and is suitable for glass and ceramics.
• Jeyes Parazone Weekly Shot Concentrated Bleach Tablets (Pack of 4) from Robert Dyas – £1.99. These bleach blocks are designed to last a week apiece, making sure your toilet gets a germ-destroying blast with every flush – and you know exactly when to replace them.
• Doktor Power from JML – £4.99. An environmentally-friendly hard cleaning stone that comes complete with a specially-designed applicator stored away easily in the lid. Non-toxic and bio-degradable, tough on limescale and soap scum in the bathroom.
• Ecover cleaning products from Natural Collection – check out the toilet cleaner at £1.30, the multi-surface cleaner at £1.95, the limescale remover at £2.50 and SquirtEco, which is particularly suitable for bathroom surfaces, at £1.95. And, because all Ecover products are environmentally friendly and economical, you can happily use plenty of them!
• Five-year toilet descaler from Scotts of Stow – £5.95. Avoid expensive chemical toilet descalers yet keep the bowl germ-free and hygienic. The four-inch cartridge is equipped with magnets to prevent mineral build-up which can stain the bowl and harbour bacteria. Just drop it into the cistern and watch as it protects your toilet for around five years or up to 50,000 flushes.
• Leifheit Flexi-Pad Tile Cleaner from John Lewis – &pound:12. Takes the strain out of cleaning hard-to-reach bathroom tiles. The telescopic handle extends from 80 to 140cm, and is easily moveable thanks to a swivel joint. The microfibre pad is removable and washable.
• Marble & Granite Magic from Scotts of Stow – £7.95. Cares for marble, granite, terrazzo, slate and other polished stone surfaces. Cleans, polishes and protects, adds brightness and depth to enhance the natural veining of the stone and comes in a 12 fl oz trigger spray.

Please note: all prices and stock accurate at the time this post was published – but, as always with our blog posts, be aware that retailers may subsequently change them.

A water efficiency competition aimed at teaching children the importance of not wasting resources in the bathroom has been won by pupils at a school in Hertfordshire.

The class of six-year-olds from St Margaret’s School in Bushey beat more than 20 other schools in the south east and Home Counties to win a How to Wash competition run by the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA).

The association teamed up with local water company Three Valleys Water to run a colouring competition as part of its campaigning work teaching young children about the importance of maintaining hygiene while using water wisely in the bathroom.

The winning class from St Margaret’s won equipment to use in creating a water efficient garden for the whole school to enjoy. The children also received tokens to purchase a book of their choice.

BMA chief executive Yvonne Orgill said: “It was a tough competition to judge as the number and standard of entries was so high, which is very pleasing.

“Primary school children across the most water stressed areas of the UK now understand the importance of maintaining hygiene without wasting water. Now they will no doubt pass the message on to their parents.

“Being water efficient is not about restricting use, but reducing waste. That’s what we wanted to teach them. We believe it’s important to work with primary schools, as encouraging good behaviour at an early age can make a real difference to the way we use and regard water for life.”

Winning pupils with their gardening prizes
BMA chief executive Yvonne Orgill and Samuel Jacobs, one of the Three Valleys Water production team from the nearby Clay Lane Water Treatment Works, present wheelbarrows, garden tools, pots, plants, seeds and book tokens to St Margaret’s school pupils.

Time for us to have another scoot through the online world of bathrooms and interior design and to bring you the very best news and comment:

• Everybody loves looking at gorgeously-photographed luxury bathrooms, and the staff at Furniture Fashion are no exception. This blog is pointing readers in the direction of Italian manufacturer La Roccia’s bathroom vanities with a touch of storage: “The Nuda series takes on many faces with combinations of natural stone solids and veneers against stained wood accents with just enough storage to get the job done without taking away from the sleek linear design. La Roccia makes use of the space provided with wall mounted elements which free up floor space, or the island vanity that is accessible from all directions.” Well, we can all dream… Read full post here and part two here.
• More evidence of the march of the coloured bathroom from House of Turquoise, a blog dedicated to all things “teal, robin’s egg blue, aqua, sky blue, seafoam green and ocean blue,” as its masthead tells us. Sensing a theme here? Blogger Erin has uncovered this gorgeous picture of a turquoise and yellow bathroom from Harcourt Designs that shows just how well bold colour can work even when your ceramics are still white. Read full post here.
• At the US-based Earthfriendly blog editor Marina Hanes is looking into ways to generate less bathroom waste. She’s found a great product, a recyclable toothbrush made from yoghurt pots: “After you’re done with the brush, you send it back to the company so it can be transformed into other things like tables and boardwalks.” Now all we need to know is, can you get a similar product in the UK? Read the full post here.
• Over at DiVapor.com, the blog is reminding readers about the importance of using qualified traders for tasks like heating and plumbing. It says: “There is a sense of weariness about bringing a trader into the equation with popular TV shows such as Rogue Traders teaching us to be aware of the fallacious conmen that crawl our communities. Finding a trustworthy, qualified individual can sometimes be a difficult task.” It goes on to point out that the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, the professional body for the UK plumbing and heating industry, has earlier this year received a Royal Charter for its contribution to the safety and health of the public and the environment. Read full post here.
• MyBath.com is taking a helpful look at steam shower ventilation and ways to tackle the problems associated with it. It recommends upgrading your bathroom fan: “Before choosing a fan you will need to know the air volume in your bathroom. This is calculated by multiplying the length, width and height of your bathroom to get the total cubic feet of air. When purchasing a fan you will want one that completely replaces the air in the bathroom at least 10 times per hour. Having too much circulation can never be a bad thing, too little can be. Another thing you will want to look into when purchasing a bathroom fan is the noise rating.” Read full post here.
• VictorianBathrooms4U has some interesting news about Hudson Reed’s latest line of eco-friendly taps: “By installing Eco-Flo water regulators to your fittings you restrict the maimum flow rate to 6litres per minute – in line with current environmental guidelines. Not only will this help the environment, but it will reduce your own water consumption and reduce running costs.” Read full post here.