New bathrooms with GROHE (Part 1): How a $3.5k shower feels

The GROHE bathroom fairy heard our wish and decided to grant us new bathroom fixtures.

Gone are the old shower systems from which glued-together water jets would haphazardly shoot out. Gone are the bathroom taps which would splash every time we turned them on.

In pride of place inside both our bathrooms now are the Power+Soul 130 Handshower ($530) and the Eurocube shower systems ($3,468), and Veris ($705) and Eurocube ($517) basin mixers, which work like magic. This blog post will be about the shower systems. Part 2 will be about the basin mixers.

Alvin got the Power+Soul 130 Handshower, which has four spray patterns (and comes in six colours; Alvin’s is Granite). Bokomo harnesses the power of water with eight dynamic spray nozzles which open and close, to mimic the tension-relieving effect of a fingertip massage. The other spray patterns of the Power & Soul shower include the soft Rain Spray, aerated GROHE Rain O2 Spray and the powerful Jet Spray. All of GROHE’s shower sets are equipped with GROHE EcoJoy water saving technology, which reduces water consumption without compromising the quality of your shower experience. OK, the last few lines were copied from their press release, but it’s true. Let me explain.

Alvin’s most-used shower pattern is Rain, which scatters water from the shower head evenly and covers the largest circumference as compared to the other settings. He loves the fact that he has the Eco Touch option which he uses most of the time, to save water. It can be switched off when he feels like having a power shower. However, no matter the pressure of the water, the water droplets are always dispatched in straight, separate lines instead of sticking together in one or two streams. This moistens a greater surface area of the body in a shorter time, thereby saving water.

The mixer allows the user to change from shower to tap by rotating the handle in the other direction and get this: The water cascades out of the tap in a nice stream without splashing everywhere. We can use this to wash feet and fill pails without getting our shorts wet! This must be why it costs more than $1,000.

My bathroom is the one attached to the master bedroom and has more bells and whistles by that default. The most obviously special thing about my shower is that I have a rain shower. IT IS AWESOME. I use it when I wash my hair and standing under it really brings to mind being cleansed by gentle drops of rain. Again, the droplets descend at 90 degrees to the floor, so when my toddler wants to use the rain shower while I am bathing him, I can oblige without getting wet myself. The most iffy thing about rain showers I have used in hotels is that it will take more than a few seconds to adjust water temperature when you decide to switch from the handheld shower to the rain shower and vice versa. Sometimes it can be scalding and sometimes it can be ice-cold. And when you switch between the two, the temperature has to be readjusted from scratch. But not with GROHE fixtures! It’s just a split second where the water will be slightly cold and it will warm up right after. The temperature of the water is deliciously consistent.

The knobs all come with child locks, which is very thoughtful considering that Asher almost always bathes in my bathroom. Only an adult can unlock the knob and turn it. Even with the hot water switched on, the GROHE CoolTouch technology prevents accidental scalding when users touch the hot water pipes.

I can’t change shower patterns like Alvin can with his Power+Soul 130 Handshower but hey, I’m the one with the rain shower, so I’m not complaining. I also love the clean aesthetic of the design of my shower systems. I really appreciate the symmetry: Did you notice that on the Eurocube shower system, the buttons are square, and on Alvin’s Grohtherm mixer, they are round?

We’ve been monitoring our water and gas usage very closely (ever since we moved into our flat two years ago, our tabled consumption has been above the national average. We cannot for the life of us figure out why as we don’t use the aircon every day and our appliances are all energy-saving.) and ever since we’ve lowered the water pressure with the main valve, changed the kitchen faucet and the bathroom fixtures, our consumption seems to have come down! We will continue monitoring our consumption and keep it down.

Another thing about saving water with GROHE bathroom fixtures – the water temperature will get lower if you leave the water running for too long. At first I would get really annoyed because I would need to turn off the water and turn it back on again to heat up the water, but then I realise that it really helps me save water and energy.

All in all, we are very happy that the GROHE bathroom fairy found us. Our new bathrooms lend a touch of class to our tiny HDB flat. Thank you, GROHE!

All prices quoted in this post are recommended retail prices in SGD. You can view a full range of GROHE products at the GROHE Live! Center, which is open by appointment only.

For more information, please call +65 6311 3611.

GROHE Live! Center, Singapore
GROHE Pacific Pte Ltd
180 Clemenceau Avenue #01-01/02
Haw Par Centre
Singapore 239922

Website: www.grohe.com.sg

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm.