Maybe you’ve been using using portable ‘space heaters’ for years in your bathroom, risking burns from moving them around or inadvertently brushing against them. They really are just a temporary solution anyway, and you have probably been telling yourself that someday you would upgrade and get a bathroom ceiling heater installed. Is this the year you will finally take the plunge?

A friend of mine recently did a very smart thing and shopped around for a ceiling fan heater at Home Depot at a time of year when hardly anyone is thinking about buying heaters, i.e. springtime. It was pretty clear that they were just trying to move old inventory, but my buddy didn’t mind: he had a brand-new heated ceiling fan for a fraction of what it would’ve cost him in November or December, and saved a lot of money just by shopping at the right time of year.

c
photo credit: downing.amanda

He had already shopped around for contractors who could handle installation, and was able to locate someone for a very reasonable price, a heating specialist for whom springtime is quite slow. I suppose the lesson is that installing a heater in the bathroom is no more of a discretionary expense in spring than it would be in the fall or wintertime, even though you don’t actually ‘need’ it for a few months. If you need it, why not buy it at the right time?

The beauty of putting a heater in, aside from being able to retire the space heater to the garage, is that it’s easier to open window just a little after you take a shower, to allow the air to circulate in your bathroom, thereby reducing the humidity that will lead to ugly mildew, rotting wood and other water damage. A real benefit of this small bit of home improvement accomplishes all this while saving yourself expensive repairs down the road.

The bottom line on your new heater: it’s not money you’re spending, as you might on an expensive dinner. It is an investment in your home, one that will increase its value by some small amount, as well as helping you avoid replacing tile or wood trim when it becomes damaged from excess moisture. Lastly, there will be no more having to figure out whether that space heater has cooled down enough to move it.