Tired of steam fogging up your windows and mirrors from a hot shower? A new invention from New Zealand has the answer – the Showerdome.
For many, the inconvenience of having clouds of steam fog up the mirror is a worthy, if annoying, sacrifice for the blissful luxury that is a hot shower.
However, thanks to New Zealand inventor Ken Evans’s creation – called the Showerdome – the days of hazy post-hot shower bathrooms are over.
It was a boiling kettle that first triggered the epiphany in the ex-automotive engineer – if the warm air from the shower water did not collide with the colder air from outside, no steam would be produced.
The first incarnation of the Showerdome was nothing more than a panel made out of laminated glass placed on top of his shower, which he showed to his friend Maurice O’Reilly, a former auto parts importer.
Six years on and 45,000 Showerdomes later, the pair now comprise two of the three shareholders in Showerdome (the company), grossing $1.5 million yearly in revenue.
The concept behind the Showerdome seems unbelievably simple, but Mr Evans says that it makes perfect sense.
“That cold air is falling down into the shower, so the visible moisture ends up coming down to probably waist height … If you were to bend down to pick up the soap, you’d find you were in clear air down there,” he says.
Mr Evans explains that the Showerdome is not as simple as a plastic roof on top of a shower, as its contoured design is made to stream drips to the sides of the cubicle.
“Sometimes people say, why should I pay $270 for a bit of plastic with a bubble in it? It’s not quite like that.”
The Showerdome is already sold in Australia, and plans are being made to branch into South African and Canadian markets.
