Why is my heated towel rail not working?

We’re here to help you troubleshoot what could have gone wrong with your heated towel rail. Just a note, folks who own a fluid-filled heated towel rail (which we don’t sell) seem to run into more problems than those owning a Dry Element Technology (DET) Bathroom Butler heated towel rail. Just so you know.

1. My heated towel rail won’t switch on when I press the wall switch

Aah, normally an easy fix. If you look at your heated towel rail, you’ll notice the PTSelect Switch discreetly tucked away at the bottom of the left post. In fact, so discreetly that people often miss it. This switch has to be turned on independently from the wall switch and only then will the unit start warming up. If you’re still not sure what we’re on about, watch our PTSelect Switch video.

2. I switched my heated towel rail on at the PTSelect Switch but it still won’t work

This is most likely due to faulty installation causing a problem with the electrical connection to the mains. Call your electrician back immediately to check what he did with the wiring.

3. My towels aren’t getting warm and aren’t drying

Firstly, remember that a heated towel rail’s foremost purpose is to dry your towels, and then add a touch of warmth. This touch of warmth is not the same as you’d get from blasting it with hot air in the dryer for half an hour.

Secondly, you really have to fold those towels twice to create four layers to dry them. It sounds counter-intuitive, but In simple terms, heated air gets trapped under the towel from where it penetrates the four towel layers and starts the drying and warming process. Draping it in a single layer just ain’t gonna cut it.

4. My towels aren’t heating evenly

Despite all you’ve heard about heated towel rails warming towels evenly, take it from us, this is scientifically impossible! For one, the exterior of the towel that’s exposed to the surrounding air will never be as warm as the section touching the towel rail.

Hot air rises, meaning the top part of the towel will always be warmer than the lower part. So rest in peace that it is totally normal for some parts of the towel to be a touch warmer than others.

5. Why doesn’t the left hand post heat up?

The simple answer is because there’s no element running through this post as it won’t be used to dry your towels – that’s solely for the horizontal bars. This saves you on electricity.

But why does the right-hand post heat up then, we hear you ask? It’s down to engineering. It’s the most efficient path for the element to follow and allows the heated towel rail to be easily disassembled and repaired should anything go wrong down the line. Just a word of caution to watch out for those cheap welded units, they are not serviceable so when they fail you have to throw them away.

6. The heated towel rail is taking too long to heat up

We are proud to say that because we use Dry Element Technology (DET) we’ve never had this complaint. This is more likely because you bought a fluid-filled heated towel rail, which is out-dated technology and we kindly refer you back to the seller. Then, find out what makes DET so advanced.

7. The heated towel rail is getting too hot

Most heated towel rails don’t offer any kind of temperature control because manufacturers assume people all want the same temperature. Utter nonsense. If our customers have taught us anything, it’s that everyone experiences warmth/heat differently.

That’s why we added the PTSelect Switch to our models – giving you the freedom to custom-set the temperature as you like. So if the heated towel rail is too hot, simply dial down the temperature.