Walking into a cold bathroom in the morning might snap you out of your slumber but it certainly wont be a pleasant experience! The traditional solution to this has always been to install a bathroom radiator, and the golden age of the traditional iron cast radiator was during the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

However with all the interest in electric heated towel rails these days, the humble yet faithful bathroom radiator has been largely overlooked.

Unsurprisingly, radiator design has moved on a long way since the times of Victoria and Edward. New technologies and manufacturing methods give you almost limitless choice in bathroom heating appliances. Modern designer bathroom radiators come in all shapes and sizes, to suit your needs and the needs of your bathroom.

There are certain aspects of heating that traditional bathroom radiators are far better at than a heated towel rail. A radiator will almost certainly have a significantly greater heat output than a towel rail, which is also likely to have damp towels sitting on it, reducing the heat circulated around the room even more.

A bathroom radiator has been designed to heat up the room; a heated towel rail has been designed to heat up towels. If you can allow a heated towel rail to carry out the task it was designed for, it will naturally be more efficient than asking the towel rail to generate enough heat for both the towels hanging on it and the room in which it sits. Even if this is possible, it would heat the rail to a dangerous level such that a slight brush of bare skin against it would result in a painful burn.

Of course theres nothing to stop you installing both a heated towel rail and a traditional bathroom radiator in the same room. That way you get the best of both worlds: warm fluffy towels and a beautifully heated bathroom. This is the perfect solution for homes where the bathroom is large enough to need double the heat output.

Some people just toss out old patio furniture, but not you. You’re the kind of handyman (or woman) who knows how to get the most mileage out of a piece of furniture. An outdoor rocking chair can be a cherished piece passed down through the generations. Keep yours looking like the day you bought it with some repair tips.

Problem #1: Uneven or discolored finish
To repair the aesthetic portion of your outdoor rocking chair, you will first need to strip away any visible traces of an existing finish. You can use a finish stripper or just sandpaper. You can also use a putty knife to get off any especially thick spots, but be careful not to nick the wood. Once the surface is smooth and free of varnish, clean off all surfaces to ensure that the finish sticks better. Then, you can apply one to two coats of a finish of your choice, an oil-based varnish or paint, for example.

Problem #2: Damaged spindles
One feature found on many a wooden outdoor rocking chair is spindles. These are the rod-shaped pieces of wood that make up the backrest and sometimes hold up the armrests as well. The problem is that these can often be quite thin and delicate and prone to breaking.

To remove, use a hammer and punch, but in the armrests substitute a non-slip pad in order to twist out the spindles. If you cannot find an exact match for your existing spindles, you will want to remove them all and buy an all new matching set. When replacing the spindles, clamp them into the chair until the glue has a chance to fully dry.

Problem #3: Mold, stains and discoloration
If the finish is not a problem, but the wood itself has become discolored from black mold or some other stain, you can do one of two things: you can either cover and hide the stain, or try and remove it. To hide the stain, clean the wood off using soap and water and then apply a coat of an opaque or stain-hiding primer. Then you can choose whatever color to paint your outdoor rocking chair once the primer is completely dry.

However, if you want to try and preserve the natural coloration of the wood, you might opt to remove the stain, which is slightly trickier. To be the most gentle on the wood, go from mildest to strongest cleaners when trying out what works. For mild stains and buildup, try soap and warm water or a wood-safe cleaner, like Murphy’s.

If that doesn’t work, use a stronger cleaner, but avoid power washers, as they can damage the surface and grain of wood. A stronger solvent like chlorine or bleach mixed with water is effective, but work in small, concentrated areas using gloves and goggles and do not let the mixture sit for too long on the chair, as it will start to eat away at the wood.

Problem #4: Broken or uneven pieces
If the seat or other parts of your outdoor rocking chair have fallen into disrepair you can do a few different things. For small cracks, you can either try to sand them out so that they not spread, or else try gluing small pieces of wood directly into the cracks.

For bigger cracks, rotted or warped wood or completely broken pieces, you will want to replace that section altogether. This is a bigger job best left to professionals if you’re unsure, but if you do decide to do it, make sure the wood you choose is even and matches. Try to replace as little wood as possible, as this will change how the chair contour fits and looks.