Nebia by Moen Review: A Showerhead That Made Me Really Cold

After I first moved to Portland, Oregon, I apprehensive about how I would survive the infinite, grey, wet winters. A pal suggested me to discover a technique to get heat—actually heat—no less than as soon as a day. I don’t have common entry to a sauna or a scorching tub, so I take a scorching bathe each morning to defrost my chilly toes earlier than I stuff them into wool socks and leather-based boots. That scorching bathe is an indispensable a part of my day.

When the field from Nebia arrived, I pounced on it. For a showerhead, Nebia has a really glamorous origin story. In 2010, cofounder Carlos Gomez Andonaegui was working because the CEO of Sport Metropolis, Mexico Metropolis’s largest gymnasium membership chain. He and his father designed the Nebia prototype to avoid wasting water within the showers, with the novel concept of utilizing atomizing nozzles usually utilized in agricultural and aerospace fields.

He met Nebia cofounder Philip Winter in Mexico Metropolis, whereas Winter was working at Endeavor, a nonprofit that encourages entrepreneurship in several components of the world. After bringing on one other cofounder, Gabriel Parisi-Amon—a former Apple engineer—Nebia put in a prototype in an Equinox gymnasium in San Francisco. It shortly attracted the eye (and {dollars}) of varied Silicon Valley illuminati, most notably Tim Cook dinner.

The unique model value $500. A number of years later, Nebia has partnered with commemorated faucet producer Moen for a way more accessible model at $199. (On Kickstarter you may at present preorder it for a $40 discount.) Nebia despatched me the model with the magnetic hand wand, which can retail for an anticipated $269. Preorders will start to ship in mid-March.

It’s straightforward to put in—simply unscrew your present showerhead and neck pipe, screw the Nebia by Moen in, and stick the sliding arm and the spherical magnetic dock on the wall (you may screw it in, too). It’s extremely lovely. After I put in it, my husband and I took a couple of minutes to admire it in our humble toilet, like having a Valentino robe hanging within the closet subsequent to your denims and ratty previous sweaters.

However after three weeks, my husband rebelled and took it down once I was on a piece journey, and I haven’t put it again up. Within the lifeless of a Portland winter, even a luxurious, high-tech showerhead simply wasn’t heat sufficient.

Misty Morning Fog

Low-flow showerheads aren’t precisely new expertise; I used one earlier than the Nebia got here, with a flow-rate of 1.75 gallons per minute (the common showerhead makes use of greater than 2 GPM. Low-flow showerheads save householders in each water and vitality prices because you don’t must warmth as a lot water. You may also strive making one yourself.

Undoubtedly, the Nebia by Moen showerhead seems significantly better than something you can construct by yourself. Nebia despatched me a pattern in gleaming, spot-resistant nickel, nevertheless it additionally is available in an equally engaging black, or white and chrome.

The showerhead is an enormous 8 inches broad, a circle with six tiny nozzles across the rim. Nebia’s atomization expertise disperses the circulation into tens of millions of tiny droplets whereas lowering circulation to a remarkably low 1.35 GPM. At that price, you can save as much as 10 gallons of water per bathe in comparison with common showerheads. (With the hand bathe on, the Nebia’s circulation price will increase to 1.7 GPM.)

The Nebia additionally has a number of different useful design options. The showerhead tilts and swivels in a number of instructions for optimum positioning. It is also mounted on a slide rail that has 17 inches of journey. It’s totally straightforward for every showerer to govern. There’s a 10-inch top distinction between my husband and me, and we may each seize on the showerhead one-handed to spray an inch or two above our respective scalps.

I do not suggest buying the showerhead with out the hand unit. I did not do that, however you may place the hand unit on the top of your decrease again and switch it on to cowl much more of your physique’s floor space. As an alternative, I used it to spray my chilly legs and ft. After I rinsed off, I merely touched the hand unit again onto the attractive, magnetic dock.

The Warmth Is On

Most individuals have used a mist bathe earlier than. On scorching days, these small, silky droplets really feel heavenly on my arms and shoulders once I stroll by a playground. In reality, “nebbia” means fog in Italian. Sadly, I do not spend most mornings luxuriating in an Italian fog. I would like a extra carwash-type setup, the place I can restore blood circulation to my extremities and rinse out my hair in 5 minutes or much less. CEO Philip Winter notes that the Nebia by Moen showerhead is midway between a steam bathe and a daily bathe.

“If you atomize water and make smaller droplets, there’s vitality switch, and so the droplets need to cool,” he stated over the telephone. “That is the largest problem we’ve been combating. You’re combating physics.”

In case you’re in an enclosed bathe stall, you is likely to be significantly hotter than I used to be in my bathtub—a chilly douse within the morning is much from what I would like. An enclosed stall would additionally remedy the issue of containing the Nebia by Moen’s diffuse spray. Atomizing nozzles had been initially used to water fields, and so the Nebia by Moen watered my entire toilet if I wasn’t cautious about yanking the bathe curtain shut instantly after I turned it on.

You can also’t flip off the principle showerhead and simply use the hand unit. Winter stated this characteristic is without doubt one of the largest buyer asks, however Nebia at present cannot implement it as a result of that will violate the Worldwide Affiliation of Plumbing and Mechanical Officers’ showerhead laws. It is a disgrace as a result of, with out a separate hand unit, I could not use the Nebia by Moen with my youngsters or canine. Moderately than soaking the whole toilet, I banished my canine to the again deck to get sprayed off by a freezing hose. (Looking back, this was simply punishment for rolling in a rotten fish.) I additionally couldn’t pop a pantless 2-year-old within the tub and rinse his legs off after he had a potty accident.

In drought-stricken areas or locations the place potable water is scarce, water conservation is a really actual downside. And in hotter locations, a stunning, misty showerhead just like the Nebia by Moen is likely to be a viable answer. However right here, some concerns outweigh others. In the meanwhile, I would favor to search out different methods to preserve water and vitality fairly than sacrifice my solely 10 heat minutes per day.

The excellent news is, the Nebia by Moen may be very straightforward to put in. Till I can sneak it previous my husband to get pleasure from cool mist in July, I will daydream about all of the sunny, tropical locations the place I want I used to be showering as an alternative.

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