Ken Evans is the Showerdome® shower top inventor. One night he was watching rugby on television at his home in Tauranga, New Zealand. At half time he scurried out to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. While impatiently waiting for the jug to boil, he noticed steam coming out the nozzle of the glass electric kettle – but saw there was no steam inside the kettle above the boiling water. The inside of the see-through kettle above the hot bubbling water was clear.
It suddenly dawned on him that the visible steam is not created until the moist hot air reaches the cooler air outside the kettle. Just like clouds are made outside – the warm moist air rises until it reaches a cooler air layer then it condenses into visible moisture droplets. He realised the same principle applied in his shower.
Ken rushed into the basement and found a flat sheet of material to put on top of his shower. He turned on the tap full hot and even after half an hour there was no steam in his shower or bathroom. He had discovered for himself the simple scientific principle that creates moisture in the bathroom. For years like others, Ken had been trying to deal with shower steam by having heated mirrors, extractor fans and heaters. Now he had no need for any of these gadgets that were expensive to run and didn’t help reduce the steam – he had found the secret of not having any steam to start with.
Ken forgot all about the rugby game and his cup of tea.
Some time after Ken made his first prototype, Maurice O’Reilly saw it on the shower at Ken’s bathroom. He was intrigued and asked what it was. After Ken explained the principle and the benefits of a Showerdome® shower top, Maurice instinctively knew that this was an invention of enormous importance.
Since then Showerdome® Ltd have developed a very sophisticated dome made of premium quality acrylic to create the perfect barrier for home showers.
However, the simple principle still remains – moisture is not created in the bathroom if the warm air is kept separate from the cool air.
They say the simplest ideas are the best, and in this case it’s true!
