Roper Rhodes Calibre Illuminated Mirror Review. For a little while, our previously well lit bathroom has been getting dimmer and dimmer, as over time, lights and switches failed. So it felt like a perfect time to replace our aging bathroom mirror (and fix the switch!).
We selected this gorgeous looking number, Calibre Illuminated Mirror 600 X 800 Rectangular from Roper Rhodes.
We decided on a larger version than our previous one. Both for aesthetic purposes, but also to make sure any previous fixing holes were covered. No-one wants to see a blob of filler in their travertine tiles every time one brushes ones teeth!
It also had to have lights and demisting – no negotiation on that one!
Our previous one (not from Roper Rhodes!) had lights and ‘demisting’. Do check descriptions, demisting was by virtue of the 8 x 10w halogen bulbs inefficiently and ineffectively radiating heat. So the area round each bulb demisted, but, you know, not the big bit in the middle which you might actually want to use!
I’m pleased to report that our lovely new mirror has a very large demisting pad on the rear, slap bang in the middle of where your face will be! Exhibit A, but I’ll come back to that later:
Before I get to the features, we have to get it on the wall. Fixings are supplied for a standard brick wall attachment. Two metal brackets, four screws and accompanying wall plugs. For once, the screws and wall plugs supplied were decent and I did actually use them, not bin them and use better ones, as is so often the case. Then it’s just down to a bit of measuring and levelling, before drilling your shiny tiles and fixing the brackets in place.
The electrical connection is simple and has a nice long cable to make the connections. It is in the bathroom though, so make sure you use a competent person! The mirror then just drops into place and a couple of sticky pads stop it escaping.
Now, we can actually play with the new toy. Blimey, it’s jolly bright was my first thought. It’s amazing, and as the light is all round, no shadows are cast. On that note, it is dimmable, so if you prefer it less bright, you can just hold your finger on the power button and it cycles through brightness levels. Let go and it even remembers your preferences for next time, so you only have to do this once.
The middle button (sorry for the blurriness – but you get the idea) lets you choose colour temperature, warm white, cool white and atmospheric (that’s my term for it, there might be a more accurate term!).
So, it can be as bright as the sun/cool white for me, and a more subdued warm white for Mrs Wonders.
Also, it doesn’t have 80w of bulbs to be left on 24 hours a day when a teenager can’t be bothered to press the off button. Do you know, that’s about 70p a day in electricity at today’s prices. It does still use 72w when lights and demister are on together, but it’s a different league of effectiveness!
Importantly, it has a timer on for if you do forget to turn it off. You can also control the demister separately through a 3rd button. Interestingly, as it works so well, the teenagers – so far – are actually liking the novelty of turning it off and on as they use it 🙂
And the demister? Yes, it works beautifully. I like a steamingly hot bath and I am pleased to report that after one, not even a spot of condensation anywhere on the mirror. Happy me!
Overall, I’m unreasonably pleased with our new mirror from Roper Rhodes. It looks great, no more wiping condensation with a towel, and no more missing bits when shaving. Plus, it saves money, win win.
