The use of bathroom medicine cabinets in the house has been in existence for several decades. While some people consider it an outdated style, many homes still integrate it into their bathroom decor plan. This might leave one wondering if medicine cabinets are still needed in bathrooms?
Having medicine cabinets serves the primary purpose of making medications and essential daily products easy to access. However, a recognized drawback to using bathroom medicine cabinets is the frequent humid nature of the bathroom. This makes delicate medications and body products prone to moisture damage or rust.
Installing a medicine cabinet in your bathroom can prove very useful for several reasons. They also help to improve your bathroom decor and general appearance. This article will explain the functions, advantages, and disadvantages of using a medicine cabinet in the shower room.
Does a Medicine Cabinet Add Value to the Bathroom?
Contents
Installing a medicine cabinet in the bathroom could help improve the face value of a house. This could be profitable, especially for those who plan to sell off in the future. Most buyers love to get all the extra benefits from a house.
A medicine cabinet could also make a building more appealing to potential buyers. This is because the more functional a space is, the more beneficial and attractive it’ll become. Even if it’s a personal building or you intend to stay with your family, interior furniture adds storage value.
Also, contemporary bathroom cabinets are available in a vast range of brand designs, patterns, and sizes. This makes it easy to access options that’ll adapt to your bathroom style without standing out awkwardly.
If you’re looking to install a medicine cabinet in your bathroom, consider what you need in a bathroom space. Then, think about the benefits you’ll get and possible disadvantages associated with the idea. Knowing what works best for your bathroom, home type, and personal preference is key to making the right choice.
Pros of Having Bathroom Medicine Cabinets
Like other house furniture, there are certain advantages and disadvantages associated with installing a bathroom cabinet.
Let’s take a look at them on the list below:
Privacy
Most people like to keep their prescriptions and other essential medications out of sight. Having a medicine cabinet in your bathroom will help guarantee that privacy. This is because bathrooms are one of the areas considered to be private in a house.
If you don’t appreciate others browsing through your stuff, using a medicine cabinet could help you keep sensitive items safe. Using bathroom medicine cabinets will also help keep harmful substances out of the reach of kids if you have them.
Easy Access and Storage
it’s easier to follow prescriptions and keep up with essential cosmetic routines when you can access them with ease. Storing products like supplements in your bathroom medicine cabinet will also help you remember to use them.
The chances of skipping medications and other cosmetic routines increase when you don’t make frequent eye contact with them. These medicine cabinets also serve storage purposes to keep your delicate items organized and moisture-free.
Variety of Options
There is more than one way to integrate a medicine cabinet into your shower room for convenience. You could choose to mount your medicine cabinet on the wall, allowing it to protrude from it.
Another pattern is to install a recessed type of cabinet that’s leveled with the wall. Whatever type of installation you choose is also available in numerous patterns, styles, and designs.
Cons of Having Bathroom Medicine Cabinets
Here are some reasons storing your medications in the medicine cabinet isn’t such a great idea.
Water Damage
Bathrooms are always moist for the majority of the day, and this is due to the constant presence of water. Most medications in tablet and capsule form are made to dissolve in liquid for quicker digestion. This makes keeping your medications in the medicine cabinet unsafe and prone to water damage.
Moisture contact could also reduce the effectiveness of a medication. This implies a reduction in its action or performance in the body system.
High Temperature
Most medications come with an instruction to “keep in a cool and dry place.”
Medications are recommended to be stored at room temperature, which is between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Exposing your medications to high heat could nullify their effects or reduce their shelf life.
Humidity
High humidity levels can change the composition of your medications and degrade their complex forms into different materials. For instance, aspirin will undergo catabolism into vinegar if kept in a high humid space. You sure don’t want to have that in your system!
Cost of Installing a Recessed Cabinet
Constituting a recessed medicine cabinet into your bathroom wall could come at a high cost. Except the recessed cabinet was incorporated into the original design of the house.
Things will become more complicated if there is pre-existing electrical wiring or plumbing pipes in the wall. It will involve a lot of rewiring and rerouting, which translates into increased expenses.
Limited Storage
Although having a bathroom medicine cabinet makes it easier to access items, its storage capacity can be limited. They aren’t usually configured to have much depth, so they don’t consume a lot of space. This makes it impossible for you to store bulky and large objects.
Are There Alternatives for a Medicine Cabinet?
Maybe your new home doesn’t have a medicine cabinet installed in the bathroom. Are there other alternatives to that? Many options could suffice for a bathroom medicine cabinet. I listed the most effective suggestions below.
Double Duty Door
The smart idea is to configure your shower door to serve a dual purpose. You can achieve this by hanging something as common as a shoe organizer on it. Then you’ve just made yourself an extra storage room- It’s that simple!
If you’d prefer something a bit more sophisticated, you could install a door-mounted cabinet instead.
Use the Space Above Your Toilet
There’s a huge chance that the area over your toilet is vacant and unused. You can maximize the space and create extra space for storing items. Construct a small shelf above your toilet or hang one or two baskets to store some of your daily products.
Get a Bar Cart
Another excellent option is to use a repurposed bar cart. Bar carts can help you create extra storage space in your shower room by keeping your daily essentials in it.
The wheels make it quite flexible and easy to swerve in any direction of your choice. This way, you can regulate its position at will and make it adaptable for multiple storage functions.
Declutter Items With Organizers
If you have a single counter layer, you could maximize it and keep things tidy by using organizers and trinket trays. Use a tiered organizer to make the most of the counter space by arranging your items inside it. Trinket trays can also contain smaller articles like shaving sticks/cream or mouthwash.
Shower Curtain Pockets
This isn’t a popular idea, but your shower curtain can make for a storage area. Some shower curtains come with small pockets that you could use to keep things like razors, cosmetic tubes, etc.
Having a medicine cabinet in your bathroom isn’t an outdated idea, and it comes with many benefits. I hope this piece provided you with the necessary knowledge to guide your use of a bathroom medicine cabinet.
