Hello everyone, and welcome to another of my reviews. In this article, I’ll review the Wasserfall™ Rain Shower set from the local bathroom fitting label Starke.
As mentioned in my previous article, I recently moved into a new apartment. As part of the renovations, I was looking to slightly remodel the toilet and initially wanted to purchase a new toilet bowl. I went online to look for an affordable toilet bowl and chanced upon Starke’s Smart Toilet Bowl, which was featured on Home and Decor as the #1 Top Toilet Bowl in Singapore.
As such, I decided to head down to Starke’s showroom to check out the toilet bowl and do a “sit” test. Unfortunately, I realised on-site that Starke’s toilet bowls are mostly floor-mounted, whereas my current toilet bowl is wall-mounted. I was told that extensive renovations would be necessary to convert the toilet bowl from wall to floor-mounted and that Starke’s only wall-hung toilet bowl costs an eye-watering $5000.
Dejected, I was about to leave the showroom empty-handed when I chanced upon Starke’s line of rain showers. I’ve always wanted a rain shower – I’ve written multiple times in my hotel reviews that it’s something I always look forward to. I checked the price with the staff, and was pleasantly surprised that it had a sticker price of just $799.
I wanted to check if the rain shower was compatible, so I showed the staff a picture of my previous shower system. To my delight, the staff replied in the affirmative and stated that Starke’s rain showers can be installed in virtually all bathrooms, including condos and HDBs. I thus decided to order a unit—after doing renovations and upgrades for the rest of the house, I can’t simply leave the bathroom untouched, can I?
After a week, Starke sent someone down to install the rain shower. The installer requires access to the water pipes, so it’s best if you already know where they are.
The shower set is made from brass, which is known for its durability, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance. That being said, I chose the chrome colourway because I was worried about scratches on the coating of the other colourways (such as PVD gold and matte black).
The temperature knob is on the left, which can go up to 38 degrees by default. There’s a child lock if you wish for hotter water (you need to push the centre button and turn the knob upwards), making the rain shower child safe. On the right, the knob allows you to conveniently toggle between the rain shower, handheld shower, and sprout features.
I found all three features to be eminently useful – I usually use the sprout feature when I get home to wash my feet.
Starke calls it the waterfall sprout, as the arc of the water mimics that of a waterfall. It’s a cool atas touch that differentiates it from conventional shower sets.
Then there’s the handheld shower head, which is great when washing specific areas.
The handheld showerhead comes with three modes, the first being the massage mode.
The second is the rainfall mode, which is probably what most people are used to.
Then there’s the massage + rainfall mode, which is essentially the best of both worlds.
Of course, the highlight of the shower set is the rain shower system. Starke calls it the 8-inch Patented Wasserfall™ shower system. I’m not sure what is proprietary about “Wasserfall,” but the 8 inches (referring to the length of the metal arc of the rain shower) does give it a premium feel, especially when most affordable rain showers use the basic “L” shaped design.
Like the handheld showerhead, the rain shower has the identical three modes: massage (pictured above), rainfall, and massage + rainfall.
Most of the time, I stuck with the rainfall mode, as it most accurately captures the sensation of standing under the rain.
However, I do find myself occasionally using the massage + rainfall mode. This is usually when my muscles are aching, such as after a gym session.
All the nozzles are made from silicone, rendering them easy to clean and maintain.
Lastly, Starke claims that the rain shower set is equipped with “air-pressurized water technology”, which helps save up to 80% of water in a regular shower session. I’m not too sure about the mechanics behind this technology – and have no way to verify this – so I personally take this claim with a pinch of salt.
Conclusion – so the Starke Wasserfall™ Rain Shower “shiok” or not?
If you’re looking for a hotel-esque shower experience without breaking the bank, then I highly recommend the Starke Rain Shower set. It’s a good value proposition, has three functions (rain shower, handheld shower, and sprout), and has a variety of water modes. Despite the affordable price tag, the rain shower looks premium and is definitely an upgrade over my previous shower set. It’s not a true rain shower in the sense that it doesn’t fall from the ceiling, but those tend to be much more expensive due to the installation cost (a false ceiling needs to be installed first).
Those interested in purchasing from Starke can use the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” to enjoy 5% off Starke’s items storewide. After the discount, the Starke Wasserfall™ Rain Shower would cost just $759, making it an affordable way to zhng your shower experience. As the icing on the cake, there’s a three-year warranty on the shower set as well.
View the Starke Wasserfall™ Rain Shower here.
View the full range of Starke’s offerings here.
P.S: Check out The Shiok Store here – it serves as a curation of my favourite products from my favourite brands.
P.P.S: Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
P.P.P.S: If you haven’t already, do follow my social media channels on Facebook here, on Instagram here, and on Youtube here.
P.P.P.P.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
