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"    Kohler WaterHaven   It used to be that you got clean in a hurry by grabbing a quick shower. Today, &amp;quot;performance showering&amp;quot; has become a stand-up alternative to lengthy, luxuriating sessions in the whirlpool bath. We Americans, always in a rush, love our comforts nonetheless \u2014 so why not get a fast hydro-massage at the same time, without ever sitting down? &amp;quot;We see a trend to &amp;#039;vertical whirlpools,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; says Colin Thielman, tub and shower product manager for Delta Faucet. &amp;quot;A lot of people are looking for an alternative to whirlpools, including those who don&amp;#039;t use them as much as they thought they would.&amp;quot; The fact that we love long, hot showers isn&amp;#039;t really news, but it was one of the high points of a recent survey by fixture manufacturer American Standard. Along with large baths and whirlpool tubs, research shows that what homeowners truly want is a spa-type shower system. So it&amp;#039;s no surprise manufacturers are creating shower products from multi-spray &amp;quot;car wash&amp;quot; systems \u2014 some programmable \u2014 to elaborate spa shower &amp;quot;environments.&amp;quot;    Hansgrohe Pharo Shower Column   PERFORMANCE If you&amp;#039;re building a new home, setting up a power shower with horizontal as well as vertical sprays, jets, and even waterfalls is not much more difficult than plumbing an ordinary shower, according to Delta Faucet&amp;#039;s Thielman. But there are a number of differences. &amp;quot;Water pressure is all-important,&amp;quot; Thielman explains. &amp;quot;Some of these high-pressure systems require a minimum flow rate of forty-five gallons per minute (gpm) and one-inch-diameter water lines up to the master bath, then they step down to three-quarter-inch lines to the valves, and half-inch branch lines to the outlets themselves.&amp;quot; Because most homes have only half-inch water pipes to the baths, with water pressure in the 25 to 30 gpm range, remodeling for a spa shower could entail installing all-new, larger water lines and even a booster pump to provide the needed pressure.    Harrington Brass Rainbars   By law, all shower outlets are restricted to a water-saving flow rate of 2.5 gpm, but the more extravagant spa systems have so many separate outlets flowing at once that they can require up to 18 gpm to the primary control valve. The best new thermostatic shower valves are up to the task, however, and can maintain precise water temperature and pressure settings even when users switch among any combination or number of body side-sprays, showerheads, handshowers, and faucet spouts. If your home&amp;#039;s plumbing \u2014 and your budget \u2014 is built to handle a high-performance shower system, there&amp;#039;s no shortage of options. Choose any one of these systems, and that quick morning shower will never be the same. WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE Power-shower towers are the name of the game at Kohler, which offers three distinct options. WaterHaven ($2,950 to $4,280) is preplumbed and has two arched, telescoping showerheads, a separate handshower, and four body sprays that can be positioned anywhere up or down the vertical side-bars. The tower can be installed in your own custom-built shower, or used with Kohler&amp;#039;s companion corner or bath-alcove acrylic receptors.    Grohe Relaxa Plus sytem   A second option, the BodySpa ($1,273 to $10,000), is described as a &amp;quot;vertical whirlpool bath.&amp;quot; Although designed for installation in tile walls, the BodySpa includes a glass enclosure, an integral footbath with water pump, and a vertical tower with up to ten horizontal jets \u2014 plus a 20-inch-wide waterfall spout in the top unit. Fill the footbath, shut the drain, and the pump constantly recirculates the water through the jets at up to 80 gpm. Independent jet controls allow you to adjust the power and direction of the BodySpa&amp;#039;s hydro-massage. Kohler&amp;#039;s MasterShower ($3,680 and up), is a preplumbed tower with a single showerhead, two body sprays, and an overhead sheet-flow spout. Its built-in electronic control panel lets you adjust spray combinations and water pressure. For a truly mystical experience, think about one of Hansgrohe&amp;#039;s Pharo &amp;quot;Shower Temples&amp;quot; ($6,900 to $8,400.) The preplumbed corner enclosures have exterior columns separating glass walls, so they appear not to be enclosed at all. A handshower and body sprays are located within the single column in one of the units, so when showering, you face out toward the room, rather than in to the wall. Overhead, a large flat showerhead \u2014 with no less than 100 nozzle openings \u2014 creates a rainlike effect. In the larger unit, four body sprays and a handshower are positioned against the wall, but are topped by a vertical showerhead surrounded by halogen downlighting.    Waterpik AquaFall showerhead   The company&amp;#039;s unique, sleek Shower Column ($2,900), another Pharo model, is a completely freestanding aluminum post with two built-in body sprays and a showerhead positioned nearly eight feet off the floor. Because the water supply enters through the floor, the column can be installed anywhere, even in the center of the room. The Pharo line also includes several stylish preplumbed wall panels that can be simply installed in place of an existing shower. Clean living pairs-up perfectly with the sleek Rainbar Bodyshowers ($580 to $1,039) from Harrington Brass. Up to 18 individual microjets or four body sprays are positioned along a single chrome faucet bar for total saturation in the shower. Small, six-jet rainbars, handshowers, and a 12-inch-diameter &amp;quot;deluge&amp;quot; showerhead are also available. The Apoge, from Pearl Baths, combines both vertical hydro-massage jets and a 14-inch-deep whirlpool footbath. While you&amp;#039;re treating your tootsies, you can dial up a relaxing back massage from eight water jets positioned behind and above the seat. The 4-by-4-foot neo-angle preplumbed enclosure with footbath, hydro-massage and single showerhead retails for about $3,400. A choice of components ($1,200 to $2,400) lets you add thermostatic valves, flex-hose showerhead extensions, and up to four body sprays. A steam-shower option ($1,003) has a lighted dome and steam-tight door. WET AND WIRED Multiple spray outlets in a shower can create some problems when it comes to balancing temperatures, spray patterns, and water pressure at the individual jets. And if you share your shower, your settings may not be there when it&amp;#039;s your turn. The Ondine ESS Electronic Shower System ($3,500) lets you program and operate up to five functions the way you operate your TV. Its push-button control, which installs in the shower, even looks like a remote. It&amp;#039;s linked via low-voltage wiring to an electronic water-supply manifold behind the wall, and can be used for new or remodeling installations. Once you&amp;#039;ve set your preferences, you can return to your program at the touch of a button. And, you can alter settings while you shower. Up to three users can set their own programs. A bright liquid-crystal display (LCD) shows temperature and spray outlets selected. American Standard also has a new Electronic Bath Control ($900 to $1,300) that can transform ordinary showers into an &amp;quot;ultimate personal experience.&amp;quot; This battery-powered touch pad lets you choose or set up to six shower modes, including an invigorating, spa setting that cycles the water through high and low temperatures. There&amp;#039;s also a bath/shower model that offers two shower or bath settings, and can be set to fill tubs to a precise water level and temperature. A LA CARTE Although a more conventional component system for designing a custom power shower, Moen&amp;#039;s new Asceri and Monticello spa shower collections make use of Moen&amp;#039;s proprietary M-Pact valve architecture. Allowing remodelers total flexibility when retrofitting shower fittings, fixture components with M-Pact may be replaced or even rearranged without changing any of the valve plumbing behind the wall.  Form and function also shower happily together in the high-style Grohe line. This German-American manufacturer claims to offer the only high-flow thermostatic, anti-scald safety valve for spa showers. The Grohtherm High-flow Thermostatic Valve can meter up to 18 gpm to deliver a constant 2.5 gpm water pressure \u2014 with precise individual temperatures accurate to within one degree Fahrenheit \u2014 to as many as two showerheads, a personal hand shower-wand, and up to four body sprays at one time. The stylish Relaxa Plus line includes both self-cleaning hand- and wall-mounted showerheads, adjustable body sprays, and a number of matching accessories.  Since performance is critical with multi-outlet systems, grafting a spa shower onto existing bath plumbing can be impractical, or impossible. As a result remodelers must plan carefully to get the system they need. There are alternatives that offer fewer sprays and other options, but do provide more spa-like features than ordinary showers.  Delta&amp;#039;s Monitor 1800 Series (available in June) is a preplumbed unit with two built-in jet sprays that you can use to replace your existing shower control. It has a pressure-balancing valve that operates on typical household water pressure and installs on half-inch incoming water lines. Options include shower-only and bath/shower models, or separate jet-spray modules.  Waterpik, which introduced a Misting Massage spa handshower last year, is adding two new retrofittable &amp;quot;drenching&amp;quot; showerheads, the Aquafall and Cascadia ($20 to $50). All three models operate on standard water pressure and water lines.  Price Pfister&amp;#039;s Bell-Plus is a new bell-shaped multifunction spa showerhead that incorporates massage, spray, and self-cleaning features. The price will be under $100 when it is put on the market later this year.  FOR MORE INFORMATIONAmerican Standard 800-524-9797 americanstandard-us.com  Grohe 241 Covington Dr., Bloomingdale, IL 60108, (630) 582-7711, groheamerica.com  Hansgrohe 1490 Bluegrass, Lakes Pkwy., Alpharetta, GA 30004, (770) 360-9880, hansgrohe-usa.com  Harrington Brass Works 7 Pearl Ct., Allendale, NJ 07401, (201) 818-1300, harringtonbrassworks.com  Kohler 800-456-4537, kohler.com  Moen 800-289-6636, moen.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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