This Lasko space heater could be perfect for heating your bathroom

Water and electricity don’t mix, for obvious reasons. That’s why you should never use a space heater in a bathroom unless it is designed to be used there. The Lasko CD08200 is designed with this in mind, though, with the addition of an Appliance Leakage Current Interrupter (ALCI) that cuts off the power to the heater if it detects an electrical short. You should still be careful and place it away from potential spills, but it is a great additional precaution if your bathroom is a bit chilly first thing in the morning.

This is also a very affordable solution. You can pick up the Lasko CD08200 for around $40 online. This is only available for sale in the US. 

Lasko CD08200 Ceramic Bathroom Heater review: design

The Lasko CD08200 is a simple heater, about the size of a loaf of bread. It has only one control: a single button on the top that turns the heater on, sets the one-hour timer or puts it in low or high heating mode. Three LEDs under the button show you which mode it is in. Annddd… that’s it. There are no thermostats, no speed modes and no other features. It’s not a sophisticated device, just a small heater to warm up a cold room in the morning. 

The ceramic heating element and fan are all well hidden inside the case, well protected behind plastic covers and grilles, so small fingers are not going to get inside. The front cover does get rather warn in high mode though, and that heat lingers after the heater is turned off. 

The ALCI circuit breaker is on the plug casing, and this will trip and disconnect the heater if it detects an abnormal surge of power, such as a short circuit from water or a fault. It is similar to the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) sockets that are probably already installed in your bathroom, but doesn’t require a ground pin on the wall socket. So, it will work with an older two-pin socket or cable. There are two buttons on this: a test button that triggers the ALCI cutoff, and a reset button that resets the cutoff, so you can test and verify that this feature is working.

Lasko CD08200 Ceramic Bathroom Heater review: performance

Although it is rather small, the CD08200 produced plenty of warm air, blowing warm air out of its front only a few seconds after starting it up. It is also fairly quiet, producing a quiet whooshing noise that isn’t loud or annoying enough to interrupt conversation. 

You don’t get much control over how much heat is produced, though. Without a thermostat you have to manually set it to low or high power to control the temperature. There is the one-hour timer, though, which means you can set it to warm up a room and then turn itself off. 

Lasko CD08200 Ceramic Bathroom Heater review: verdict 

The Lasko CD08200 does an effective job of warming a small area with an additional level of safety. The ALCI will turn the heater off if it detects an abnormal flow of current that could be a short circuit caused by water. That makes it safer if used in a bathroom, especially in one that does not offer GFCI circuits, which do a similar job. I didn’t test the safety aspect of this heater, but it is a welcome addition to a small, effective and relatively quiet heater that does a good job of warming a chilly room.