Clean And Maintain High Pressure Handheld Shower Heads
Who doesn’t love taking a cold and refreshing shower at high pressure on a hot day? With time, however, your showering experience gets deteriorated due to the mineral buildup and mineral deposits getting accumulated in the shower head. This ultimately decreases the water flow and pressure from the handheld shower head.
Fixing this issue is not a big deal. It requires a simple but regular thorough cleaning of your shower head which is a relatively quick and easy process to do.
Having a clean shower head ensures a more enjoyable and relaxing bathing experience, along with preventing any accumulation or buildup of dirt, debris, bacteria, mildew, and other minerals that can cause many illnesses and even pulmonary disease.
If you are someone who does not know how to properly clean their handheld shower heads, do not worry. You are at the right place.
Go over till the end of this article to understand everything there is that would help you clean a shower head easily at home.
The Procedure to Clean a Handheld Shower Head
The entire process to clean a shower head is a relatively simple one that anyone can do with basic tools and chemicals.
Things You Will Need
To get a shower head clean, you will require some basic ingredients and equipment.
These include
Distilled white vinegar
Baking soda
Plastic bag
An old toothbrush
Bowl
Bucket
Rubber band
Soap
Cloth
You will mostly find these lying around your home.
Steps to Clean a Handheld Shower Head
Follow these simple steps to clean your shower head completely.
Unscrew the Shower Head
The first step that you need to follow before you start cleaning a handheld shower head is to unscrew and remove the shower head from its connecting hose.
This will help make the cleaning process a lot easier and more comfortable to do.
Clean the Fittings
After you have unscrewed the shower head, follow it by cleaning the fittings both from the inside as well as from the outside.
Use some soap mixed with water and a cloth to clean the pipe and the fittings. Then rinse the parts off with fresh water and wipe the area with a clean towel or cloth.
Submerge and let the Shower Head soak in White Vinegar
Next, pour some distilled white vinegar into a bowl and submerge the handheld shower head in the vinegar.
Let the shower head soak in the vinegar for several hours. The best method of allowing adequate soaking of the vinegar into the deepest pores of the shower head is by allowing it to soak overnight.
With time and use, the shower heads get clogged up due to the minerals, soap scum, mold, bacteria, other dissolved solids, etc. that build up and deposit in it.
The acidity of the white vinegar will clean your shower head properly. Adequate soaking in the vinegar will ensure that all the buildup gets loose and un-clogged.
If your shower head is very difficult to unscrew and take apart, you can still soak it in the vinegar while it is still fixed on the overhead shower. This soaking method would, however, be slightly different.
Take a plastic bag and pour some vinegar in it till it fills up halfway. Now, place this bag filled with vinegar on top of the shower head. Ensure that the entire shower head is submerged completely in the vinegar. If it is not, then add more vinegar to the bag. Secure this bag on the shower head using a rubber band.
The plastic bag method is a bit more tricky compared to the other soaking method. It has a greater chance of having spills and leaks but would ultimately ensure a clean shower head. To prevent any leaks and spills in other places in your bathroom, make sure to close the shower door. This would make sure that in case of any leaks, no fluid would escape the shower door and create a mess.
Rinse the vinegar off
After the shower head has had ample time to soak in the vinegar, rinse the vinegar off and remove the shower head from the bowl.
If you soak the shower head in vinegar using the plastic bag method, untie it from the shower arm and discard the residual vinegar safely into the drain.
Scrub the shower head
For a deeper cleaning of the shower heads, you would have to scrub them properly.
Gently scrubbing the shower heads using an old toothbrush and a small amount of baking soda would help remove mineral deposits, soap scum, mold, and bacteria from the nozzles. Cleaning and scrubbing at spots with hard water stains might take some more time and effort to secure a fresher and cleaner look.
If needed, scrub the area with baking soda and vinegar mixture that has hard water stains at least 3 to 4 times to make the shower head shine as new.
You must note what kind of finish your shower head has. For example, if your shower head has an oil-rubbed bronze finish, scrubbing it vigorously can damage the shower head. Hence, you must have a soft hand while cleaning such a shower head.
Plastic shower heads may require you to scrub them with the extra force for better cleaning purposes. This is because it is easier for mineral deposits to build up in such a showerhead than in the rest.
Screw the shower head in Place
After scrubbing, screw the shower head back in place. Ensure that the shower head has been securely tightened to prevent any water from leaking and creating a mess in the bathroom when the shower is turned on.
let Hot water flow
Once the shower head has been fixed tightly onto the shower arm, run hot water from it.
This hot shower would do multiple things. It would show you whether the shower head has been cleaned deeply not only from the outside but also from the inside.
The hot water would also remove mineral deposits, and kill any bacteria, mold, and mildews that are still present in the nozzles of the shower heads.
Wipe it off
Finally, after you have completed all of the above-mentioned steps for cleaning your shower head, it is time to give it one last wipe.
Rub your shower head using a clean microfiber cloth. This would not only dry the shower head but would also buff it up, making sure that no limescale is left either on any part of the shower head or in the nozzles, thus, giving a remarkably new and fresh look.
This is how you can easily achieve a clean shower head without any debris build-up or mineral deposits in its flexible rubber nozzles, ensuring a refreshing showering experience.
Maintenance of a Handheld Shower Head
To keep your shower head clean at all times, it is important to have regular maintenance done. This is a good alternative to going over the extra efforts of deep-cleaning your shower head.
Regular maintenance includes cleaning and wiping down your shower head every now and then. You can make your own cleaning solution at home using a water spray bottle.
Add half parts clean water and half parts white vinegar to the spray bottle and shake well. Now, spray this mixture onto your overhead shower, body spray, or shower head after you are done showering. Let this spray mixture stay for a few hours and wipe it off using a moist cloth and finally allow it to dry. This would ensure that no mineral deposits and debris shall build up in your shower head nozzles. The end result would give you a fresh and clean shower head.
You can also use the same spray mixture to clean the shower walls and surrounding areas. Also, note that the water that you use in making the mixture must be clean and fresh. It does not matter whether you use tap water, filter water, or well water as long as it is not hard water and is free from any filth or pollutants.
This method of regularly cleaning the shower head is best for those who do not like to remove the shower head and clean it deeply.
Treatment of Shower Head with Years of Build Up
If you have never cleaned your shower head and it has been neglected for years, it must be full of extreme mineral buildup and other gunk. Such a showerhead would require a deeper repair.
Start by unscrewing the shower head and taking off the filter screen from it. This would allow you to have a closer view of whatever you are dealing with. Use needle nose pliers to help you remove the filter screen if it is very hard to get off.
Next, fill a bucket with water and dip the shower head and its parts multiple times in it. Fill another bucket with vinegar and allow the shower head and its parts to soak for a few hours. After that is done, take an old toothbrush and baking soda and scrub every inch of the shower head properly. Rinse with clean water.
Finally, flow hot water from the shower head to loosen any build-up and also allow it to flow off.
This is how you can easily treat a shower head with years of build-up and neglect.
Products to Avoid
There are many cleaning products you may find in the market. However, a lot of them can cause severe damage to your shower head and hence, you must avoid them at all costs.
Bleach solutions should not be used. This is because bleach may further increase the accumulation of bacteria in shower heads.
Similarly, a commercial cleaner may be appealing to many. However, they include harsh chemicals that would destroy your shower head.
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