If you have an Old Shower Head, now is the time to replace it!

A Clogged and dirty old shower head is just gross and can make your daily shower not satisfying. Clean or replace it. Now is the time to change that old shower head.

Ever been staying at a nice hotel, and in the bathroom is an old showerhead that hits you in the chest? In your home, you should not put up with this. Your showerhead should leave you clean and satisfied.

A lot of factors can influence your shower head. Water pressure, flow restrictions, water hardness, well water, city water, water pipes, and even if you rent or own your home.

Water Pressure and Low Flow Options

Low water pressure may be one of the biggest problems you have to deal with. You will need to eliminate your old shower head as the cause of your low pressure. Clean your old shower head with CLR, Calcium Lime, Rust cleaner, or vinegar. (don’t mix chemicals!)

Soaking the showerhead in a bag of CLR cleaner and scrub with a stiff bristle brush. Wash with soap and water after soaking. Get some plumber’s thread tape so that you can remove the showerhead and check the intake filter for debris.

If you have cleaned your shower head and you still have low flow, you may have low water pressure. Even if you have good water pressure, some states mandate a low-flow showerhead.

• Currently, showerheads sold in California cannot exceed 1.8 gallons per minute
• New York 2.0 gallons per minute (GPM)
• Texas 2.5 GPM
• Georgia 2.5 GPM

If you have to have a low flow rate you should be looking for a power spray head. Some shower heads can actually increase the pressure felt.

Waterpik High-Pressure Powerpulse Massage Hand Held

This hand held shower head has a few features that you should be looking for in a low flow shower head.

• Flow rate: available in 1.8 and 2.5 GPM
• Silicone tips: helps with hard water build-up
• Hand shower head: By adding a hand shower you can raise a lower shower outlet and cleaning a bath/shower just got way easier!

Types of water and your old shower head

Water is called hard or soft. What is the difference and how does it affect your shower?

Hard water is a term used for water with a lot of dissolved minerals in it. Calcium and magnesium are the most common hard water minerals. You can recognize hard water by dry skin and white water spots, or white build-up on your shower head.

Soft water is generally saltier water, with lower levels of magnesium and calcium. Water softeners often add salt. Sometimes soft water can feel slimy and soap will lather a lot.

Well-water and city-water both have their pros and cons. City water is treated with fluoride and chlorine. The taste of city water is not very nice. Well-water may taste better but can be more prone to bacteria because it does not contain chlorides. Getting a water test for well water is a must, and it is not a bad idea to test city water too!

How does renting or owning change your old shower head?

The type of pipes that supply your water can change how it behaves. Copper pipes can get scaling and old houses have cast iron lines that can corrode so much they block.

If you rent, you do not have the option to add a whole house water softener, filter, or update your plumbing pipes, you just work with what you have.

If you rent you can filter your drinking water if you have lead pipes. You can also filter your shower water with an inline filter.

If you own your home, you can consider a whole house filter or updating your pipes to a more inert material like PEX. Pex is a plastic pipe that is slowly replacing copper and steel galvanized lines in house plumbing. In new home construction working with Pex-lines can save you a tonne of money as it has a faster install time.

Think about your drains as well, old drains are often made of cast iron, new drains are ABS plastic. Maintain your drains with regular drain cleaning.

AquaBliss High Output Revitalizing Shower Filter

This Aquabliss filter will filter right at the showerhead. One big thing is that it will extend your showerhead out and down. OK, if you have a rain shower or a regular height shower, but not so good if you are working with a low shower outlet already. Consider adding it to a handheld shower adapter. Then you can adjust as needed.

This is a quick way to filter your shower and relieve your hard water conditions. Many people rave about the filter, but a few test the water and say it is the same coming out as going in. It would be up to you to see if it can make a difference for you!

Up-dating your old shower head

One of the best improvements in new shower heads is the silicone tips. With silicone tips, you can just run your finger over the shower head, and any build-up just let’s go. So if you have an old shower head that does not have silicone tips, think about not wasting the time to even clean it. Pick up a new showerhead that best fills your needs.

Handheld, duel head, low pressure, low volume, you can easily find a new shower head and if you pick up some fresh thread tape you are just minutes away from a satisfying shower.