Cleaning your shower head

Summary: When your showerhead gets erratic and begins to clog up, there are several methods you can use to get your showerhead working like new. A soak in cold vinegar, hot vinegar, or Lime-Away overnight will work to loosen up the buildup. A paperclip or tack will clear out the holes in your showerhead to make the water flow evenly again.

Over time, the small holes in a shower head will become clogged. The rate at which this happens depends on factors of the water in your area, such as the amount of minerals in your water. The easiest way to tell if you have a clogged shower head is if your shower has become erratic, spitting water in peculiar patterns. You will probably be able to see the deposits in the holes of your shower head, but they may be so deep that you may not.

To clean out the mineral deposits, unscrew and take apart the entire shower head. While doing this, make sure to keep all the pieces in order for easy reassembly. Soak the parts in vinegar overnight. Scrub off the encrusted minerals with steel wool or a wire brush. This should not be too difficult after soaking the head thoroughly. If necessary, poke open the small holes in the faceplate with a pin or a tack.

If soaking the showerhead in vinegar is not enough, you can also soak the showerhead in hot vinegar. Heat the vinegar, not quite to boiling, and pour it into a container. Place the showerhead in the hot vinegar. Just like with the regular vinegar, let it soak overnight, or about ten to twelve hours. Once it has been thoroughly soaked, rinse the head vigorously in hot water. As an extra measure, take a very thin wire and poke each hole before rinsing. A small, unfolded paperclip will probably do the job. Once again, you can also use a pin or a tack.

If you prefer a commercial solution, you can use Lime-A-Way or its equivalent. Fill a bowl with the cleaner and soak the showerhead parts in it overnight. Thoroughly rinse them off. Make sure to read the warning label on the container before use.

Make sure you reassemble your showerhead carefully. When done, you should get like-new performance from the showerhead without replacing it.