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Shower heads have dozens of tiny holes, and Rockland County's water leaves a little scale in every one of them. Over a year or two the spray goes uneven, some holes squirt sideways and the pressure seems to fade. The plumbing is fine. The head needs cleaning, or, if it is old, replacing.
Is it the head?
Unscrew the shower head from the arm, or, if it will not come off, turn the water on without it and see how the flow is from the bare arm. Strong flow from the arm means the head is the problem. Weak flow from the arm points to the valve in the wall, and that is a different job.
Cleaning it
- Remove the head by turning it counterclockwise. Wrap a cloth around it if you use pliers, to protect the finish.
- Soak it in white vinegar for an hour or two, or overnight for heavy scale. A bowl is enough; for a head that will not come off, fill a plastic bag with vinegar, tie it around the head with the head submerged, and leave it.
- Scrub the face with an old toothbrush, and poke any stubborn holes with a toothpick or a pin.
- Rinse, and run water through it backwards if you can.
- Check the filter screen inside the head's inlet, and clean or replace it.
- Reassemble with two or three turns of thread seal tape on the arm threads, and screw the head on hand-tight plus a quarter turn.
Vinegar can dull some finishes if left for many hours. On a nickel or bronze head, check after an hour.
Replacing it
If cleaning does not restore it, or the head is more than a decade old, a new one is inexpensive and fitted in minutes:
- Unscrew the old head.
- Clean the arm threads with a cloth and remove old tape.
- Wrap new thread seal tape clockwise, two or three turns.
- Screw the new head on by hand, then a quarter turn with a cloth-wrapped wrench. Do not overtighten; the tape seals it.
- Run the water and check for drips at the joint.
Choose a head with rubber nozzles, which shed scale when you rub them with a thumb, and with a flow rate that suits your water heater. Very low-flow heads save water but disappoint on a weak system. If you want a handheld shower head, it fits the same arm and adds a hose, and is a real help for anyone with limited mobility.
Water pressure that is genuinely low
If the flow from the bare arm is weak, the cause is upstream: the shower valve's cartridge may be clogged, the valve may have a flow restrictor that has scaled up, or the whole house may be low on pressure. A clogged cartridge in a single-handle valve can be removed and rinsed, in the same way as a faucet cartridge, with the water to that bathroom turned off. If the whole house is low, see our guide to low water pressure.
Scald protection
If the shower runs hot when a toilet is flushed elsewhere, the valve has no pressure balancing. Modern shower valves have it built in. Replacing a shower valve is a plumber's job because it sits inside the wall, but it is a worthwhile safety upgrade in a house with children or older people.
When to call a plumber
- Weak flow from the bare arm that a cartridge cleaning does not fix
- A shower valve that leaks, drips or will not hold its temperature
- Replacing a valve in the wall
Find a licensed plumber near your town.