I've always struggled with tasks around my home that require manual work. I'm much more of a writer than a do-er.
Fortunately, I married a plumber who's not only good at what he does, but he also has the mindset to fix almost anything around our home.
And while he might be fed up of me asking questions, I just can't stop. I've asked him to share his expert insight on 3 costly mistakes you could be making and he's given his advice on whether dish soap can fix your clogged drain, but there's plenty more to tap into.
Recently, after noticing the water wasn't coming out of our shower head as well as it used to, I asked him: "How often should you clean your shower head?" And he had some very interesting things to say about it. Here's his expert advice, shared without the housecall fee.
Why you need to clean your shower head
As I mentioned, I felt compelled to ask this question when I noticed the shower head wasn't expelling water out of all the holes. Or, if it was, some of them were spraying in a totally different direction.
When I asked him why, he explained: "The waterways are small, so they get scaled up easily and water doesn’t come out.”
And, if they're only partially blocked with debris and built-up limescale, that can easily lead to the waterway not working at all, or spraying out incorrectly rather than straight down.
But, while I asked if it was a problem with the actual pressure, he said it was unlikely: "Pressure and flow rate are different. The pressure doesn’t fluctuate like the flow rate does.
"Pressure is the force of the water through the pipe and the flow rate is how much water comes out. If you’ve got a shower head with 100 holes but 50 of them are blocked, your pressure is still the same but your flow rate is half what it should be."
How often should you clean your shower head
With these things in mind, it was clear I needed to clean my shower head thoroughly. After all, it had been a while since I had. So, I asked him, how often should I be doing it?
He advised: "It depends on whether you live in a notoriously hard water area or not as that changes how often you should be cleaning it. If it’s a hard water area, do it more regularly. And if you notice it’s getting blocked up, that’s the best sign to clean it.”
This means the answer can range from every couple of weeks to more like every month or so, but generally if you notice it getting clogged up then it's definitely time to give it a clean.
My plumber husband recommends Viakal or a white vinegar and water solution (which he backed up when I tried out this TikTok shower head cleaning hack) to give your shower head a good clean.
But, that doesn't always mean the problem will be solved, he says: "If you’ve cleaned it and the flow rate is still poor, it could be scaled up inside and will need replacing."
