When was the last time that you cleaned your showerhead? Chances are, you haven’t even thought about it. Unfortunately, people often neglect this household task when it comes to keeping the bathroom clean and tidy. If you’ve been burying your head in the sand, it’s time to stop.
Think about it — if your shower head isn’t clean, neither is the water that comes out of it. Unfortunately, that means that you are not cleaning yourself in clean water. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to clean this part of your shower. In the following guide, we will look at why it’s important and the steps you need to take to get started.
How often should you clean your shower head?
While most people don’t clean their shower head often, the truth is that you should be going through this process around once a month. Limescale can build up when you don’t clean your shower head regularly. That can mean the water is not pure and flows slowly from the shower head. If you have noticed a difference in your water pressure, you may find this is the problem. So give that thing a good clean!
You should make cleaning your shower head part of your household routine. Ensure you take care of this job whenever you deep clean the bathroom. That way, you can avoid the risk of limescale build-up and make sure you stay on top of it.
How to clean a shower head: three approaches
Wondering how to clean a shower head? The truth is that this task doesn’t have to take more than 20-30 minutes at most. You should have no problem with this one if you have a half-hour spare. With that in mind, here are three approaches you can try now:
1. The baking soda method
Want to learn how to clean a shower head with baking soda? We’ve got you covered. One of the most popular approaches to cleaning this shower part is using this household item. Before you get started, you will need the following items:
- Baking soda
- White wine vinegar
- Small plastic bag
- Rubber band
- Water
- Cloth
When you have assembled everything that you need, you can get started. Grab the small bag and fill it with water and a couple of teaspoons of white wine vinegar. Hold the top together and shake well to mix. Next, fix the bag to the shower head with the rubber band.
Leave the bag on the shower head for around 10-15 minutes. Make sure that the rubber band is as tight as possible. You don’t want the bag falling to the ground, after all. Open the bag and add baking soda to the mix when you have waited. Reseal and leave for a further five minutes. The baking soda will help you remove any excess scum and debris that built up on the showerhead over time.
Once that time is up, the next step is to take the bag off the shower head completely. When you have done that, dip a clean cloth in some warm water and rinse the shower head. Next, you need to get rid of the white wine vinegar solution and any muck there.
Before you use the shower head again, make sure that you run it for a while. That way, you can get rid of any excess that may be there. However, if you want to know how to get limescale off a shower head, this method tends to be quite effective. So why not give it a go?
2. The bleach method
Next, let’s look at how to clean a shower head with bleach. With this method, you don’t need to remove the shower head. That is good news if you’re trying to clean your bathroom quickly. If you want to give this one a go, you will need the following items:
- Household bleach
- Water
- Spray bottle
- Rubber gloves
- Cloth
To kick things off, mix a cup of bleach with two cups of water. You can put the solution into the spray bottle to make things easier. First, take the shower head down from its rack so you can access it easily. Next, shake the bottle and spray the surface area of the head.
Leave the bleach to work its magic for around 20-30 minutes. The longer you leave the solution to sit on the shower head, the more likely it is to get rid of all the bacteria and dirt. When you have waited for the time to be up, it’s time to rinse. The first step is pouring some cool water directly over the shower head. That will get rid of most of the solution.
Next, grab the rubber gloves and pop them on. This step will protect your hands and means you won’t hurt yourself when cleaning the rest of the shower head. Next, get the cloth and dip it in some warm water. Gently scrub the shower head. Pay close attention to the parts in between the ducts. You should clean off any grime that has collected there.
Next, find out how to get the bleach smell off your hands in our other article.
3. The Lemon Juice Method
One of the biggest problems when it comes to showerheads is mineral deposits. These can build up over time, creating a horrible film over your shower head. When that happens, it can impact the quality of your water. Luckily, you can try a quick and easy method involving using lemon juice. When you are ready, grab the following items:
- Lemon juice
- White wine vinegar
- Hard bristle brush
- Rubber gloves
- Water
The first step here is making your cleaning solution. To do that, combine a few teaspoons of lemon juice (or commercial descaler, if you would prefer to use that!), a couple of teaspoons of white wine vinegar, and a cup of water. If you can remove the shower head from its dock, it’s essential to do so. Otherwise, you will need to reach up to get to it.
Put the rubber gloves on before you get started. Next, grab the brush and dip it into your solution. Next, work on the flat side of the shower head with the brush. You must put some real elbow grease into it if there are loads of mineral deposits. Keep working on it for a few minutes, then rinse the shower head and repeat the process.
You should find that the above is a quick way to clean your shower head. It can help you remove limescale from a shower head in no time. However, for the best results, you should ensure that you carry out the above shower head cleaning process regularly.
In this guide, we have discussed the best ways to clean your shower head. While it may not be the most fun of tasks, it’s something that you need to do regularly. You may want to stick to one of the above methods or try a combination. The choice is 100% yours. So now that you know the way to go, why not learn about sealing a shower door in our other guide?
Q&A
Did we miss something along the way? Don’t panic. Here are some of the frequently asked questions regarding cleaning your shower head.
How do you remove limescale from a shower head?
As we have discussed in this guide, you can use lemon juice or a commercial cleaner to get rid of limescale. If you notice that limescale is building up on your shower head, it’s crucial to take action sooner rather than later. Ignoring the problem will only make things worse. The quicker you deal with the issue, the better.
Does Coke remove limescale from a shower head?
While there is some anecdotal evidence that you can use Coke to remove limescale from a shower head, you must be wary of doing so. The fizzy drink is packed with sugar which may be bad for your shower head and the surfaces around it.
What is the brown gunk on my shower head?
If you have noticed brown gunk building up on your shower head, don’t panic. This is the mineral deposits that we have covered in this guide. There are plenty of ways to clean these off your shower head.
When was the last time you cleaned your shower head? Let us know in the comments below!
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