A hot shower must surely be one of the most relaxing things in life. However, if you don’t maintain the plumbing in your bathroom, very quickly the shower head can clog up with limescale meaning that the water goes everywhere but where it should and you are effectively losing water pressure. Another problem that frequently arises is that the shower starts dripping, which ends up costing you money in waster water. Here are a few tips from a professional plumber on how to maintain your bathroom’s plumbing in optimal condition. These do it yourself fixes are easy to do with having to call in a professional!
How to clean a dripping shower head:
Tools needed: screwdriver and/or wrench, bowl, vinegar, brush
- First, turn of either the water to the bathroom or the water main for your entire house.
- Now turn on the shower tap and let all the remaining water drain out. This makes sure that you stay dry when taking the shower head off!
- The shower will either screw off, or you might need a wrench to loosen it from the pipe it is attached to. Handheld showers can usually be removed directly from the hose
Handheld shower soaking in vinegar
- Now fill a large bowl with vinegar and put the shower head in the bowl and leave it. Leave this for a minimum of 1 hour
- Empty out the vinegar, grab a brush and clean the shower head with some water. Remember to not only clean the outside, but also run water through the inside of the head to wash out any remaining lime scale from the inside
- Reattach the shower head, turn the water back on and check your work
How to replace the washers in the shower:
shower-hose for a handheld shower
If your shower has started dripping from the shower-hose, chances are you need to replace a washer. While you are cleaning the shower head, you can also replace the washers to ensure that there are no leaks and your shower functions efficiently. For a shower head that screws off from a pipe, the washer will be found in the head itself.
Handheld showers have washers in both ends of the hose, which means you will have to detach the hose from the spout as well to exchange the washer.
Simple home maintenance like this can save you money and ensure that your home’s plumbing systems are in optimal working condition. Alternatively, you can call in a professional plumbing service to do general maintenance plumbing in your home.
Contact Laws Plumbing
You can either call us directly on 078 225 9939 or send us a quick message and we will get back to you