Many people suffer with low water pressure that’s delivered by their
showerhead when they take their daily sower. But, in many cases, this isn’t a water pressure issue at all and the showerhead is just old and it’s time for a change. There are
showerheads that can deliver a higher volume of water and others that have filters to deliver water that feels better on your skin. Whatever your showerhead choice is you need to change for the old one and here are seven tips to make the process go smoothly.
- Gather Want You Need
The last thing that you want to do is start hunting around for items after you’ve begun. Gather the following items that you will need; they are an adjustable wrench, some plumbing tape, some adhesive tape, a couple of old towels and a tarp if you have one. Get the new showerhead out of the packaging, put it nearby where you can stand on it or damage it as you remove the old showerhead.
- Turn Off the Water
Trying to install a new showerhead with the water turned on would be pretty much impossible. The water will spray everywhere, and you and the entire bathroom will be drenched. You could locate the water shut off valve and turn the water off to the entire home, or you could just shut the shower off while you work if it doesn’t leak.
- Protect the Floor
Now it’s time to put down the old towels and/or the tarp to protect the bathroom floor from any potential water damage. You can also put some towels down in the tub or across the floor of the shower stall depending on how your bathroom is arranged. Just make sure to cover the drain hole by putting the plug in and placing a towel over it. This will prevent any debris from dropping into the drain and causing a clog later, and if you drop any parts, they won’t be difficult to retrieve.
- Take Off the Old Showerhead
Take your wrench and adjust the grip to firmly grasp the showerhead fitting and turn slowly. If the showerhead fitting is stiff, take your time and you could spray some WD40 on the joint and leave it for an hour. Take the showerhead off and examine the threads.
- Taping the Threads
Tape the shower arm in place to prevent it from moving and apply a thin layer of plumbing tape to make the new showerhead watertight. With the shower arm immobilized you should find it easy to attach the new showerhead.
- Attach Your New Showerhead
Every new showerhead should be able to connect to your new shower arm unless you have a very old fixture. Place the showerhead on carefully and tighten up with the wrench taking care to not overtighten.
- Testing the Showerhead
Now you can remove all the towels and/or tarps, turn the water back on and test your
showerhead to see if it works.
By Giovanni Longo President Flood Brothers Plumbing
Giovanni Longo is a 3rd generation master plumber who has been practicing his craft and trade in the greater Los Angeles area for well over a decade and a half. A plumbing and hydraulics-engineering innovator, Giovanni’s particular world-class expertise focuses on dealing with challenging sewer system designs as well as resolving complex commercial and residential draining issues. As a certified Flood Mitigation expert, he is also well versed in a wide variety of water damage and remediation solution.
