How to Unclog a Shower Head

Shower heads run day and night. Well for those of us who loves to keep our body clean that is. All that water which runs through your shower head has lots of chemicals which leaves tiny residue locked into the holes of your shower head. The calcium and Lime scale will build up to a point where it literally will fully block your shower head holes. Here are some tested and verified things you can do to clear your clogged shower head.

You may need a tool such as a wrench to remove the shower head from water outlet. Once you have removed the shower head, it is time to get water flowing smoothly through the shower head holes again.

There are tonnes of toxic cleaning agents available in stores which promises instant unclogging of drains and shower heads. Most of these chemicals are simply too corrosive and should be probably used in a nuclear testing facility. Most of these chemicals are just not environmentally friendly either. Most homes have these common household items which are great for a lot of purposes, one includes unclogging a shower head. Simply catch a small bucket of water, enough to cover the shower head. Pour about one cup of vinegar in the water. Then add about one tablespoon of baking soda to the mix and gently stir. Place the shower head inside the mix and leave it covered for about an hour. Vinegar has natural acidic properties combined with the baking soda which has good cleaning properties will break down the calcium and lime scale build up.

Use a Pin to remove any additional Debris

After the shower head is soaked in the vinegar and baking soda mix, remove it and look at the holes for persistent calcium build up. Use a pin and gently break these pieces away from within the holes then wash out the shower head with the vinegar mixture. Rinse the shower head with clean running water and test to see if the holes are clear from blockage. You can do this by blowing into the shower head, air should flow freely through the shower head holes. You can also attach the shower head to the water outlet and see how the water flows once the tap is turned on.

Well, if you did not just go out and purchase that fifty gran shower head and has had your shower head for a long time, you can go ahead and and get a nice little wire brush and give the face of the shower head a good scrub with some soap and water. You can still add vinegar and baking soda to your scrubbing mix. The wire brush will stick inside the holes and remove the buildup inside each of the shower head holes. Just don't over do the scrubbing as you may just end up scrubbing away your own hand. I recommend this method if you do not want to sit around an entire day waiting for vinegar to break open the shower head holes.

If vinegar is not in your pantry. You may substitute this with lime juice to clean and unclog your shower head. This follows the same procedure as you would with vinegar. Catch some water into a bucket enough to cover the shower head. Pour about half cup of lime juice inside the bucket. Place shower head in mixture and leave it overnight. Then rinse the unclogged shower head with clean running water and reattach to the faucet. I myself prefer to use the vinegar over lime juice because vinegar has a slightly higher PH than lime juice.

Even though you are working with common household chemicals. It is always best to protect your skin and eyes from even the slightest damage or irritation. Before you use any form of chemical. Even the ones we consume, remember to have on the proper safety requirements. These may just include the following:

• Safety Eye ware
• Good Rubber Glove - long enough glove half way up hand.
• Dust Mask (Cloth around Nose and Mouth Will substitute)

You need to protect your eyes in case the vinegar or lime juice splashes and the splash directs towards your eyes. Like wise the rubber gloves will protect your skin from irritation which may cause from you handling the shower head in the acidic mixture. The dust mask is good to protect your nose and lungs from inhaling any strong acidic smell from the vinegar.

Cleaning the shower head with these items are temporary solutions. After continuous use, the calcium and other chemicals found in the water will cause the shower heads to clog again. A good solution to this is to use a water softening system. The Water softening system basically removes, damaging minerals in your water like magnesium and calcium. The setup may come at a cost, but it can help per-long the life of your water equipment such as faucets and shower heads.