Mineral deposits in the great outdoors can be one of nature’s wonders. Mineral deposits form inside your shower head—not so much. All municipal water contains some dissolved mineral content, usually calcium carbonate. While they’re harmless to your health and, in trace amounts, actually make drinking water taste more appetizing, dissolved minerals in water tend to solidify and accumulate inside hot water fixtures like your water heater and your shower head.
Today’s water-efficient “low flow” shower heads are engineered to exact tolerances to function correctly. If mineral buildup inside the shower head gradually restricts tiny water passageways and spray openings, low-flow feels more like next-to-no-flow. Rinsing away shampoo and soap residue becomes increasingly difficult, and the overall shower experience is less than satisfactory.
You can only do much about dissolved mineral content in your municipal water supply if you install a whole-house water softener.
However, this simple procedure removes mineral buildup from your shower head.
- Unscrew the shower head from the water supply pipe. You may need a pair of pliers to loosen it.
- Pour enough full-strength vinegar into a bucket or other container to submerge the shower head. Roll it around to ensure the vinegar penetrates all internal parts of the shower head. Be careful not to splash any vinegar into your eyes, and keep the kids away.
- Allow the shower head to soak in the vinegar for two hours, then use an old toothbrush to scrub mineral residue off the outside of the spray head. Poke a toothpick into each spray opening to clear dissolved mineral accumulation.
- Reinstall the shower head on the pipe and tighten it with pliers.
- Immediately turn on the hot water and let it run for a few moments to flush additional softened mineral deposits from the passages inside the shower head.
- If mineral deposits are hefty, place the shower head in a pan containing a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water and heat it to a boil for 15 minutes. Pour out the water and allow the shower head to cool before reinstalling.
Don’t put up with your shower head’s poor performance—and limp, shampoo-loaded hair—due to excessive mineral buildup.
You don’t need expensive commercial lime dissolvers that contain harsh caustic chemicals and require special safety measures. Vinegar, an old toothbrush, and toothpicks get the job done just as well and much more inexpensively.
Arch Plumbing is located in St Charles, Missouri, and has been in the service business since 2008, providing quality plumbing services.
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