How to Clean a Showerhead

Does your showerhead, which once held such force, suddenly feel more like a half-hearted spritz? Does its surface look like a salt-covered car in the middle of winter? Personally, I’ll never forget the time I glanced up and realized that water was pouring through mine via tiny ringlets of mold. If any of this sounds familiar, then it's time to clean your showerhead—and there are some crucial dos and don'ts to know along the way.

Large bowl: Make sure it's big enough to submerge your showerhead.

Distilled white vinegar: Ditto—you’ll need enough to cover the entire showerhead.

Wrench: Whatever you have on hand is fine, but we’ve got several great picks.

Needle-nose pliers: Ditto for these handy tools.

Microfiber cloth: We like Amazon Basics.

A mild bathroom cleanser: We used 9 Elements Bathroom Lemon Disinfectant.

Toothpicks

Cotton swabs

Metal polish: Brasso can help with stubborn hard-water stains on metal showerheads.

Sealant tape: Also known as plumbers tape, this thin wrapping helps prevent water from seeping out when you screw a showerhead back onto the arm.

Optional:

Large zip-top bag

Thick rubber band(s): A zip-tie will work fine too.

Safety glasses: These will help protect your eyes from errant splashes of vinegar or cleanser. Our inexpensive favorite pair will keep you shielded.

Step stool: Folks who have trouble reaching their showerhead might need a boost.

It depends on the level of hard-water stains, how bad the mold is, and the severity of the clog in your showerhead. Expect to spend anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes actually cleaning. But if you’re dealing with a particularly dirty or clogged model, factor in roughly six to eight hours of waiting time while your shower head soaks (so be sure to take a shower first).

To keep your showerhead running smoothly, Tom Sindelar, senior product manager for Kohler, recommends regular basic cleaning. "A quick, frequent wipe-down keeps it looking and working like new with minimal time spent," he told us via email. This is wise counsel, but it's understandably something that's easily glossed over as part of your routine. One of the showerheads we worked on hadn't been cleaned in eight months.

Before embarking on a major clean for a clogged showerhead, know that many modern models have scale-resistant silicone or polymer nozzles that are designed to easily dislodge hard-water buildup. If clogging is the only problem, sometimes you can fix the issue with a vigorous swipe of your hand across the surface, or by working the nozzles back and forth a bit.

"The water at my father's is extremely hard," senior staff writer Tim Heffernan said. "He thought he had to replace all of his showerheads, but I was able to clear them in just a few minutes by scraping the nozzles with my fingernail. I pulled them sideways and let them snap back a few times."

If this doesn't alleviate the problem, or you have a model with fixed nozzles, start by soaking your showerhead in a vinegar-and-water solution. The acidic vinegar will help break down mineral buildup inside and out, and it will help dislodge mold and other growth often found in bathrooms.

Many cleaning blogs, articles, and even some Wirecutter staffers recommend tying a bag of vinegar around a showerhead to soak it. I tried this, and I personally found this method to be extremely awkward, though it could work well for smaller showerheads or kitchen-sink faucets.

For showerheads that are too big to fit in a quart- or sandwich-sized zip-top bag, I’ve found that removing the showerhead entirely is simpler and guarantees a more-thorough cleaning. But because not everyone is able to remove their showerhead, we’ll cover both methods, beginning with what we’d do first.

After testing 15 wrenches over the past three years, we’ve determined that the Channellock 8WCB WideAzz 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench, with its comfortable handle and wide jaws, is still the best for all-around home use.

Use an adjustable wrench to unfasten your showerhead at the base of the arm. To remove any loose debris on the outside, run your hands or a soft cloth across the entire surface, and pull out any sealant tape that might be stuck to the internal threading.

Take a look at the small screen and/or flow restrictor just inside the showerhead's point of entry for the water. Some minor clogs there might dissolve during the vinegar soak. But if there are any large pieces of debris, use needle-nose pliers to gently remove the screen or the gasket above the flow restrictor. You can use a toothpick to poke any especially stubborn gunk out of the screen, but be very careful: You don't want to widen the small gaps in the screen; that would allow larger bits of debris to get inside. When you’re done, place the screen and/or gasket back inside the showerhead.

Rinse the showerhead. Then place it in a large bowl, nozzle side up or sideways, and fill the bowl with equal parts distilled white vinegar and water, until the showerhead is completely submerged. Give it a swirl, to help the solution run through the internal mechanics. The required soaking time varies depending on how dirty the showerhead is. And because this isn't an exact science, we think it's best to let the showerhead soak overnight, or let it sit for the day (after your morning shower). With enough time, the acid in the vinegar can dissolve the mineral buildup and help dislodge any other growth inside and out.

When you’re ready to remove the showerhead, rinse it thoroughly afterward. If you still see some faint mineral stains, don't worry. The vinegar will have loosened them up enough to make cleaning them by hand easier.

Sindelar said to avoid using any cleaners that are abrasive or contain bleach. He also warned against cleaners formulated for toilets or acids targeted to remove rust. And don't use abrasive brushes and sponges, like the Magic Eraser, since they can scratch your showerhead's surface.

We were curious about how easy it really is to damage a showerhead by cleaning it with something abrasive. So we used the scrubby side of a standard sponge on a model made of plastic with a chrome-color finish that had some mild hard-water stains. After just a few light swipes, the sponge visibly scratched up the surface, so you should definitely heed the warning.

Our top showerhead pick, the Kohler Forte, has a gently pebbled surface. This made it a bit more difficult to completely erase stains after we’d soaked the showerhead overnight. We got much of it off by using a soft bristle toothbrush and a bit of baking soda mixed with vinegar, but some stubborn spots remained.

As a last resort, Sindelar suggested applying a small amount of Brasso, a gentle metal polish that's been around since 1905. This additional step finally got the Forte looking as close to brand new as possible. But Brasso's noxious fumes were in stark contrast to the natural cleaning products we’d been working with, and there were a few faint splotches that we finally gave up on. Sindelar stressed that "a little TLC frequently will help prevent buildup."

If you see any stubborn mold or dirt remaining inside the internal threading, use a cotton swab to get inside the grooves. Make sure you don't leave any small cotton strands behind when done. And before reattaching the showerhead, pull off any old sealant tape from the threading on the arm, and replace it with new tape to help avoid future leaks.

If you can't remove your showerhead, or if it's on the smaller side, one option is to tie a bag of vinegar and water around it and let it soak in place. Tested on a showerhead just under 6 inches in diameter, I found this to be a much messier and inefficient method of cleaning. You can't investigate the water inlet for debris, which is a common source of slowness. Plus, tying a bag of liquid onto something positioned above you is awkward and potentially messy. I gave the in-place method a shot since it's a popular bit of advice. And I came away unimpressed, as well as smelling of vinegar, after some spilled down my arms. That said, if you want to give it a go, here's how.

Take a couple of thick rubber bands and slide them over the shower arm; you could also loosely attach a zip tie. The point is to make sure your fastener is in place and ready once your other hand is trying to hold a bag of liquid shut.

Fill a zip-top bag with a solution of one part distilled white vinegar to one part water. The amount needed to submerge your showerhead will vary depending on the size of your model. But one cup of each is a good place to start; then add more if necessary. Fasten the zip-top bag tightly around the showerhead, making sure the head is completely submerged.

I found it difficult to both gauge the right amount of liquid and keep the bag on tight. Each time I thought I had enough vinegar to cover the whole showerhead, I’d finish tying the bag only to find that the weight of the solution had pulled the bag down, leaving some areas exposed. The first time I tried this method, I ended up adding so much liquid while trying to submerge the showerhead that I saw a visible strain on the shower arm. Working with a handheld model was much easier, since I could unfasten it from the dock and let it soak in a bag sitting on the shower caddy.

After you’ve let your showerhead soak for six to eight hours, follow the same steps outlined above to remove any remaining stains. Run the water to rinse out the vinegar, and then take a nice long shower to reward yourself for all your work.

This article was edited by Connor Grossman and Alejandra Matos.

Joshua Lyon

Lead Editor

Joshua Lyon is the supervising editor of emergency-preparation and home-improvement topics at Wirecutter. He has written and edited for numerous outlets, including Country Living, Modern Farmer, The New York Times, V and VMAN, Marie Claire, Jane, and Food Network Magazine. He's also a Lambda Literary Award–nominated author and ghostwriter. Learn more at jklyon.com.

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