Shower heads

[Feral_]

I tried searching and only found old threads relating to my question, so mods please feel free to move this if it’s better suited to another thread.

So.. while having my shower tonight the showerhead sort of exploded. It’s a Mira electric shower, cold mains fed only. My water is hard and I have to de-scale the shower head.. and I’ll be honest I haven’t done it since lockdown. So whether it’s a combination of limescale build-up and water pressure (high) ?

Some of the little rubber nodules the water flows through have corroded /split, so when I turned the shower on water suddenly sprayed everywhere... I needed to clean my bathroom anyway :shrug:

Usually I’d just buy a replacement Mira shower head, however I’ve been hearing about the ones with beads / stones in the shower head stem that soften water flowing through it. A quick google revealed mixed reviews. At present I cannot afford a water softener leading to the shower from the cold feed pipe, so I wondered if anyone has tried the shower head softeners and what experience you’ve had with an electric shower?

I should add that I do WO - yes with hard water, and don’t have any build up in my hair - but soft water certainly appeals. Thanks in advance for any advice :)

[Tinyponies]

Sorry to hear your shower head exploded! Have heard good things about those softening shower heads but not tried one. But would be interesting to hear if you felt much of a difference with one.

Have you seen the posts on “miracle water” (? I think it was?) here which are a recipe including some (ascorbic acid?) ahh sorry going to have to go off and search. Anyway might be worth knowing if you ever did suspect a little buildup.

Edit: found the link!

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128756

[Feral_]

Sorry to hear your shower head exploded! Have heard good things about those softening shower heads but not tried one. But would be interesting to hear if you felt much of a difference with one.

Have you seen the posts on “miracle water” (? I think it was?) here which are a recipe including some (ascorbic acid?) ahh sorry going to have to go off and search. Anyway might be worth knowing if you ever did suspect a little buildup.

Edit: found the link!

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128756

Thanks Tiny, I will check that out. No hair build up yet which surprises me as the kettle and shower both get well furred up :ponder:

[MusicalSpoons]

They don't soften the water, only filter it. So they neutralise the chlorine/chloramine in the water and maybe filter out stuff like iron (not 100% certain on that) but they don't actually soften it. Vitamin C will dechlorinate and reduce the pH, which could be useful but you won't want to get it in your eyes ;)

That said, I do use a shower filter because my skin notices the difference, and I assume even if it's not actively beneficial to my hair it can't possibly be harming it!

As for cleaning your current shower head, you could soak it in citric acid or vinegar. I tried orange juice once and it didn't make much difference, though it came out smelling nice :lol:

Edit: the filter I use goes between the shower unit and the hose; I have used filter heads but they didn't last as long and it was relatively heavy - though weight may not be a problem if your arms aren't feeble like mine.

[Feral_]

They don't soften the water, only filter it. So they neutralise the chlorine/chloramine in the water and maybe filter out stuff like iron (not 100% certain on that) but they don't actually soften it. Vitamin C will dechlorinate and reduce the pH, which could be useful but you won't want to get it in your eyes ;)

That said, I do use a shower filter because my skin notices the difference, and I assume even if it's not actively beneficial to my hair it can't possibly be harming it!

As for cleaning your current shower head, you could soak it in citric acid or vinegar. I tried orange juice once and it didn't make much difference, though it came out smelling nice :lol:

Edit: the filter I use goes between the shower unit and the hose; I have used filter heads but they didn't last as long and it was relatively heavy - though weight may not be a problem if your arms aren't feeble like mine.

Thanks Spoons. Yes it’s a filter the ones I’ve seen, plenty of gimmicky ads saying it increases pressure too, to turn it into a power shower, which I doubt. I think you’re right that the answer is a filter to the shower plumbing itself. I do clean it in vinegar but have got lazy! Weight of the shower head isn’t a problem as I lift weights but I think I’ll just go for a standard head.