Shower Head Quick Tips

My showerhead is off-center when it is tightened. How can I center it without leaks?

Back it off until it is centered; then count the number of turns it takes to remove it. Reapply lots of PTFE thread sealing tape (clockwise), thread the showerhead onto the arm the same number of turns that it took to remove it.

How do I increase the water pressure in my shower?

If you have eliminated the obvious causes of low water pressure (i.e. major leaks in pipes, or defective water system components like a pressure tank that will no longer hold pressure) then you must consider your options. First of all, water pressure is determined by many factors. Nothing short of spending thousands of dollars on new pumps, pressure tanks, and ripping all of your old pipes out of the wall and replacing them with all new larger diameter pipes will actually increase ones water pressure, and even then all these measures may not really do that much. There is no shower head that will increase your water pressure. Certain shower heads CAN increase the velocity {force} of your water, which does in fact give you a better shower. Removing the flow restrictor does NOTHING. Removing the flow restrictor only increases the flow rate and not the velocity. The best and most economical solution is to investigate in shower heads designed specifically for low pressure applications.


My shower arm is broken off in the wall - How can I fix?

This is a common problem with brass shower arms. Nipples are fairly thick where there are threads. Brass or plastic shower arms can easily break in the wall due to stress from weight, movement, length of arm, etc. It's usually fairly easy to take the broken nipple out if you have the right tool called an "easy out" (pipe nipple extractors). Be careful to not damage the female threads on the 90 degree elbow inside the wall. If you have a leak in this area, you probably wouldn't be aware of it until the leak has done damage. Look with a flashlight to make sure the threads are still good on the fitting inside the wall, and be sure to use lots of PTFE thread sealing tape on your new shower arm. Sometimes using a pipe tap can fix internal female threads on fittings.