Reading Time: 5 minutes DIY Homemade Shower Head Cleaner – No Tools
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This is a post with cleaning tips to help you quickly and easily learn how to make a DIY Homemade Shower Head Cleaner.
Table of Contents
How to Clean Your Shower Head With a Vinegar Bag
We have hard water. What makes water hard? Hard water has high levels of calcium and magnesium. Our tap water is considered moderately hard. Hard water can cause problems with mineral deposit buildup in washing machines, faucets, dishwashers, showers, and more.
The buildup of minerals in hard water increases with heat making shower heads especially grungy. The buildup decreases the effectiveness of showerheads. There can be so much debris that it creates low water pressure.
But, there’s good news! I’ve got a DIY Shower Head Cleaner that is super easy and involves just one ingredient! Make this shower cleaner at home and save a lot of time and money. This method does not require pliers, a wrench, or any tools. It doesn’t even require a bowl. You won’t need to scrub, and you won’t need harsh chemicals like CLR. The only thing you will do is let a shower head soak overnight in vinegar and water, while it’s still attached.
Cleaning The Shower Fixture In Our Bathroom
The shower head in our master bathroom was especially clogged with mineral deposits. Maybe this is because we like to take showers with hot water, as opposed to the kids’ warm shower preference.
As you may know, I love to use vinegar as a cleaner. It’s really cheap (compared to harsh chemical cleaners) and works amazingly well. So, I thought I would try using vinegar to clean the hard water buildup on our shower heads.
Clean The Shower Faucet – 1 Step, 1 Ingredient, Super Easy!
All you need is a baggie, rubber band, and white vinegar. You can get a huge container of vinegar for a great price on Amazon. Or, try Costco for cheap vinegar too.
I keep a large container in our pantry.
DIY Homemade Shower Head Cleaner- No tools
Equipment
- Dirty Shower Head
Ingredients
- 1 Quart Size Ziploc Bag
- 1 Rubber band
- 1 C White Vinegar
- 1 Soft Cleaning Cloth
Instructions
- Hand tighten shower fixture- don't use tools to over tighten. Don't skip this step. This step ensures vinegar doesn't get into any rubber O-rings
- Pour 1 C of vinegar into quart size Ziploc Bag or enough vinegar to cover your shower head
- Wrap the bag around the shower head securing it with the rubber band
- Allow the shower head to soak up to 2-12 hours. The more build up your shower head has, the longer you will want it to soak.
- Remove the bag
- Use a soft cloth to wipe away any build up
- Before discarding the vinegar (down the drain is fine,) dip the cloth in the vinegar and wipe the shower arm clean.
Steps To Clean Shower Head With Vinegar. No Tools Necessary.
- Hand tighten the shower fixture. Do not use any tools and do not over tighten. The reason you do this step is to make sure the vinegar doesn’t work it’s way to any rubber o-rings.
- Pour enough vinegar into a plastic bag to cover the shower head.
- Wrap the bag around the shower head securing it with the rubber band.
- Leave the bag on overnight.
- The next day remove the bag.
- Use a soft cloth to wipe away any mineral buildup.
- Also dip a cloth in the bag of vinegar before pouring it down the shower drain and wipe the shower arm. (or use a spray bottle with vinegar and water in it)
We have three showers in our house. At our house, I wrapped up all of the shower heads and I let the shower heads soak in the bags sit overnight.
When you remove the baggies, you will be amazed at how clean the shower head is. You may want to use a towel or soft cloth to wipe away any loose debris.
As parents of 3 little kids, Force of Nature is our go-to all purpose cleaner. It's nontoxic but is EPA approved for use against Covid-19.
We love vinegar, but we use Force of Nature every day.
You may also need a spray bottle with vinegar and water to clean any part of the shower pipe that was not in the bag. Usually those aren’t a problem since the water isn’t spraying out of them.
Enjoy your clean shower!
Is Your Shower Head Leaking?
If your shower head leaks now is also a good time to hand tighten it. Don’t over tighten it though. If you tighten it too much the little o-ring inside gets crushed, which only makes the leak worse. If this happens bring it to a local hardware store.
They can usually match the o-ring for a dollar or so. If you can’t loosen the shower head by hand, wrap it with a towel and use pliers. The towel is to make sure you don’t scratch the polish of the metal. Don’t squeeze very tight with the pliers. You don’t want to pinch or bend the shower pipe.
If you do take the shower head off, notice there is a little metal filter screen. Now is a good time to rinse it out and then put it back exactly like you found it.
What Metals Is It Safe To Use Vinegar To Clean?
In general, vinegar can be used to clean chrome, brass, nickel. Be careful using it on rubber though as over time vinegar will break down the rubber.
If you found this post helpful, then please share it with your friends!
Did you know you can also use vinegar to clean your silver, clean your oven, and steam clean your microwave? Find out how easy it is.
Erin is the mother of identical twin girls and their slightly older brother. She is a domestic engineer, and previously had a career leading customer service teams for a major HVAC company. Cleaning without harsh chemicals, and cooking easy and usually healthy meals are part of Erin's daily life. She volunteers with youth leaders, and genuinely wants to help others win. Erin has a degree in Communications, with a focus on Broadcast Journalism.