Is Your Showerhead Making You Sick?

A good showerhead is supposed to deliver a satisfying jet of water. But if you have not changed or at least cleaned the showerhead in your bathroom for a long time, it could be adding a blast of bacteria along with the water.

It gets murkier.

The bacteria on the head of the shower can cling together and form what is called a “biofilm” — a slimy cluster of microorganisms. Sounds refreshing, huh?

If your immune system is weak, this daily spray of germs could pose a serious health problem. In fact, a study at the University of Boulder, Colorado shows that almost one third of showerheads contain potentially dangerous bacteria.

One particular bacteria that seems to thrive in this warm, dark and wet environment is mycobacterium avium, which is linked to pulmonary disease.

There are two simple solutions to this:

Clean your showerhead: fill a sandwich bag with 1 cup white distilled vinegar and ½ cup baking soda. Tie it around the showerhead and wait for one hour, before removing the bag and turning on the shower. If your showerhead is easy to remove, rinse it with the same solution, giving it a good scrub with an old toothbrush. Poking pins into the holes of the shower head also helps remove mineral deposits.

Replace your showerhead if it is very old. Even better, remove the rainwater style showerhead and use a single stream of water to enjoy a clean and refreshing shower.

Related:
DIY Bathroom Cleaners Without Air Contaminants
How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit

80 comments

Daniel N
Daniel N3 months ago

thanks for sharing

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Sue H
Sue H3 months ago

Helpful suggestion/reminder, thanks.

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Glennis W
Glennis W3 months ago

Great info and help Thank you for caring and sharing

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Glennis W
Glennis W3 months ago

Great information and advice Thank you for caring and sharing

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Glennis W
Glennis W3 months ago

Vrry informative Thank you for caring and sharing

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Glennis W
Glennis W3 months ago

Very interesting article Thank you for caring and sharing

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Rickie S.
Rickie S.3 years ago

If taps aren't used for ages, make sure you run them daily if possible but at least once a week to prevent getting ill from them.

Read more: http://www.best-shower-head.com

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Debbie Crowe
Debbie Crowe4 years ago

I think it's time to clean the shower head.

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Aron R.
Aron R.4 years ago

Re my last comment below, just to be clear, I don't have any direct evidence that High Sierra's unique showerhead design - which features a single large nozzle and just one setting, "on" - is less likely to harbor bacteria, mold, or other microbes than other showerheads, most of which feature many small pinholes, often have flow restrictors inline, as well, and typically offer a variety of shower modes. But it seems logical that this simpler showerhead, with its more direct water path, might stay dryer and have fewer places to harbor such microbes.

There's a good description of this showerhead in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article:

http://www.sfgate.com/business/networth/article/High-Sierra-Showerheads-inventor-goes-with-flow-5432278.php

"Standard showerheads force a stream of water through dozens of tiny nozzles. Most low-flow versions use even smaller holes, which tend to clog, especially if there is calcium in the water.

"[David] Malcolm's [High Sierra's owner/founder] showerhead creates a wide spray from a single stream of water like this: Just below the opening, a pin in the nozzle splits the stream into two. The two streams are then forced into a conical orifice with an eye-shaped opening that pushes them back together. That collision breaks the water into a spray that feels at least as powerful as a standard showerhead. The patented device is called a uniform droplet spray nozzle."

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KAREN G.
Karen Gee4 years ago

Thank you for sharing.

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