When you turn on your shower, as expected, water comes out of it, which you use to cleanse and freshen yourself. However, aside from water, some other harmful substances may also be coming out from your shower whenever you take a bath.
These harmful substances come in the form of germs or bacteria. Some of the most common types of bacteria that can be found in most shower systems and heads include:
Cryptosporidium – a type of bacteria that can cause low fever, diarrhea, nausea, headache, vomiting and stomach cramps when ingested.
Giardia lamblia – a type of water bacteria that causes giardiasis, or beaver fever. The symptoms of this particular illness include diarrhea, cramps, nausea and severe weight loss.
Legionella – the Legionella bacterium is a specific strain of microbes that includes L. pneumophila, a dangerous type of strain which causes the dreaded Legionnaires’ diseases and Pontiac fever.
The growth and spread of all these harmful microbes though can easily be avoided when you have a clean shower head. Below are some of the best ways of cleaning it:
Soak the shower head in warm vinegar. If you can remove the head from the shower pipe, submerge the shower head in a container full of warmed (not boiling) white vinegar. Leave the head to soak in the vinegar for a few hours. After which, re-attach it to the shower pipe and rinse the head to clear out the vinegar.
If you can’t or don’t want to remove the shower head, fill a plastic bag with warm white vinegar and wrap this around the head. Tie the bag around the head securely by using a rubber band, tape, or a twist tie. Leave the bag around the head for several hours. Afterwards, remove the bag and turn on the water for several minutes to clear the vinegar out of the head.
Rub the shower head’s nozzles. Most types of shower heads today have flexible rubber nozzles. You can easily remove any mineral build-up in these nozzles by massaging each nozzle with your finger or by gently scrubbing the nozzles with an old soft toothbrush.
Clean the filter screen. The filter screen is usually found in the part of the shower head that connects to the pipe. You have to remove the shower head from the pipe to get to the filter screen. You can do this consulting your shower system or head manual. Once you have removed the filter screen, run this under water for several minutes to flush out any buildup. To remove mineral deposits, you can use a toothbrush to gently and safely brush these out.
