Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about shower heads

OK, to start with, there is the question of how much water is coming out of that shower head? Do you know? It costs money to provide and to heat it, so let’s get a little info to start.

Shower heads are rated according to flow rate, that is the number of gallons of water they spray per minute. Water-consuming shower heads deliver as much as 8 gpm, while low-flow units use only 2.5 gpm, with the same effectiveness of the water-consuming models.

We all are familiar with the standard wall mount shower head. Flow direction can be modified by adjusting the shower neck, and most models offer some variability in spray style.

Top mount shower heads spray from, well, over your head. Some are installed in the ceiling, and others pipe out from the wall, up high, and do a 90 degree turn to deliver spray over you head. These usually provide a nice, gentle rain shower style flow.

Handheld shower heads are, um, well, held in your hand. That is, when not placed in their holder bracket on the wall. They can be used as a wall-mount shower head, but have the option to be taken from the bracket and held to spray wherever you like.

The sliding bar shower head is nice if there is a big difference in heights of the people using the shower. Also, the sliding bar can be installed as a grab bar, which you should have several of these installed anyway, it’s just a good idea! Not a requirement, but nice to have for that day when someone is in a hurry and slips . . .

Back to shower head types, you might just have a hard time ever leaving your shower if you have body spray and body mist heads installed in vertical rows on opposite or adjacent walls to create crisscross water streams that will sooth you from head to toe.

Well, that’s about it. Pick your favorite and get your contractor over to install it. Maybe have that shower completely redone while you’re having changes made. A shower can never be too beautiful or too awesome. But it can be just right.