Tie a Bag of Vinegar Around Your Shower Head to Clean It with No Effort4/30/12 12:30pm Your shower head is prone to buildup of all sorts of nasty stuff, and it can be a pain to clean if you do it the hard way. As Redditor IT_Serpent points out, you can cure your shower head of its grimy blockage with a bag of vinegar. All you have to do is fill the bag, place it around the shower head so it's submerged in the liquid, and tie it to the neck with a twist tie (or anything else, really). Leave it there overnight and the cleaning will be handled for you. The picture above shows how this works. It's a pretty simple trick to doing an otherwise frustrating job.Tie a baggy of vinegar around a shower head | Is your shower head not performing like it used to? Over time, mineral deposits can build up in your shower head. This can cause the nozzles to squirt water in all directions or clog up completely, leaving you with poor water pressure or low flow. Here are our top tips (listed from easiest to more complex) to help get your shower head back to peak performance.

Many shower heads have flexible rubber nozzles. You can dislodge mineral buildup in these nozzles by simply massaging each nozzle with your finger. You can also try gently scrubbing the nozzles with a toothbrush. There are a couple ways to do this: To clean the filter screen, you may need to consult the shower head instruction manual. If you didn't keep the manual, don't panic! You can usually find it on the brand's website or by contacting the customer service department. In general, the filter screen is located in the part of the shower head that connects to the pipe. You will need to remove the shower head from the pipe to get to the filter screen. In most Waterpik® brand shower heads, the filter screen can be removed by gently brushing the filter out. Or you can use tweezers/needle-nose pliers to get the screen out of the pivot ball. Once the filter screen is out of the pivot ball, run the screen under water for a few minutes to flush out any buildup. You can also use a toothbrush to gently brush out mineral deposits.

Place the filter screen back into the pivot ball and re-install the shower head to the shower pipe.Harsh cleaning chemicals may damage your shower head and are not recommended for cleaning. Please Wipe The Toilet Seat Sign(Read our blog post for some great money-saving tips for cleaning showers without expensive, harsh chemicals.)Patio Furniture Bargains Replacing a shower head is quick, easy and may reduce your energy and water bills.Odd Patio FurnitureClean your showerhead occasionally to keep it spraying properly. If you are like many of us, the shower might be the only place where you can find a little peace and quiet. But over time, mineral deposits can plug up the spray holes and make your shower experience less pleasant and less effective.

When your showerhead starts sputtering, there's no need to reach for harsh chemical cleaning products. Distilled white vinegar can clean your showerhead and restore the water flow so you can take long, luxurious showers again. Remove your showerhead by turning it counterclockwise until it comes off the wall pipe. If you are unable to unscrew it by hand, loosen it with an adjustable wrench, but first wrap the fixture with a rag to prevent scratching the finish. Place your showerhead in a large pot. Add enough distilled white vinegar to completely submerge the fixture and allow it to float in the liquid. Allow your showerhead to soak in the vinegar overnight. The acid in the vinegar should penetrate and dissolve any mineral deposits clogging up the spray holes. Remove the showerhead from the vinegar the following morning. Clean off any loosened mineral scale with an old toothbrush or scrub brush. Poke the spray holes with a toothpick or a very thin wire to clean out any remaining gunk. Rinse the fixture thoroughly under running tap water.

Apply fresh plumbing tape to the threads of the wall pipe, wrapping it counterclockwise four or five times. Screw your showerhead back onto the pipe. Turn on the cold tap water and run it through your showerhead for a few minutes. This should blast out any remaining mineral deposits and vinegar residue. Check for leaks and tighten your showerhead, if necessary. Pour distilled white vinegar into a sturdy plastic baggie large enough to completely submerge your showerhead. Wrap a strong rubber band around the baggie to keep it securely attached to your wall pipe. Allow the fixture to soak in the vinegar overnight. Remove the baggie and run hot tap water through the showerhead for several minutes to remove the loosened mineral deposits and vinegar. Scrub your showerhead with an old toothbrush or a scrub brush to remove stubborn mineral build-up. Run cold water through your fixture to rinse out the gunk. Keep scrubbing and rinsing until your showerhead is thoroughly cleaned. Things You Will Need Adjustable wrench Rag Large pot Distilled white vinegar Toothbrush or scrub brush Toothpick or thin wire Plumbing tape Plastic baggie Rubber band Tip Warning References "Family Handyman": How to Clean ShowerheadsMrs.

Clean: How to Clean the Shower HeadHeinz Distilled White Vinegar: Over 100 Helpful Household Hints; Christine Halvorson Photo Credits George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionIf you’ve been experiencing a blockage, and I don’t mean the kind that requires more fibre in your diet, consider cleaning your shower head to improve water flow and give you a better shower experience. Keep reading or check out the steamy in-shower video… Basically, a shower head (like mine, pictured in this post), is constantly spouting water out, every day at your beck and call.  Naturally, water has calcium and other mineral deposits which over time can (and will) clog faucets, showerheads and coffeemakers (have you seen our blog post on cleaning a Keurig yet?).  This isn’t harmful per se, it just slows the flow.  It constipates, if you will, your system. There are many corrosive products that are out there claiming to blast away calcium, lime and rust (catch my drift?) which I’d never allow in my house.  

Certainly, all you need to dissolve this build up is a good soaking in some plain white vinegar.  The acids in vinegar naturally break down limescale and rust and allow your shower heads to work like new again.  You can also use this trick for cleaning and unclogging faucets. All you need for this trick is: 1) a zippered bag or sandwich bag, heck you could even use a produce bag. 2) an elastic band, tie wrap or hair elastic (I’m all about options) 3) white vinegar (no options here, just plain white vinegar) Fill your bag about half way with vinegar and fasten the bag to the shower head.  Do this by enclosing the mouth of the bag over the shower head and fastening it tightly in place with the tie.  Ensure the shower head is fully immersed in the vinegar, it needs to be in order for this to work.  Let’s say yours is on a hose (like mine), then I’d suggest taking the hose down and letting it sit in the tub.  Let this sit for 12 hours, or 24 if the shower head is really crusty and you have an alternative shower you can use.

When done, simply remove the bag (careful not to get any vinegar on your or worse, in your eye), and dump down the drain.  Yes, it will smell for a few minutes but shortly thereafter you’ll notice no smell.  If you want to be super sassy, throw some baking soda down your drain before you dump out the vinegar and you’ve now also cleaned our your drain in the process (go you!).  Let the shower head run hot water for a minute before getting in, you’ll marvel at your handiwork; it will run like new! If you are having stubborn stain issues, you can soak the shower head even longer to see if it will blast away.  If you wish, you can use some baking soda and rub that in to the small nozzles with a cleaning toothbrush which will help break down any additional limescale and remove the discolouration.  Rinse it clean and you should notice a difference.  Keep in mind that brown discolouration is ugly (I believe this has to do with iron content in water), but is not harming the functionality of the shower head.