Cleaning Your Shower Head With Vinegar and Bicarb

Whether you’ve got pink bits, black bits, white bits or soapy suds sticking around, learning how to get cleaning your shower head with vinegar is a must!

Let's not beat around the bush, we’re the masters of our own bathroom now and the phrase “not my monkeys, not my circus” doesn’t belong here. Even though it’s a utopia for getting clean and your shower head only sprouts water, it can get dirty with time. The water, itself, is a big culprit because limescale in the water will crystalise on your shower head.

So, it’s time we helped you address those lurking stains with our guide to cleaning your shower head with bicarbonate of soda and a splash of vinegar. Note: it’ll be a bit more than a splash.

What causes a shower head to get dirty?

There are many ways a shower head can get dirty and they don’t mean you’re a dirty person. In fact, just living in a place where you’ll get hard water running through your pipes means you’ll see more limescale build-up. Here are the four most common things you’ll find when cleaning your shower head with vinegar:

• Limescale

This is a naturally occurring mineral in water. Your supply may have more or less than the average house. When your water is no longer running, small limescale deposits begin to form and grow around your shower head. It’ll appear white, dry and crusty and won’t be too hard to scrub off if you’re cleaning your shower head with bicarbonate of soda.

• Soap Scum

Anyone who showers with soap (everyone) will have this issue! You might be a feisty hair washer flicking soap through your strands or you could have the kiddos playing around with some of that Loreal kids shampoo that definitely brings many-a-tear despite its slogan. Soap scum can appear slimy and will be the colour of your toiletries!

• Black Mould

When you see black spores around your showerhead, there’s no need to panic. Although, you should be cleaning your shower head with vinegar right ASAP. It’s caused by naturally occurring Legionella bacterium in our water. However, they can multiply in lovely warm showers and cause us to have pneumonia-like symptoms when inhaled.

• Pink Mould

This pinkish, reddish, orangish slimy mould is caused by the growth of the Serratia Marcescens bacterium. It’s found pretty much anywhere including in water and in soil but it loves to feed on soap scum in warm environments. Meaning your bathroom is the perfect cosy club. It’s not harmful but can cause wound infections or urinary tract infections.

How often should a shower head be cleaned?

This is an easy one; you should be thoroughly cleaning your shower head with vinegar or bicarbonate of soda once a month. However, a weekly scrub-a-dub-dub with a scourer won’t do any harm (and could save you some effort for the spring clean).

How to know when to use vinegar and when to use Bicarbonate Of Soda

We’re using vinegar and bicarbonate of soda as the two options here because they’re both powerful cleaners, natural and may already be in your home. So we’re saving your pocket as well as your environment when we skip the spray chemical cleaners.

However, the real question is; how do we know when to be cleaning your shower head with vinegar and when to be using bicarb?

Well, vinegar is a natural disinfectant, so it’s best used for shower heads that have accumulated a bit of unwelcome mould. Bicarbonate of soda, on the other hand, is a light, odourless and abrasive material great for tackling stubborn limescale and soap scum!

Steps for cleaning your shower head with vinegar:

There are two methods for cleaning your shower head with vinegar and they depend completely on whether you can (or even want to) remove your shower head from the shower.

 Method 1: Removing the shower head

• Grab a bottle of white vinegar (not malt or brown)
• Grab a bucket
• Fill your bucket with your vinegar
• Detach your shower head from the pipe
• Don’t lose the rubber washer or there’ll be leakages later
• Use a cloth to cover the pipe end
• Submerge your shower head into the bucket of vinegar
• Leave overnight (or 30 minutes if nickel, gold or brass)
• Rinse the shower head with warm water
• Scrub the showerhead with an old toothbrush
• Re-rinse the showerhead with warm water
• Re-attach your shower head to the pipe
• Flush any remaining vinegar out of the shower head
• Polish the metal with a cloth to prevent watermarks

 Method 2: Not removing the shower head

• Grab a bottle of white vinegar
• Grab a small plastic bag from your stash (we all have one)
• Grab some string
• Half-fill the plastic bag with your vinegar
• Place the bag over the shower head without pouring the vinegar
• Secure the bag in place with the string
• Leave overnight (or 30 minutes if nickel, gold or brass)
• Flush the vinegar out from the shower head
• Scrub the showerhead with an old toothbrush
• Re-flush the shower head again with warm water
• Polish the metal with a cloth to prevent watermarks

Steps for cleaning your shower head with Bicarbonate Of Soda:

Bicarbonate of soda is a great solution for stubborn marks such as limescale because of its coarseness. All you need to do is grab a mug or ramekin and add a few tablespoons of bicarb. Then, slowly add water - a teaspoon at a time - and mix to create a thick paste.

With your paste, rub it onto the shower head and problem areas, being sure to scrub into the nozzles using an old toothbrush. Then, leave for about 15 minutes (but make sure it doesn’t dry out otherwise you’ll be facing a bigger job than you started with). When done, just wipe away the bicarbonate of soda along with the limescale or soap scum and flush the system.

If you need another go-around of cleaning your shower head with bicarbonate of soda, go for it. It’s a wholly trusted and natural substance that won’t cause your bathroom any harm.

And there you have an introduction to the world of cleaning your shower head with vinegar and other common scrubs you might have in your home. Very effectively, might we add!