Overhead showers and hand-held shower heads have two weak points: the small holes the water comes out of and the flexible supply hose. With hard water, limescale builds up in the holes especially fast when the water is heated. The jets weaken, spray sideways and some holes block completely.
Below is how to clean the head, replace a damaged hose, lubricate the seals and get the holder sliding smoothly on the riser rail again.
What you will need
Important: Turn the mixer off before you start. Do not enlarge the holes with the wire: just clear them, or the spray will become uneven. Apply lubricant only to external threads, nuts and seals, never inside the shower head.
Step 1
Remove the head and soften the scale
Unscrew the head from the hose at the union nut. If limescale has locked the nut, spray WD-40 Smart Straw onto the thread through the narrow straw, wait a few minutes and try again. It works its way under the deposits and makes undoing easier.
Take the head apart by unscrewing the spray plate and soak the parts for a few hours in a bowl of hot water and vinegar.
Step 2
Clear the holes
Remove most of the scale with a stiff brush. Clear what remains in the holes with fine wire or a needle, a few times in each hole, without enlarging them. If the plate has rubber nozzles, simply rub them with your finger.
Rinse and dry all the parts and reassemble the head. Before screwing it back onto the hose, lubricate the outer thread and the rubber washer with WD-40 Specialist Silicone: the washer will seal snugly and next time the nut will undo by hand.
Step 3
Replace a damaged hose
If the metal sheath of the hose has split, kinked or opened up, the rubber tube inside will eventually chafe through and leak. It cannot be repaired: replace the whole hose with one of the same type and length. Take the old one to the shop so you get the right size.
Both hose nuts, at the mixer and at the head, often seize with limescale. Treat them first with WD-40 Multi-Use, then undo them. Fit the new hose with new washers lubricated with WD-40 Specialist Silicone.
Step 4
Free up the holder on the riser rail
The shower head holder on a riser rail often becomes stiff because of the same deposits. Put a little WD-40 Multi-Use on a microfibre cloth and wipe the whole length of the rail: it lifts the thin layer of scale and lubricates the surface.
Slide the holder up and down a few times and wipe off the excess. Repeat every few months.
Step 5
Set up regular prevention
Once a month, brush vinegar over the spray plate and you will not need a big clean. If scale reappears very quickly, the water is too hard.
In that case, consider a water softener at the supply entry or at least before the water heater. It is a job for a plumber: the pipe is cut, isolation valves are fitted before and after the unit, along with a bypass so you are not left without water when it is serviced.
Tip: After each shower, run cold water through the head for a few seconds. Limescale forms mostly from hot water left in the holes to dry.
What next
Take the head apart and clean it every 2-3 months and check the hose twice a year. Keep WD-40 Multi-Use for the nuts and rail and WD-40 Specialist Silicone for the washers in the bathroom.
These uses come from the experience of WD-40 users in many countries. Always follow the instructions and warnings on the product label.
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