How do I change a shower head?

Question

I want to remove the shower head in my apartment; the flow is too soft, but I do not want to do any damage to the pipes or plumbing. Any equipment that will help?

Answer 1

It's not difficult to do.  All you need is a pipe wrench or a pair of channel-locks (5-way adjustable pliers) to take the old shower head off, and you may need some teflon tape.  

To get the old shower head off, you can wrap the fitting on the shower head in paper towel or a rag to keep the teeth of the wrench or pliers from digging in.  As you're looking at it, adjust your tool and once you have a good grip turn it counter-clockwise to take the old head off.  If you notice some white stringy stuff on the threads of the pipe, that's teflon tape.  Scrape that off gently with a screwdriver or a nail and make sure to get it all off.

If the pipe had teflon tape on it, you'd best replace it.  You can get teflon tape at any hardware store -- just tell them you need it for plumbing (there are a couple of different kinds of teflon tape).  When you wrap the tape around the threads of the pipe, go clockwise as you're looking at the pipe.  If you go counterclockwise, the new shower head will tear all the teflon tape out.

When you put the new head on, tighten by turning the fitting clockwise but don't tighten it down too far.  You'll have some resistance if you use teflon tape, but you'll eventually get to the point where you'll get some significant resistance.  Once you get to that point, either leave it or tighten it 1/4 turn more -- and no more than that.  You can then turn on the shower to leak-test it.  If you used teflon tape you'll have no leaks 99% of the time.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The shower head should just twist off, like a s***w, then you can get a new one and twist it on!

Answer 3

The best way top do it would be to have 2 pairs of pliers. Hold the pipe with one pair and turn the shower head counterclock wise with the other.  The landlord probable installed low flow shower heads to keep you from using to much water. If you don't want to spend money on a new shower head, look in the back side of the shower head after you have taken it off. If there is a piece of plastic with a small hole just drill that hole a little larger and you will get more water during your shower.

Answer 4

This video gives you step by step how to

Changing a Showerhead

http://video.aol.com/video/video-categor...