January 10th, 2022 by Sarah Miles

If you have ever scrubbed and scrubbed at the shower head only to find it still looks grubby and even flaky despite your efforts, we’re here to tell you that the issue is not that you’re not cleaning it well enough, it’s that you’re using the wrong products.

The stuff that is making your shower head look dirty is not dirt at all but limescale. Limescale develops over time in any appliance that uses water. Minerals from the water deposit themselves on the surfaces they pass over, especially if the water is hard, though it will happen to some degree with all water. Standard household cleaning products are not effective against limescale as it requires a chemical formulation that targets it and breaks it down.

The really good news is that your scrubbing days are over, with regards to getting your shower head clean at least, because the right product not only deals with the limescale but does not require any elbow grease from you.

What product should you use?

You need a descaling product for this job. Pro-Kleen Shower Head Descaler is not only a powerful descaler, it’s specifically formulated for shower heads, making short work of limescale and restoring it to gleaming glory.

2L Pro-Kleen Shower Head Cleaner

Price: £14.95

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How to use it

It really couldn’t be simpler, just follow these few steps:

1. Remove the shower head from the shower unit
2. Pour the product into a bowl or container. For badly affected items, or if in a hard water area, use neat. For general maintenance or low-level build-up, use a 50/50 mix with water
3. Immerse the shower head fully in the solution
4. Leave for 20 minutes
5. Remove from the solution and rinse or wipe clean

That’s it! No scrubbing at all is required and the limescale should be eradicated.

Why is it important to clean the shower head?

Taking care of this task has so many benefits over and above getting the shower looking clean and gleaming. For a start, limescale compromises performance. As it builds up over time, it clogs up the nozzles in the shower head and this limits the volume and the pressure of the water that can pass through, potentially reducing the shower to little more than a dribble.

Most importantly, allowing limescale to build up can result in the formation of nasty bacteria that accumulates wherever moisture becomes trapped. You may see this in the form of black gunk around the shower head and it may also start to smell (it is commonly associated with a rotten egg smell that can also affect drains due to the hydrogen sulphide gas it produces). Obviously, bacteria pose a risk to health and can contaminate the water. This is particularly undesirable in a shower, where the steam produced can easily be breathed in.

Eradicate the limescale itself and you also eradicate the bacteria and therefore the smell and the risk. Incorporate regular descaling into your cleaning routines to keep your shower looking clean and safe to use.