Rain Shower Head vs. Regular Shower Head

[JanetRose]

Trying to decide....any suggestions?

thank you.

 

[_19disnA]

In some parts of the country there are laws relating to water flow rate, I assume due to water shortages they are experiencing, so it partly depends on where you live. Certain types are designed to give the impression of a higher flow rate but supposedly use less water. Some people seem to be able to tell the difference while others cannot.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

In some parts of the country there are laws relating to water flow rate, I assume due to water shortages they are experiencing, so it partly depends on where you live. Certain types are designed to give the impression of a higher flow rate but supposedly use less water. Some people seem to be able to tell the difference while others cannot.

I'm not saying there's a plastic regulator inside the neck of low-flow shower heads that can easily be removed with a pair of needle-nose pliers, but I'm not NOT saying it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I'm not saying there's a plastic regulator inside the neck of low-flow shower heads that can easily be removed with a pair of needle-nose pliers, but I'm not NOT saying it.

Then why say it? Is is suggested by you to remove it to waste water and have higher water bills?

 

[OneOftheB's]

I'm not a fan of rain head showers. I have very thick hair and I've never experienced a rain head that can adequately get shampoo or conditioner out of my hair.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Then why say it? Is is suggested by you to remove it to waste water and have higher water bills?

I'm not suggesting anything.

Over 40 million Americans get their water from private wells and don't pay water bills.

 

[DLgal]

I have what I consider the best of both worlds. It's a traditional shower head, but it's HUGE so it sprays out a large amount of water. I also have thick hair and overhead rainhead showers are never powerful enough to rinse. I have to stand there FOREVER running the water through my hair.

 

[bcla]

In some parts of the country there are laws relating to water flow rate, I assume due to water shortages they are experiencing, so it partly depends on where you live. Certain types are designed to give the impression of a higher flow rate but supposedly use less water. Some people seem to be able to tell the difference while others cannot.

There's no specific local laws/regulations that I can tell. At least around here. There is a federally mandated flow rate in the United States set at 2.5 gallons/minute. Any showerhead sold as new in the US has to be less than this, and most are 1.5 gpm or less.

https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads

I still have this showhead I like a bunch sold by Niagara, although I had some serious problems with it. I don't think they still sell it since it's rated at 3 gpm. It has a pivoting head, but I can't find the really oddball gasket that it needs to seal properly against a ball joint. The original had degraded, but the rest was solid brass and in excellent shape. A hardware store suggested two gaskets to seal it off. The only problems I had were little rocks that sometimes plugged up the holes, but those could be cleared out. But the main reason why I liked it was a sliding valve that could almost shut down the water, and could reduce the output while still maintaining a good spray. I was probably using less than 1 gpm most of the time, and even less if I just wanted to stay warm while soaping.

The thing that really works is to increase the pressure. I personally don't like rain head style. It just feels odd. I like higher pressure at a lower flow rate.

 

[ForceofWill]

I'm about to switch mine out. I put 12" rain shower heads in with a big gooseneck so you can stand under them. The problem is the only way it's good is with the restriction taken out for full volume but then it drains my Water heater in like one shower. So currently I have a valve on them I can dial back the flow but I then have to basically turn them into a diamond with one corner facing down to kinda funnel water down.

I think if I had a tankless water heater and gave no Fs about the water usage, they would be great lol.

 

[tvguy]

I'm not suggesting anything.

Over 40 million Americans get their water from private wells and don't pay water bills.

I grew up in homes with domestic wells, from birth to age 24. No "water" bill, but you pay an electric bill to run the pump. And when the storage tank or pump go out, you are on the hook for thousands of dollars to fix them. Despite that, I wish I still lived in a home with a domestic well. The water is so much better. But price wish, well water isn't free.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Another one with a problem with rain shower heads--my hair is too thick to rinse properly. Our shower can switch between the handheld (but mounted) head and the rain shower. DH uses the rain shower, I use the (stationary) handheld. My DS16 likes to set it so he gets water through both.

If you don't have super-thick hair, go with what makes you happiest.

 

[Carol_]

Another one with a problem with rain shower heads--my hair is too thick to rinse properly. Our shower can switch between the handheld (but mounted) head and the rain shower. DH uses the rain shower, I use the (stationary) handheld. My DS16 likes to set it so he gets water through both.

If you don't have super-thick hair, go with what makes you happiest.

This is what we have. If I had just the rain one, I’d be sad. If I didn’t have the rain one, I’d feel lacking in some way, but at least I could still get the conditioner out of my hair.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

We stayed in a VRBO that had a rain showerhead before and it was really cool.... it actually had both a regular showerhead and the rain. While the rain thing is really cool, I wouldn't want it to be the ONLY showerhead. If I had to choose between the two, I would just go with regular.

 

[tzolkin]

We have one like this:

 

[Carol_]

We have one like this:
View attachment 668365

That thing looks like it’ll cook you breakfast. If you talk to it, does Rosie answer?

 

[SueInBoston]

I have a fixture that have both a rain head above and a hand held. I love the rain head for just washing my body but like many said, need the handheld to wash my hair.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

We have this Moën and I highly recommend it. I have thick hair and this does a really good job of rinsing my hair. It has different spray settings, so you can choose rainfall, spray or pulse.

 

[Colleen27]

I only like the rain showerheads in tandem with a handheld. I hate hotels that only have the rain fixture because as other posters have mentioned, it can be very hard to rinse long/thick hair completely with one.

 

[disneychrista]

I'm not saying there's a plastic regulator inside the neck of low-flow shower heads that can easily be removed with a pair of needle-nose pliers, but I'm not NOT saying it.

My contractor/plumber removed this plastic regulator that may or may not be in the shower head when I had my bathroom remodeled and it used so much water we would run out of hot water before the end of our normal shower. I had to find to find a regulator so we could take normal showers again.

 

[GreatLakes]

I'd look for a dual head fixture if you can find it. The shower head is nice, and generally I like them, but I was in a hotel once that had only a rain head and I was covered in mud from a trail run. It took a very long time to actually get all the mud off of me and I never really felt totally clean. I'd prefer the option to switch between a regular and shower head if I was installing my own.