How to Clean Shower Head Without Vinegar?

Ever wondered how to clean shower head without vinegar?

A shower head is used every single day, so dirt, mildew, soap, and rust can easily clog it. That same contaminated water gets in contact with your skin and this can have a bad impact on your health.

When cleaning a bathroom, a showerhead is usually one of those things that easily get skipped. So, just as it is important to clean shower tiles, you should clean your shower head.

Many homemade, traditional cleaners include vinegar. But, what if you don’t have vinegar near you?

Can You Clean Shower Head Without Vinegar? 

cleaning_shower_head_with_baking_soda.jpeg

The answer is – yes, of course, you can!

One could easily get discouraged after searching how to clean shower head without vinegar.

Every homemade cleaner seems to include it!

Luckily, there are several other ways to safely and successfully clean your showerhead. Some of them do include harsh chemicals, or cleaners specifically made for this purpose.

However, let’s say you live in a house full of people, and that includes children. This means you want to clean the showerhead quickly while avoiding using harmful chemicals [1].

There are still some other ways in which you can do this, even without the vinegar. The best part about this – they include using some of the ingredients from your kitchen!

How to Clean Shower Head Without Vinegar – Homemade Solutions

baking_soda_for_toilet.jpeg

By using home remedies to clean, not only is it safer to use, but it’s also environmentally friendly and costs less. Additionally, these things are almost always close-at-hand!

This is why people often use home remedies for clogged drains, to clean tiles, sinks, and other bathroom appliances. The same goes for cleaning out your showerhead!

Most commonly used and safe home remedies for cleaning showerheads are baking soda, lemon juice, and – you’ll be surprised – Coca-Cola. They all take part in making effective cleaning solutions for your showerhead.

Now, let’s get to How-Tos for each of these, followed by the explanations on how/why they work.

  • Baking Soda

Baking soda serves as a gentle and inexpensive cleaning agent. It’s a mild alkali, which means it effectively dissolves any dirt by being just mildly abrasive. [2]

Mix baking soda with water until you create a paste-like formula. If the formula is too runny, add more baking soda, and vice-versa.

Then, apply the baking soda paste onto the showerhead. Make sure to cover it completely and generously.

Leave it like that for 20-30 minutes. After that, rinse it with some water.

Also, turn on the shower to remove any baking soda that may be stuck in the water holes. The only thing worse than a dirty showerhead is clogged water holes that cause decreased water pressure.

  • Lemon Juice

Lemons contain citric acid, which not only makes them sour to taste – they make for a successful cleaning agent as well! This acidity makes lemons great fighters against limescale and rust, both of which are commonly clogging the showerheads. [3]

Because of their acidity, they function similarly to vinegar. Did we mention that lemons are also antibacterial?

The best option is to use fresh lemons, but store-bought lemon juice is also fine.

Squeeze the lemons and mix this juice with water. There are no strict rules on how much, but don’t add too much water and reduce the lemon acidity.

Then, submerge the showerhead in the lemon juice cleaner for 20-30 minutes.

One option is to remove the showerhead and place it in a bucket of this solution. The other one is to soak it in the plastic bag (containing lemon juice) secured with an elastic.

After that, just rinse the showerhead.

  • Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is acidic in nature too – this is exactly why it’s known to effectively clean brass, metal, and copper surfaces. Just as lemons, it contains citric acid, which is known to remove stains.

Additionally, it contains phosphoric acid – known to remove rust, and carbonic acid, which removes limestone and other built-up minerals. [4]

To make things more simple, it is to be used very similarly to lemon juice. Just soak the showerhead in the bucket or a plastic bag full of Coca-Cola for 30 minutes.

However, there are two differences between them that you need to take into account.

The first one is that Coca-Cola usually needs more time to remove the dirt. This means that amount of time will vary with how much your showerhead is dirty.

If the showerhead is not that dirty, you can leave it soaked from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. In more extreme cases, you may try leaving it overnight.

Finally, the stickiness of Coca-Cola is the downside to using it as a cleaning solution. However, this is easily solved by using the damp washcloth to clean it additionally after rinsing.

DIY Shower Cleaner With Hydrogen Peroxide 

Shower_Cleaner_With_Hydrogen_Peroxide.jpeg

Not everyone has hydrogen peroxide in their home. This is because it’s not a natural home remedy, but a household chemical.

The thing is, when you hear about its properties, you won’t think twice about buying it. Even humans and pets can use it, but one has to be careful about the dose being used.

Hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria, fungi, yeasts, viruses, mold, and mildew. That being said, it serves for a variety of cleaning purposes, as it can be used in any room.

Here’s a step-by-step DIY shower cleaner with hydrogen peroxide:

  1. Mix equal amounts of hydrogen peroxide with the baking soda
  2. Put that cleaning solution into a plastic bag
  3. Soak the showerhead in that bag for 20-30 minutes
  4. Rinse it with warm water
  5. Turn the shower on to make sure there is no cleaning solution residue

This should effectively clean your showerhead.

Three percent hydrogen peroxide can also be used to clean other bathroom surfaces. Just spray it and rinse it after some time (20-30 minutes). Also, you can use it to disinfect hygiene products like sponges, loofas, and toothbrushes.

Quick Shower Head Cleaning Hacks 

water_stain_in_bathroom.jpeg

  1. Ventilate

It goes without saying, but you should keep the bathroom well ventilated while cleaning. This also goes for cleaning with homemade remedies, as some may have a strong smell.

  1. Use gloves

Although homemade cleaning solutions are less harsh than store-bought ones, consider wearing gloves. Most of them are acidic in nature and this can hurt those with sensitive skin.

  1. Leave overnight 

The best outcome will be achieved if you leave a showerhead soaked in the cleaning solution overnight. However, this is not always necessary – for mild cases half an hour might be just enough.

  1. Consider detaching the showerhead

Detaching the showerhead from the showerhead holder or the hose. This will make the cleaning process easier as you won’t have to check if the bag attached accidentally slipped.

FAQ 

  • How to Clean Shower Head Without Removing it? 

If you don’t know how to properly remove it, just pour the cleaning solution into a plastic bag. Attach the bag onto the showerhead and soak it in the solution completely. Secure it with a rubber band.

  • How to Clean Shower Head With Bleach? 

It’s possible to mix one cup of diluted bleach with two cups of water. This solution is then put in a spray bottle and sprayed onto the showerhead.

We recommend avoiding this option, as it’s proven that bleach increases the production of harmful bacteria. [5]

If you still decide to use it, make sure to do it using gloves and a face mask.

  • How to Clean Rusty Shower Head? 

To clean a rusty showerhead, you will need an acidic cleaning solution, like vinegar. Don’t have it?

All of the homemade cleaning solutions discussed in this article show you how to clean shower head without vinegar.