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Original poster

Rainfall shower head-please help!!

63 replies

Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 13:29

We've just moved into a new house and it has a big walk in shower with just a fixed rainfall head. I hate it!! I don't know why you would put one of those in there without the secondary shower head to wash feet, etc. I dont want to dunk my head underwater every day. I'm standing there with my head poking out at an awkward angle, trying not to get my hair wet. And it's a pain in the backside to clean the shower without a handheld. It's making me angry as I type this Angry

Does anybody know if it is possible to add a secondary handheld shower head without taking up tiles? The bathroom is beautiful but I just am not enjoying my showers anymore. I could cry!

OP posts:
Original poster
Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 20:01

Thanks for that, Espresso. 'Begged for help' made me laugh... that's how I feel! 😂

Yep, Ive looked in the garage and there are spare tiles but none from the bathroom 🙄 so I've been thinking of contrasting tile patterns if I can't find the same ones. The bathroom is no more than two years old so hopefully they are still around.

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JeSuisPrest · 09/10/2018 20:08

Could you not just unscrew the shower head and pop on a diverter valve, screw shower head back on and then add a hose with small shower head for hair/feet/cleaning?

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Round-Shower-3-Way-Diverter-Valve-Part-Water-Segregator-Handheld-Replacement-New-/122994092731

LittleBearPad · 09/10/2018 20:11

Shower hat!

JeSuisPrest · 09/10/2018 20:16

She makes it look really easy...ConfusedGrin

MrsFezziwig · 09/10/2018 21:09

He wants me to have the full rainforest experience because it looks nice. I’ve said that won’t be happening.

In similar vein, if you bought a basin, a cupboard and a worktop separately they wouldn’t be more than £100 per item. Put them together and call them a “bathroom vanity unit” and suddenly you’re talking £1200. Or not.

PigletJohn · 09/10/2018 21:33

like any of these?

Original poster
Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 22:17

No, piglet, I've taken your advice and looked for the manufacturer and it's called Vado. I've searched online for it and it looks like this but without the middle icon on the controller. I'm guessing that is a button that helps you switch between rainfall and handheld.

DP is really angry with me tonight bc I'm 'ungrateful'. Honestly, I'm not, it is just upsetting to have something so 'posh' in a house that is actually impractical to use. When you buy a house you at least want the basics to be fine. He's sarcastically saying 'OK, let's smash the bathroom up', and 'you viewed this with me several times'. It sounds over the top but if I was aware of this issue it would have made me think twice about buying the house. I mean if its going to cost a fortune to change then I won't be allowed to do it. And I will have to live with this for the next ten tears or whatever. If I owned the house by myself I wouldn't hesitate to rip it out. But I've given up that freedom now, I guess by moving in with someone.

OP posts:
Original poster
Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 22:23

JeSuis to me your suggestion sounds promising. I will ask a plumber. Though DP has looked at that and told me I am crazy for thinking that would work when the shower head is mounted to the ceiling.

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Greeper · 09/10/2018 22:26

Um, no. You have not relinquished your right to influence and adapt your own home!
You share, you both decide. If something is making you that uncomfortable and irritated then it's very unreasonable of him not to look at options...

Fwiw, I have a stripe of tiles in my bathroom, from a repair event. Looks great

TheCrowFromBelow · 09/10/2018 22:27

Eh? Tell your DP to stop being a twat.
I wanted a rain head shower until my DP pointed out this would be a problem.
They are style over substance, and doesn’t the house belong to both of you? Why should you not be “allowed” to change it?

Original poster
Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 22:38

No I have a lot of hair so shower caps don't fit but even if they did they don't bypass the problem of not being able to direct the flow where you want it to go, eg crotch (sorry, tmi) /small child etc.
DP says I should cup the water in my hands until there's loads then wash whatever I want to wash.

Also, not everyone likes the sensation of your head being completely under water. When I wash my hair under normal shower heads I don't drench my face: I angle the showerhead and turn my back to it so I can just do my hair.

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Original poster
Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 22:39

Thank you Greeper and TheCrow

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RedRosie · 09/10/2018 22:41

I hope you get this sorted to your satisfaction OP.

But in the meantime (we have a shower like this) get a shower cap! About 2 quid from Boots and at least you won't have wet hair when you don't want it.

EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 09/10/2018 22:50

DP clearly doesn't know how ridiculous he sounds does he OP

I hate the rainfall shower head with a passion and shower caps don't cut it at all. We have a rainfall and no one ever uses it because we have the separate flexible head as well.

The rainfall is hard to clean too.

bobkate · 09/10/2018 23:00

I am so with you.on this one. I would hate just a rainfall shower head. We're having a new shower put in and I made sure we got one with both a handheld on a riser and rainfall for DH. And I made sure it was a decent handheld bit, not a feeble, teeny, ineffective one. I, like you, prefer to stick my head back and wash hair like that. I have never been a fan of the rainfall. I sort of get why your DH isn't keen on changing due to the phaff/ expense but I get your point more!! Good luck finding a solution OP.

Original poster
Dickybow321 · 09/10/2018 23:24

Thank you Red, Enrique and Bob. It means so much to be allowed to vent and have people say 'I hear you'. Even if there's not a solution it makes me feel better to have my feelings acknowledged.

OP posts:
EspressoButler · 10/10/2018 01:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Dickybow321 · 10/10/2018 11:49

Thanks, Espresso. I have been beating myself up thinking why didn't I notice and think about it before we bought.

'loo fitted at an angle so the seat always fell on him when he pees' really made me chuckle Grin

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PigletJohn · 10/10/2018 11:59

I just had a look at some of the other Vado pages, and from the diagram on here I see it screws onto a half-inch socket in the wall. Speak to the makers, I expect they have a screw-on connector that a hose or rail fits onto. The spigot coming through the wall is very likely to be a standard fitting.

If so, it is a trifling job for a plumber.

fiftyandfat · 10/10/2018 12:04

I would have thought a plumber could easily replace it.
We have a walk in shower with both attachments on the same pipe.

Original poster
Dickybow321 · 10/10/2018 12:15

Thanks so much for taking the time to do that, PigletJohn, I will get onto the manufacturers today!

That sounds promising, fifty!

OP posts:
Original poster
Dickybow321 · 10/10/2018 12:38

I just spoke to someone at Vado and she said that from what I have described it is a one-outlet system so I couldn't change it to have the fixed and handheld set up, (well she said I could but she said it involves changing the controller to a dual outlet system, which would be very expensive) but I could change it to have just a handheld system. She said to speak to a plumber about that because obviously at the moment its coming out of the ceiling so they would need to see how to go about installing the new one.

So I'm getting closer to finding the solution!

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Original poster
Dickybow321 · 10/10/2018 13:01

You were right, Piglet, it's a half inch socket but looking at the price of just the head that they used I feel bad ripping it out and then putting in a new attachment which is going to be awkward because the connection is currently in the centre of the shower. I would pursue it if it was just my house as otherwise the shower would essentially be an expensive ornament. I think I will have to just start having baths instead. I haven't had one for years because I love(d) showers. I just can't believe somebody spent so much on a bathroom but didn't think about the fundamentals. Sigh.

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PigletJohn · 10/10/2018 15:15

You might also be able to get a big head with a swivel joint. I have one, it is handy for pointing the squirt aside while you use shampoo or something.

With experience I wouldn't get another waterfall/rencher shower.

PigletJohn · 10/10/2018 15:17

btw it sounds like the salesperson is thinking of an electronically controlled diverter, but they are more commonly a simple tap with a manual lever.

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