No matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to get your shower water to fall on your head?
If you always find your shower arm at the wrong angle after you’ve tightened it, you may need to tweak it.
First of all, you can remove it and simply apply some PTFE tape. But to make the shower arm adjustable, go for a swivel ball adaptor. To attach one, remove and clean the shower. Next, attach the swivel ball and apply PTFE tape. Lastly, install the shower arm.
That was just a snippet of the solution. Let’s get to the main deal.
What Could Cause A Wrong Shower Arm Angle?
Before we talk about fixing the shower arm angle, we need to figure why it’s happening. There could be multiple reasons behind this.
If it’s a temporary problem that’s been bothering you, there’s a quick fix.
Shower Arm isn’t Tight Enough
One common culprit behind a wrong shower arm angle is the fitting. If your shower head isn’t compatible with your bathroom adjustments, it could spell trouble.
As a result, water hits the opposite wall, ruining it. Especially if the wall has thicker accent tiles, water can collect on the edges.
But how do you identify that this is the problem? Simple. Do you find that your shower arm angle is perfect when it’s loose? But when you tighten it, the showerhead faces upwards and water hits the opposite wall?
Then you’re in luck since the solution for this is quite simple. All you need to do is get your hands on some PTFE tape. If this sounds unfamiliar, it’s also known as Teflon or plumber’s tape.
Here are some best PTFE tapes for this purpose:
What this will do, is act as lubrication between the two fittings. This allows the shower arm to fit deeper with the fitting.
What we just mentioned was a quick fix for a temporary problem. But what should you do, if you want your shower arm to be flexible? Find out in the next section.
Shower Arm at the Wrong Angle: How to Fix This?
Our previous solution was for setting the shower angle at a fixed angle. But this becomes problematic when you have people of different heights using the shower.
In case your family has members ranging from tall to short, the best solution may be to invest in an adjustable shower arm. To do this, you don’t need to dispose of your current shower arm altogether.
Moreover, this procedure takes much less time than retiling a shower.
Instead, you just have to simply install a swivel ball adaptor. To figure out how it’s done, give the steps a quick read.
Things You’ll Need
Here’s a list of essentials you need to have, before starting:
- Wrench
- Oil
- Vinegar solution
- PTFE tape
- Plier
- Swivel ball adaptor
Step 1: Remove the Shower Head
First of all, remove the showerhead. You can easily do this yourself if you’re someone with a bit of experience. But if you find your shower head to be stuck, simply using a wrench can solve the issue.
If you don’t have a wrench either, you can remove it with WD40!
If you still find that the joint doesn’t budge, use an oil or a lubricant. Pour it over the shower joint and let it soak for a while. Then the whole job gets much easier.
Step 2: Clean the Area
After removing the shower arm, you’ll find quite some dirt accumulated in the pipe. At this point, you may feel a little icky knowing that your shower water passes through that dirt.
No worries, this gunk can be cleaned easily. All you need to do is dip the showerhead in a vinegar solution. You can easily do this by plugging your sink and filling it with water halfway.
Then, pour about half a cup of vinegar into the water and let your showerhead sit in the mixture for a few hours. Did you know that dirty showers can lead to leaks? So if you’re wondering why your hydramax shower is dripping, this could be it.
Next, wash the shower arm with water and the gunk will come off easily.
Step 3: Remove Old PTFE Tape and Apply New One
After cleaning the showerhead, time to renew the PTFE tapes. Although if this job was recently done, you can skip this step.
But if it’s been quite a while since this has been changed, it’s best to do so.
Step 4: Attach the Swivel Ball Adaptor
Now it’s time to take the swivel ball adaptor. Next, attach it to the shower pipe. To do this, simply use your hands to tighten it as much as you can.
After you can’t turn it anymore with your hands, bring out a plier. Use it to twist the adaptor until it’s as tight as possible.
Step 5: Apply PTFE Tape Again
Once the swivel ball adaptor has been fit snugly, attach another layer of PTFE tape. This provides a coating between this and the shower arm.
Make sure you apply a secure fit. You won’t be able to adjust this once the shower arm is installed.
Step 6: Install the Shower Arm
As the last step, reinstall the shower arm snugly until there are no gaps left. To make sure that there aren’t any leaks, turn the shower on. Then check if the water is seeping out from any unwanted joints.
If not, you have successfully adjusted your wrong shower angle!
FAQs
Question: Why does a shower head drip?
Answer: In most cases, you may notice a dripping showerhead when there’s an issue with the shower valve. Or there could be a hard clog in the shower pipe which is forcing water to leak out of places.
Question: How tight should you tighten a showerhead?
Answer: When tightening a shower arm, twist it with your hands. After making it as tight as possible, take a wrench and twist it about ¼ a circle.
Question: Can you over-tighten a showerhead?
Answer: Yes. In fact, over tightening a showerhead can cause the leaks to worsen. It also damages the joints over time.
Final Verdict
So, with that, we come to the end of our post. We hope that our steps came of use, and we helped you fix the problem.
If you’re still unclear about your shower arm at the wrong angle, do let us know in the comments.
Until next time buddy!