X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Your Shower Head Is Probably Super Gross Right Now. Here's How to Get It Shining in an Hour

Be honest, when was the last time you really cleaned your shower head?

Mary-Elisabeth Combs Associate Writer
Mary-Elisabeth is an associate writer on CNET's How-To team. She's a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill's English Department, and resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the How-To team, she covers a little bit of everything. When she's not writing, she's catching up on Formula 1 or reading.
Mary-Elisabeth Combs
2 min read
showerhead-install-10

Giving some TLC to your shower head can give it new life. 

Steve Conaway/CNET

Your shower might just be one of the most used appliances in your home. It's also probably one of the grossest, harboring bacteria and sometimes even mildew and mold. Other spaces in your bathroom seem to get all of the TLC, with your sink, toilet and the walls of your shower being the primary focus. If you let your shower head go neglected, it can have serious consequences for the quality of your showers. 

Leaving your shower uncleaned for an extended period can cause a buildup of calcium, hard water and mold, which can affect your water pressure, clog the nozzles of your shower and even harm your scalp and hair.

CNET Home Tips logo

It's pretty easy to get your shower head back into tip-top shape. You probably have all of the ingredients you need in your kitchen to clean your shower head properly. 

For more home tips, here's how to really clean your Keurig machine and how to wash your pillow without making it lumpy

Items you need to clean your shower head

The first thing you'll want to do is gather all of the necessary ingredients and materials to bust the grime on your shower head. Grab a 1-gallon plastic freezer bag, a strong rubber band to accommodate the weight of the water that will fill the bag and some CLR household cleaner or white vinegar. 

You'll use the CLR household cleaner (which refers to calcium, lime and rust) or vinegar to create a 50/50 mixture with water, which is what actually cleans your shower head.  

How to clean your shower head

Start by filling the gallon freezer bag halfway with CLR cleaner or white vinegar, and then use the rubber band to attach the gallon freezer bag to your shower head. Make sure you've left enough room to add the water and that the shower head itself is submerged.  

Next, turn your shower on and fill the bag the rest of the way, just be mindful of the velocity of the water when you turn your shower on -- you don't want the bag to fall off and splatter all over you and the bathroom.

All that's left to do is wait. Set a timer for 60 minutes, and then you should be good to move on to the next step. 

Rinse and wipe away all of the grime

The last step is removing the bag from the shower head, and draining the cleaning solution through the shower drain. Dispose of the gallon freezer bag, then wipe away the grime from your shower head with a damp cloth. 

To test your hard work, turn your shower on and see how much better it's working now that you've busted the gunk. If the spray of your shower still isn't up to standards, you can easily rinse and repeat this process until you are happy with the results. 

For more, here's how to wash your enameled cast iron and how to get stubborn cat pee stains out of your couch