Bathtub Faucet Styles

All in all, there are four unique styles of bathtub faucets that each work in one of two designs. While some of the styles are designed for specific bathtub styles, others are more versatile in nature. The two basic designs are somewhat interchangeable and often a matter of personal preference and price range more than anything else.

Single Lever Bathtub Faucets

Single lever bathtub faucets contain a single waterspout and a single water control lever. The up and down movement of the water control lever adjusts the water pressure, increasing or decreasing the flow of water coming through the spout. Side to side movement if the lever controls the amount of hot and cold water being used, effectively controlling the overall water temperature. Single level controls are almost always wall mounted and are ideal for smaller spaces where fixture size may be an issue. Some single level faucets also control a shower unit as well, if one is present. They will often be fixed with a plunger device that controls whether the water should be diverted to the shower head or the bath tub spout. Delta bathtub faucets are frequently found in single lever designs, as are Kohler bathtub faucets.

Double Lever Bathtub Faucets

Unlike single level bathtub faucets, double level faucets have individual controls for the hot and cold water supplies. The lever on the left is typically used to control hot water, increasing or decreasing the flow of the hot water in order to create the ideal temperature. Likewise, the cold water lever is almost always mounted on the left side and controls the flow of the cold water. A balanced temperature is reached by adjusting both flows until the hot and cold water supplies are in ideal balance. Like single lever designs, double lever designs can also be used to control attached shower units as well and are typically mounted onto the wall behind the bathtub. Many styles of faucets, such as those included on many of the Kohler bathtub faucet collections, operate in a double lever manner. Delta bathtub faucet collections also contain a large percentage of double lever designs.

Roman Bathtub Faucets

Unlike both single and double lever designs, a roman bathtub faucets mounts to the inner wall of the bathtub itself, as opposed to being attached to the wall. Since the mounting height of this style of faucet is therefore lower, adjustments are needed to the overall style of the faucet to accommodate. This is typically done by adding a high are to the water spout itself, allowing it to rise above the top of the tub and then arch back down slightly. Roman tub faucets are almost double lever models, having separate controls for hot and cold water controls. Roman tub faucets are so named for the fact that they were originally used with Roman tubs. These were essentially designed as stand alone bathtubs without built in shower features. Since there were no walls surrounding the bath tub, mounting the faucets to the tub were the easiest option.

Free Standing Bathtub Faucets

Similar to Roman tub faucets, free standing bath faucets were designed to be used on stand alone tubs that were not wall mounted. Unlike Roman faucets, on the other hand, the free standing faucets were not mounted into the tub but, instead, completely separate fixtures altogether. Free standing faucets were very popular in the 1800s and are still found to day in use when a vintage or antique feel is being sought. Often built with copper or bronze piping for a more visually appealing design, some free standing faucets even incorporated the means to use a shower feature in a free standing tub. They were typically connected to plumbing lines that had been run in the floor and relied on their own piping to build a framework for the faucet fixture that would extend over into the tub itself. Some models relied on the same piping to extend above standing level, allowing the water to flow vertically from above the head for a shower effect. Lighter piping was also used to circle the tub itself, allowing for a privacy curtain or drape.

Bathtub Faucet Designs

As stated before, the majority of all bathtub faucets on the market work in one of two designs, compression faucets and washerless faucets. Compression faucets rely on caps, valves, and washers to control water pressure. Found in both single and double lever designs, the valves on compression faucets are opened and closed as the levers are turned, increasing or decreasing the water flow. Washerless faucets, on the other hand, use valves as well, but also use faucet diverter cartridges in place of the caps and washer mechanisms. Washerless faucets are the more modern of the two designs and, while currently being slightly more costly to purchase, they are believed to be growing enough in popularity to eventually replace compression faucets as the fixture of choice for bathtub faucet needs.

Another modern day feature added to the majority of newer bathtubs faucets is a built in anti-scald device. This piece prevents the water from reaching a temperature that could potentially cause burns or other injuries, regulating the flow of the hot water to ensure the water flow never reaches above a pre-set temperature. For older faucets without anti-scald mechanisms, this is often dealt with on the water heater itself, where controls can be adjusted or added that place additional regulations on the water temperature as well.

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History Of the Shower & Evolution of the Bath Shower Faucet

In ancient times, showers were a luxury only the wealthy and upper class could afford. Often times, the well off residents of the city would gather in large bath houses, since the bathing practice was more of a social event than a hygiene issue. Trips to bath houses would often take several hours if not the entire day and involved relaxing in natural hot springs, receiving massages from the slaves employed to work there, eating and being fed lavish meals, socializing with the opposite sex, and even showering. The practice of showering, however, was much different from how we know it today. In ancient times, in fact, the showers were not automatic at all and instead involved the individual stepping into a corridor or private chamber while the slaves seated on scaffolds above would pour buckets of hot water down upon the bather.

As the process became more and more popular, the slaves would sometimes funnel the water through long pipes that had small holes running their entire length, offering more of a rain shower effect. As times went on, many wealthy patrons would also have personal bathing chambers built in their homes, utilizing their own household staff to assist with the bathing and showering procedures. The concept of the bath house slowly faded and the concept of private baths in the home quickly grew in popularity. As indoor plumbing became possible, the practice gradually became an option for middle class families as well.

Visual Appeal Of Shower Faucets

While kitchen and bathroom sink faucets tend to be more visually out in the open, shower faucets tend to be hidden, often tucked away discreetly behind shower curtains or shower doors and panels. Unfortunately, this was one of the primary reasons manufacturers tended to put much less thought in the visual appeal of shower faucets than other, more noticeable, plumbing fixtures. Thankfully, as more and more consumers demand elegant and beautiful bathroom accessories, that are also highly functional as well, a new emphasis has been placed on the visual appeal of the bathroom shower faucet in general. Once more attention began getting paid to showers, the race was on to improve the overall design and functionality of the bath shower faucets themselves.

Basic Shower Faucet Designs

Original stand alone shower faucets consisted of water control lever and a shower head. The control determined the flow of water and the temperature, while the shower head directed the water in the proper direction. If the shower was part of a bathtub unit, tub and shower faucets worked together to control both water controls for the bathtub as well as the shower. Even today, many tub and shower faucet sets are sold together, ensuring ideal compatibility and visual coordination. These were the basic designs upon which modern tub shower faucets were built.

Contemporary Tub Shower Faucet Design

Unlike older tub shower faucets that focused solely on directing water at a specified temperature and flow to the shower head itself, contemporary faucet sets gave added thought to other functional details that could be included with the unit as well. One of the most common features involved a separate control that allowed users to change the pattern of the water flow, offering lighter mist flows, as well as harder concentrated jets of water. While basic shower faucets often came with two or three pattern choices, more advanced designs could be found with as many as ten or fifteen varying patterns.

For consumers that preferred a specific method of water delivery, specialty shower faucets also gained in popularity. One of the most popular designs is commonly referred to as the rain forest effect, using large flat shower heads to create a light rain effect that covers a larger surface area. Advanced designs also included several row of shower head bar that ran above the shower unit, offering a rain like effect that encompassed the entire bathing area. Kohler shower faucets and Delta shower faucets are just a few of the names that sell specialty rain- like shower heads in a range of price points.

Another popular feature in contemporary shower faucet sets was the waterfall design. Instead of breaking the water flow into smaller streams, these faucets allowed the water to be dispersed in a true waterfall effect, closely resembling what one would experience when bathing in nature. While this design, along with rain shower faucets, may not have originally been the most environmentally friendly designs, often using much more water than traditional shower faucets, they have been modified in recent years to mix a certain percentage of air in with the water flow, keeping the water pressure steady while also greatly reducing the overall amount of water being used.

One of the more spa like designs in shower faucets involves the concept of a full body shower. These not only provide an vertical water supply, they also use various pipes or tiles mounted on or into the shower wall to create a horizontal water movement as well. The tile designs are often seen in many designs in the Kohler shower faucet line, while Danze shower faucets offer similar vertical water diverters. Many of the Delta shower faucet collections offer a similar design, often focusing on more concentrated water pressure for a massage like feel.  As always, shower faucets come in a variety of price points, with a Danze shower faucet often being one of the most affordable.

Shower Faucet Styles

While many consumers may think that shower faucets always fall into one of two categories with regards to style, traditional and contemporary, there is actually a third category as well, antique. Even contemporary faucets can be further separated into standard contemporary and ultra-modern.

Antique shower faucets tend to rely on heavy curves and detail work to convey a sense of aged beauty. Likewise, ultra modern designs focus on minimalist designs, clean lines, and ultra-sheik construction. Antique faucets often rely on double controls, with one lever or knob for each the hot and cold water supplies, while modern designs opt for the cleaner construction capacity of single lever controls. Modern faucets are slowly taking their designs even further into the future, often including sleeker joystick water controls for a more unique visual appeal. Traditional designs, on the other hand, tend to fall nicely in between antique and ultra modern, often taking cues from both design styles to create more of a time neutral shower faucet, ideal for any décor.

It is believed that as the design of the shower faucet continues to progress, the overall unit will become even more streamlined, while also possessing even more features than today’s models have. With the continued love of vintage and antique styled bathrooms, however, there is little chance that more ornate shower faucet supplies will begin dwindling anytime soon, continuing the unique visual diversity that makes the shower faucet market so versatile.

Shower Faucet Construction

Aside from the basic functionality that goes into a shower faucet, there are also a number of materials to choose from for the shower faucet to be constructed from. The primary materials used for shower faucet construction are steel, nickel, copper, and bronze. Within each metal category are also a number of possible finish choices, ideal for creating a visually balanced shower faucet for any décor.

Nickel and steel are possible the two most popular choices for creating shower faucets from. Both metals offer a beautiful silver gray appearance, while also being extremely durable. Steel and nickel are not only able to tolerate extremely high temperatures and long periods of heavy use, when properly maintained, they are also highly resistant to corrosion. The most popular finishes used with nickel and steel are often brushed and high polished finishes. Brushed nickel shower faucets, for example, offer a lustrous silver finish with a textured brushed detail to add an additional level of elegance and sophistication. High polished steel faucets, on the other hand, are ideal for lighter color palettes and in bathrooms where a more traditional look is sought, as high polished fixtures and faucets were often the material of choice for most consumers.

Copper and bronze shower faucets are also available, but somewhat less versatile in their design. For the most part, these colors are reserved for antique inspired bathrooms, a time when bronze fixtures were common, or in a bathroom with more of an international flair, where copper is a frequent occurrence.

Regardless of whether you have a brushed nickel shower faucet, a satin bronze faucet, or any other combination of metals and finishes, a beautiful shower faucet is just the thing to add a new dimension of beauty and function to an otherwise bland bathroom.

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What Are Folding Shower Doors?

Most bathtubs are built with a shower feature as well, offering the bather two types of bathing methods. While shower curtains are the cheapest way to create a partition between the shower area and the bathroom when using the shower, some consumer prefer something a little more durable and permanent. Because of this, shower doors are often used which attach to the wall of the tub and mount into a frame installed just below the ceiling. While some doors slide on a track, others fold in on themselves. Folding shower were doors are most commonly found in two varieties that incorporate either one large fold or several smaller folds.

What Types Of Folding Shower Doors Are Available?

Bi-fold doors essentially fold in half onto themselves. The door is attached to the mounting track at both far ends of the door, and the center portion of the door is hinged which allows it to fold. By folding in half, the shower door takes up much less space than it would if it were an out swing door. Bi-fold doors can be made of glass or plexiglass, offering the consumer a wide range of design options to choose from. Glass doors can be transparent or opaque, smooth or textured, and plain or patterned. Bi-fold doors tend to be the most common styles used in bathrooms that are not necessarily limited to space constraints, as they tend to be the more elegant of the two types of folding door designs.

Accordion doors, on the other hand, contain several folds within their structure. Since glass and plexiglass tend to be somewhat rigid in design, accordion doors are often made of more flexible materials that can better accommodate the numerous folds. Accordion doors are preferred in bathrooms with limited square footage since they require very little additional clearance space outside of the shower are in order to be able to open and close properly.

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What Are Custom Shower Doors?

A custom shower door is one that is created based on your exact specifications. True custom pieces will allow you to choose the exact size of the door, the materials it is made from, the color and texture of the door, and even that type and design of the hardware used to mount the door. While having to pick all of these specs may seem daunting, you will typically be given a list of possible choices from which to pick. While the shower door is a custom piece, its creation more resembles a mix and match process.

Why Would I Need A Custom Shower Door?

While the majority of shower enclosures and tub enclosures have standard size openings for their doors, some are an exception to the rule. Custom designed enclosures may, at times, be created with non standard size doors. If the existing door were ever to become damaged, a new custom door would have to be ordered that would match the opening within the enclosure frame.

If you are somewhat picky when it comes to overall bathroom design, you may find several doors that bear individual features that suit your desired look. They are not necessarily, however, all found on the same door. In these cases, you can take pictures of or note down the specific elements of each feature from the various doors that you do like, and work with a custom designer to bring all of the elements together into one piece.

Because the demand for custom shower doors has risen over the years, many manufacturers offer the chance for consumers to create and order custom pieces. Even the bigger names in the business offer the mix and match process for their clients, giving them the ability to create a pseudo custom door based on a pre-set list of available and combinable options. This method of customization may be slightly more costly than buying a pre-designed shower door, but is still not as expensive as having a complete custom shower door made from scratch.

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What Is An Outdoor Shower?

Just as the name implies, it is a shower that is installed or used outdoors. Outside showers can be either fixed and permanent installations or portable units, depending on the specific need they are designed to meet.

Fixed Outdoors Showers

The most common reason people choose a fixed outdoor shower installation is to provide a bathing area convenient to their pool or spa. Since the water used in the pool contains so many various chemicals, many people prefer a quick rinse off each time they exit the pool in order to wash the chemicals off their skin and out of their hair. These units can also be found on public beaches to allow swimmers the same chance to wash the salty ocean water from their body before leaving the beach for the day.

These types of showers also come in very handy after a long day of working outdoors, perfect for washing away at least a portion of the dirt before going back inside to finish cleaning off. This quick wash off can also help to avoid tracking excess dirt or other debris into the house.

In the Japanese cultures, the use of soaking tubs is very common. These are large bathtub like fixtures designed for bathing and relaxation. The majority of the actual bathing, however, takes place in an outdoor shower as the people of the country prefer to enter the soaking tub with their bodies already having been cleaned. The cleansing process that occurs in the soaking tub is designed more for the mind than it is for the body.

Many environmentalists are also starting to realize the benefits of showering outdoors. While most people believe that the soaps and shampoos used during the bathing process would be harmful to the environment, many products are available that have no negative effects when exposed to plants or trees. This allows consumers who wish to conserve water to use the run off shower water for other purposes, such as watering flowers and plants to caring for their lawns. The water can either be collected into a bucket or other container via a drain, or it can simply be routed into a run off drain that disperses onto the yard.

These various types of permanent outdoor showers are connected to standard plumbing lines and typically have the same hot and cold water features that an indoor shower would possess. Some beach and pool showers may be limited to cold water, but after a day of being in the heat of the sun, the cold water can be quite refreshing. Home installed outdoor showers are often build with some type of enclosure that surrounds them offering a level of privacy to the bather. This may be anything from a basic shower curtain on a circular rod, to an elaborate and decorative fenced in area.

Portable Outdoor Showers

A portable outdoor shower is most often found in the possession of an avid camper. Outdoor camping showers are a perfect way to bring a small bit of the luxuries from home out into the wilderness with you. While most people use a basic outdoor camping shower that contains a water reservoir that can be filled at local streams or rivers, other prefer to bring their own water with them. Many high end camping shower can also be purchased with a built in propane water heater, allowing the campers access to hot water while out in the wilderness. The reservoir tanks are typically designed to be broken down into a flat configuration to make storage and transportation easier.

While the number of outdoor toilets has declined significantly over the years, aside from the units used for large sporting events or other public gatherings, the number of outdoors showers seems to be rising. Many consumers simply enjoy the feeling of being able to bathe outdoors, regardless of the environmental or practical benefits. Others value outdoor showers for the various conveniences they do provide. For campers outdoor showers are just another way to make their camping experiences slightly more comfortable, while still allowing them to enjoy the outdoors for all its beauty and wonder.

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Why Are Bathroom Glass Shower Doors So Popular?

One of the main reasons the rise of the bathroom glass shower door has been so substantial is credited to their sheer beauty. Glass doors provide an instant sense of upscale design to any bathroom, as well as offering a unique visual appeal. For consumers looking to make a small bathroom seem larger, transparent glass doors prevent the shower area from being partitioned off from the rest of the bathroom area, increasing the overall visibility of the actual square footage within the room. In larger bathrooms, transparent glass doors offer the same illusions of a completely open space, catering well to consumers who prefer open floor plans within their bathrooms.

What Types Of Glass Shower Doors Are Available?

For the most part, glass shower doors are available in two basic categories, sliding doors and hinged doors.

Sliding glass shower doors are commonly found in bathrooms that contain a traditional bathtub and show combination. The track for the door is mounted onto the outer lip of the bathtub and connected to the supporting wall the bathtub is situated against. The sliding glass shower door is them mounted into the bottom track and connected to an upper track. The upper tack can be mounted to the bathroom ceiling, as is often the case in bathrooms with lower ceiling heights, or it can be at a fixed point a foot or two from the ceiling, once again dependent on the overall ceiling height in the bathroom. Mounting the upper track below ceiling height is the most common option, as it allows for greater airflow in the shower area and bathroom in general.

Hinged glass shower doors are more commonly found in walk in shower enclosures. Operating the same way as a traditional door in the home, the hinged door is mounted on frame which is built into the shower enclosure itself. The most common styles swing outward, however, some models designed for smaller space can either swing inwards or pivot on their center point. This eliminates the need to have the full out swing area kept clear within the bathroom to allow for proper door function.

What Other Options Are Available?

Frameless doors are also gaining in popularity, offering a more streamlined appearance and a sleeker design. Instead of being set into a frame, the door hardware is mounted directly onto the glass. The outer edges of the glass door are left exposed, instead of being covered by framing material, which can sometimes cheapen the look of the door itself. In order to prevent injury, the outer edges are rounded off to a smooth finish and then often coated with a thin layer of silicone, increasing the safety of having the edges exposed in such a manner.

Custom glass shower doors are becoming more widely available as well. While many bathroom designers will specialize in custom pieces, the larger names in bathroom fixture and accessory design are also beginning to offer custom order options. A custom glass shower door allows the consumer to present the exact specifications they desire. The option is ideal when an irregular or non standard size door is needed. Custom doors are also highly valued by consumers with unique tastes in visual aesthetics. Frosted glass shower doors are one of the most frequently customized designs. While the door sizes and shapes are standard, customizing the pieces allows consumers to choose the various designs that can be laser or acid etched into the glass door, providing them with the chance for a true one of a kind work of art for their bathroom. While floral designs remain quite popular, unusual geometric designs are being seen more frequently in modern bathroom environments. Custom doors also allows for consumer chosen colors to be used to tint the glass, allowing perfect cohesion between the shower door and the overall décor and color theme of the bathroom itself.

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What Are Shower Doors Used For?

There are two basic bathroom configurations that require the use of shower doors, walk in shower enclosures and bathtub showers. Bathtub showers do not require the use of a door, often relying on a simple shower curtain to create a partition. The use of bathtub shower doors, however, remains somewhat common.

Walk In Shower Doors

A walk in shower is essentially an area of the bathroom that has been sectioned off for use as a shower fixture. Walk in showers are ideal for small bathrooms where traditional bathtubs would take up too much space. They are also common in master bathrooms as a secondary installation to a larger bathtub. Because of the way they are constructed, a shower door is needed to create a water barrier and protect the bathroom area.

Bathtub Shower Doors

In some cases, a consumer will have a traditional bathtub that they use as a shower on a frequent basis. While many people prefer the affordability of shower curtains, as well as their ability to be changed frequently to match or create a décor, others would rather have a more permanent and durable solution. A bathtub shower door is designed to mount into a frame that is mounted at the bottom to the bathtub and at the top to the bathroom ceiling, sometimes slightly lower to allow for greater air circulation.

What Types Of Shower Doors Are There?

The first thing to determine when shopping for a shower door is which style of shower you wish to have. Choosing between bath shower doors and stand alone shower doors essentially cuts your design options in half, significantly reducing the number of designs you will have to consider. The next big step is to determine the type of movement you wish the door to have, sliding, folding or hinged.

Sliding Shower Doors

Sliding shower doors are also commonly known as bypass shower doors and can be used on both walk in shower and bathtub shower fixtures. They are created using two basic components, a fixed frame and a moveable door. A bypass shower door is ideal for small areas since the process of opening and closing the door does not effect the space the door occupies. Instead, the door slides along a track that is built into the frame. While most bypass systems feature a single sliding panel, some larger enclosures may have dual panels installed. Consumers with traditional shower enclosures tend to prefer these sliding tub shower doors over other models because of their ability to allow the bather to easily switch between showers and baths.

Folding Shower Doors

The next most common design for bathtub and shower combination installations are folding shower doors. Often found in two basic designs, bi-fold and accordion, folding bath shower doors take up slightly more space than sliding models, but still less than hinged designs. Bi-fold doors are, as their name implies, bath shower doors that are created in two pieces designed to fold in on itself. The accordion style door is often made from slightly more flexible materials and can incorporate several folds into its design. While this type of doors can be designed to work with shower enclosures, they are most often found in use as a tub shower door.

Hinged Shower Doors

For walk in shower enclosures in particular, hinged shower doors are the most common choice. A hinged shower door is simply a swinging door, just like those found throughout your house. Often made of glass or plexiglass, the door swings outward to allow entry to the shower enclosure. Hinged doors tend to work best in larger bathrooms, as the outward swing requires what can be a significant amount of clearance. Many consumers fail to take the out-swing space required into account when selecting a hinged door and end up trying to install a door that is unable to open all the way.

What Are Shower Doors Made From?

The two most common materials fr shower door construction are glass and plexiglass. Both materials have their benefits, allowing each to appeal to specific groups of consumers.

Glass Shower Doors

Of the two styles, glass shower doors are the most elegant. They offer an incredible level of durability and excellent safety features. Since the glass used is tempered, the chances of breakage are significantly reduced and, if a breakage were to occur, the fragments of glass would be smooth instead of sharp. While tinted colors of glass are available, most people choose either a basic transparent door, a frosted glass door, or a textured glass door. The downside to glass shower doors, however, are their tendency to be somewhat higher on the price scale than other options.

Plexiglass Shower Doors

While glass shower doors may be the more elegant of the two styles, plexiglass doors are the more affordable. The standards behind plexiglass creation have improved over the years, allowing it the basic look of glass from a distance. Some consumers even prefer plexiglass over standard glass because of the warmer temperature it will maintain when compared to glass. The downside to plexiglass shower doors is the fact that they tend to be offered in a smaller range of design options than glass doors.

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What Is A Shower Valve?

While many people may not be familiar with the term shower valve, most everyone would know the component by sight. The shower valve is the portion of the shower, mounted below the actual shower head, that controls both the water flow and the water temperature. Shower valves can still be decorative in appearance, but are designed for function above all. They come in two basic designs, each featuring their own particular features, a single lever model and a double ever model.

Single Level Shower Valves

While most bathtubs and shower combination fixtures are commonly found with double lever water controls, many stand alone shower units are equipped with single lever models. With a single lever shower valve, there is one knob or lever that controls both the hot and cold water temperature, as well as the overall water flow. The temperature is typically controlled by turning the level either right or left, with one direction increasing temperature and the other decreasing it. Likewise, the up and down motion of the lever will often control how heavy or light the total water flow is.

Internally, the valves have a control device that opens and closes the flow from the hot and cold water pipes according to the temperature and flow selected by the bather. For hotter water temperature, the flow from the cold water pipes is partially blocked, while the hot water pipes are opened up to allow more water through.

Single lever shower valves are ideal for smaller bathing ares, as they take up less room than the double lever valves and are mounted at the center point of the shower wall.

Double Level Shower Valves

Unlike the single lever designs, double lever shower valves have independent controls for the hot and cold water. The temperature of the water is determined by the amount of flow the user releases from with lever. The flow of the water is controlled in the same manner as well.

While the basic operation of both single and double lever shower valves is the same, many people prefer the double valve design because of the more traditional look they tend to possess.

What Other Shower Valve Variations Are There?

Thermostatic Shower Valves

A thermostatic shower valve is a device that is installed to hep prevent scalding water from being able to enter the shower head. Most everyone has experienced the unpleasant shock that can occur when taking a nice warm shower when someone else in the house decides to start a load of laundry, flush a toilet, or start the dishwasher. While this can result in an uncomfortable brief cold shower, it can also create a dangerous scalding shower. A thermostatic shower valve is designed to maintain the water temperature below a certain temperature at all times. It also works to regulate the flow of the hot and cold water, ensuring that any other devices being used at the same time cannot effect the steady flow being used in the shower.

For the most part, thermostatic shower valves are installed on most modern fixtures as a safety precaution. Because of this, there is little risk of extreme hot or cold fluctuations in the shower, regardless of which other appliances in the house are being used. This doesn’t mean, however, that most people aren’t still cautious of the dreaded toilet flush while they are taking a shower.

Diverter Shower Valves

A diverter shower valve can be used for two main purposes. Most commonly, they are used to control whether the water in the bathing area is released from the shower head or the bath tub spout. They operate most often on a simple plunger design, where pulling the plunger up forces the water flow into the shower head and pushing it down diverts the water to the bath spout. Diverter valves can also be connected exclusively to the shower. They are designed to switch between hand held shower heads and fixed shower heads, in units that have both devices installed. Most will also have halfway settings that allow the water flow to be dispersed form both portions of the shower head, both fixed and hand held.

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What Is A Shower Head Filter?

A shower head filter works in the same way as other water filtration systems most people have installed on their kitchen faucets or built into water pitcher filtering systems. Often utilizing various forms of charcoal, the filters are designed to attach onto your existing shower head and help remove contaminants from the water as it passes through the shower head. Shower head filters come in a variety of shapes and sizes, designed to fit nearly any model of shower head on the market. Universal filters are also available that can be cut down to fit your specific model.

What Can Shower Head Filters Eliminate?

The primary conditions shower head filters are designed to address are hard water, soft water, sulfur, and chlorine. Hard water tends to leave a residue behind and is extremely difficult to get clean with. Soft water, on the other hand, can often possess a distinct sulfur odor that many consumers find difficult to deal with. Many consumers also find it extremely difficult to perform routine cleaning tasks when the water levels are not properly balanced. Hard water leaves a residue when cleaning as well, while soft water may make it difficult to get an area clean at all. A shower head filter will help to properly balance the pH levels in the water to eliminate the qualities of both hard and soft water.

Water with a high chlorine content is often a sever skin irritant and can cause issues with individuals who have sensitive eyes, skin, or those who color their hair. By removing the chlorine from the water in the shower, the filter can greatly improve the overall quality of the water while reducing potential irritation issues.

Shower head filters are also designed to eliminate a number of other various contaminants. While they may not be as severe as the others mentioned, they can still potentially cause skin reactions and make cleaning tasks more of a chore than they have to be.

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What Are Dual Shower Heads?

In a standard shower, the plumbing lines for the shower are connected to a single shower head. Bathroom fixture designers have recently decided to expand on this design, adding an additional shower head to the water line. The double shower head designs are offered in a variety of styles, each designed with a specific function in mind.

Vertical Double Shower Heads

The most common style of dual shower head is the vertical design. This features two shower heads, one positioned above the other. Vertical setups are ideal when varying water pressure or water pattern is desired for the upper and lower portions of the body. The upper shower head can be used on a lighter setting, ideal for general bathing and hair washing, while the lower shower head can be set to a massage like setting and aimed at the bather’s back.

Horizontal Double Shower Heads

The most common use for a horizontal dual shower head is to allow two bathers to share the shower area at the same time. It also allows for each bather to choose their own water setting preferences, as opposed to having to constantly switch settings back and forth on a single shower head.

Adjustable Double Shower Heads

Because of their general design, some models of dual shower heads can work as both vertical and horizontal designs. The bar that the shower heads are mounted on can be constructed on a rotating pivot, allowing for the directional change as needed. This allows for single bathers to utilize both shower heads, or two people to use the shower at one time.

Overhead Double Shower Heads

For shower areas that tend to be rather long, overhead dual shower heads are an option. Often designed in a style similar to rain shower heads, the overhead designs are typically ceiling mounted and, similar to the horizontal mounted designs, intended for use by two bathers at one time.

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