When you’re cleaning your bathroom, the showerhead can often be forgotten about, but it’s important you clean it frequently.
Madame Sweat, a hygiene expert, warned on TikTok that the “small dark damp holes” in your showerhead are “loaded with bacteria” – which is a grim thought.
She alleged that “the bacteria is actually harmless” unless you are immunocompromised.
She shared that when the shower is turned on, the bacteria is airborne, but “what you don’t want to do is leave it to build up” because it’ll be “a real mess to clean up”.
That’s when she warned that you should “never ever use bleach to clear that up”.
“It seems like it’s logical, but in fact, it will increase the bacteria count by three times,” she said.
So what’s the alternative? “It’s as simple as cleaning with vinegar and water,” the expert reckons.
But why? “Vinegar is very acidic and will help all that lime[scale] come off, and a very simple way of not having to remove it is putting a bag full of it around the shower head and soaking it while it’s still attached.”
Madame Sweat admitted that she “hates cleaning the shower,” acknowledging that “everybody does,” but she said that this method makes it a lot easier.
Experts at Trade Plumbing have issued an urgent warning about bacteria on showerheads, however, and if they’re left for too long can cause some seriously problematic issues.
Research conducted by experts has found that dirty shower heads commonly harbour four main types of harmful bacteria.
They warn that each of them can result in a variety of health conditions:
Malassezia Fungi and Acanthamoeba – Causing eye conditions such as Blepharitis, and in rare cases, vision loss.
Malassezia Restricta – Causing scalp infections.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa – Causing ear infections.
Legionella bacteria – Extremely rare, but can result in the development of Legionnaires disease. This is more likely to be found in a public facility rather than the home.
Plumbing expert, Peter Clayton, says it’s not only important to clean your showerhead for health reasons, but also to improve the quality of your showers.
He explains: “The acid in white vinegar is successful at breaking down the mineral deposits and removing bacteria on your showerhead. However, it’s important to ensure you are using distilled white vinegar and not any other type as brown vinegar can stain your showerhead.”
