How clean is our shower head ?

Cleaned last week! [virtuous] emoticon!

I saw a tip for if you have a fixed shower head which is difficult to take down - put white vinegar in a freezer bag and secure over the shower head with an elastic band and leave overnight.

Cleaned yesterday. By DH I have to admit.

OMG, yet another thing to worry about. The (very remote) possibility of contracting Legionnaire's Disease from your showerhead!

Yes I was surprised to see my shower head had grot in the cracks. But I always leave the head and it's pipe lying down in the bath, so as to drain it. I don't think in the domestic situation it would cause any problem though, unless it was used an awful lot in which case the water temperature would stay warm.

Legionnaire's disease isn't rampant in domestic water supplies! How on earth can it 'be caught' from the dirty water from your showerhead...?

Nankate I agree with Ana. Legionnaires will only develop when water is standing around in pipes, war, for long periods.
I don't think there has ever been a case of anyone contracting it from a domestic water supply.
You're more likely to suffer something nasty from the bleach!

warm

Not Legionnaires, but I have heard that people have developed respiratory infections from mouldy shower heads.

There are plenty of examples of people contracting Legionnaires from potting compost. There is currently an information health campaign about this in New Zealand.

Mine was cleaned last week too mainly because the spray was getting very fine rather than a desire for cleanliness I have to say.

Not cleaned mine since before Christmas- so thanks for reminder. I soal it in alcohol vinegar, great cleaner and descaler and on 35 cts a litre at French supermarket.

I find it very reassuring that Legionaire's Disease is unlikely. Trouble is I often believe things I read in the newspaper which turn out to be wrong. The one positive thing I take from this is that I have a lovely clean shower head.

Absent You are right in a way, but this is what NHSChoices has to say, with reference to some American research:
"The Daily Telegraph today reported that a “daily shower could be hazardous”. It said that US researchers have found that shower heads are “breeding grounds for bacteria and when water is passed through them, they blast out the bugs”. One of the main microbes identified was Mycobacterium avium, which can cause respiratory infections mainly in people with a weak immune system or chronic respiratory disease."
www.nhs.uk/news/2009/09September/Pages/Showerheadsandlungdisease.aspx

However, it goes on to say
"This small study looked at the microbes in 45 shower heads from nine cities in the US. Although it did find the presence of mycobacteria and other bacteria, it did not look at whether using a shower actually increased the risk of mycobacterial or other infections. This research should not cause healthy individuals to be concerned about having showers, as the mycobacterium identified is unlikely to cause illness in people with a healthy immune system.
Mycobacteria avium is common in the environment. Further research is needed to determine whether or not shower heads are an important source of mycobacterial infection in immunocompromised individuals."

So in other words, some 'researchers' looked at 45 shower heads. Given that there must be many millions of shower heads in the US, this is an extremely small sample.
Although they did find some bacteria, which is only to be expected since bacteria are abundant in the environment, and only a few species are pathogenic, they did not actually bother to find out whether the people using those showers were more likely than other people to have suffered respiratory infections.
The bacteria they did find is only a problem for people with compromised immune systems.

So from this piece of non-research, The Daily Telegraph has created a scare story and some of you are using harsh chemicals on your shower heads quite unnecessarily.

I wipe the shower head over with a damp cloth from time to time, whenever I happen to notice any mould has appeared, which is not very often, and I think anything else is unnecessary.

It is amazing what grot you see if wearing reading glasses! I try not to wear mine in the bathroom. I rarely use my shower since retiring, prefer a soak in the bath. On the odd occasion that I clean the head, I up-end it in a vinegar solution.

Agree ana I don't think there have ever been any cases of Legionnaires caught from domestic showers. I only worry about bathroom hygiene if someone has got a bug. The rest is aesthetic. Anyone would think you were using them to strain your cocktail ingredients folks.

Airborne bugs are harmful too!

Our shower head is more inclined to get blocked by chalk deposits. Never seen mould on it.

I do agree about the glasses shysal.

I suppose you could use the cocktail stick to poke out the holes - after you'd eaten the cherry jess!

They could have pointed out that not having a daily shower (or a good wash) can be even more hazardus. All those bacteria collecting in your crevices waiting to kill you!

45 showers were "researched" in nine cities, with no control group of bath traps and face flannels? No correlation looked for between infection rates in people who shower and people who dont?

Just who did this "research" anyway? Was it possibly a manufacturer of shower disinfectants?

How about the overflow hole in the wash-basin? Did they swab that for bugs?

DH says it is unlikely for Legionella to form in a shower head that is in regular use. However, in hotels, hostels and other places where they may not be used constantly they should be dipped in a dilute form of bleach for at least half an hour once a month and then rinsed very thoroughly.

You can do this at home to be on the safe side. I do mine occasionally.

I would worry more if visiting a hotel, although haven't actually gone as far as doing this to the showerhead in our room when visiting one. Perhaps we should.
There have also been cases of Legionella caught from air-conditioning units which have not been properly maintained.

Oh the worries we have to cope with. My mum was so lucky- no shower at all just a bath on feet in a bathroom so cold it could freeze the ar*e of any legionnaire foolhardy enough to think of spreading his filthy French diseases.

Can't stop laughing Soutra.