Help me have a shower

December 23, 2010 10:19 AM

How do I kludge up a shower attachment in my bathroom?

Situation: a bathroom with a tub faucet but no shower head.
Challenge: attaching something somehow to the tub faucet spout so that I can have a shower of some kind. I don't mind if it's a handheld shower spray thingy. But it has to be a) leakproof and b) removable without damaging the tub faucet spout.

(Is spout even the right word for the place where the water comes out? I'm a complete plumbing ignoramus).

posted by storybored to home & garden (6 answers total)

Does the faucet have any kind of threading?
posted by Hylas at 10:22 AM on December 23, 2010

How about this?
posted by Hylas at 10:23 AM on December 23, 2010

It really depends on just what kind of fittings your bath has.

The spout on our tub is internally threaded so it screws onto a standard-size threaded pipe which sticks out of the wall (sorry no pics). So the spout can be unscrewed and it would be simple to screw a flexible shower attachment on instead, though you might need some intermediate bits from the hardware store.

Note that our spout was VERY stiff to unscrew. I replaced it (~$10) because it was funky, so didn't mind damaging it. You may want to check that you can get a replacement in case yours is damaged by removal.

A push-on rubber attachment like Hylas pointed to could be good, but those don't seem to be sold round here. If they were, I'd use a wormdrive clip to hold the fitting tightly on the spout.
posted by anadem at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2010

See if the landlord will install an afterthought shower
posted by Gungho at 11:34 AM on December 23, 2010

Our tub faucet has a diverter spout for a shower. You will also need a rail and curtain, and a mount for hands free use.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:58 AM on December 23, 2010

Thanks for the ideas, folks!

Hylas, i didn't know about the portable shower attachment. So I poked around on Amazon and also found this and this. The reviews say they only fit round tub spouts (mine is a little squarish) and it also has issues with high water pressure.

oneirodynia, that's a neat suggestion. I'm not sure I can remove my existing spout. I'll look into that.

I suspect i may have to go the DIY route. Anyone have suggestions on how to clamp on to a squarish spout?
posted by storybored at 8:07 AM on December 24, 2010