Article - Water, Water Everywhere!

A hand-held shower is an inexpensive, versatile alternative that offers convenience and safety all in one. You can shower completely from a seated position, directing the water exactly where you want. You can also use a hand-held shower to bathe someone else.

A hand-held shower may include the following features:

• spray and massage selections

• pause functions

• the ability to attach it to a bar so that the height can be adjusted if you would prefer not to hold it.

Our sister site, AdaptMy.com, has a large selection of handheld showers, wall mounted handheld shower holders and slider bars.

Most Hand Held Showers with a pause button don't completely stop the water, they only slow it down to a dribble. Adding an On/Off Switch between your hand held shower head and the hose allows you to completely stop the flow of water without getting up from your seat. It eliminates the need to bend or reach for the controls on the other side of the tub.

Diverter valves that redirect the water let you add accessible hand-held showers to your bath without eliminating the existing shower-head or tub spout used by the rest of your family.

There are two types of diverters available to help manage a hand-held shower.

• a diverter attached to the shower head, allowing both a showerhead and a hand held show to be hooked up to the shower arm at the same time. A switch on the diverter allows water to flow either to the shower head or to the handheld shower.

• A tub diverter spout can be installed (preferably by a certified plumber) to enable use of either the tub spout or a hand-held shower.

If someone flushes a toilet while you are in the shower, does the water suddenly get extremely hot? Maybe your skin is not as sensitive to sensing water temperature as it should be. This a common occurrence for children and for older people, leaving them vulnerable to burns if the water is too hot.

The average water heater is often set at 120° or higher. This is too hot for direct exposure to skin, so it is usually mixed with some cold water to make the temperature safe. Unfortunately, if the cold water is suddenly unavailable there isn't anything to moderate the water temperature. The HydroGuard Scald Guard monitors the shower's water temperature and reduces the water flow to a trickle if it becomes hotter than 115°. Once the water goes below that temperature again, the shower will automatically return to a normal flow.

Barrier-free shower stalls are easier for people in wheelchairs or with limited mobility to get into. Unfortunately, if the water isn't draining as fast as it should you might end up with water all over your bathroom floor. This is a safety hazard. The Collapsible Water Dam is designed to allow wheelchairs and rolling shower chairs unrestricted access to a curbless shower. Made of a heavy duty foam, the Water Dam collapses when it is stepped on or rolled over. When the pressure is removed, the foam returns to it's original shape, preventing water from escaping.

Other options:

• a weighted shower curtain has weights in the hem to reduce the billowing that occurs in the shower. This keeps water in the shower pan where it belongs.

• Our sister site, AdaptMy.com also has corner splash guards that catch the dribbles at the entrance and guides them down into the tub.