7 replies to this topic

[StevenC]

This is my first post to the forum, so hi everybody. This looks like a great site. I'm 32, T3 complete SCI, 9 yrs post injury. This is the first time I've reached out but I've come across quite a dilemma. We have a new house with a nice big shower with a built in bench. We have a showerhead that is like a normal showerhead with a handheld one coming off of it, and a switch valve thing at the top to change the water flow to either come out of the shower head or the handheld piece. The problem is I can't reach it, so I have to get the wife to come in and switch it every time I want to take a shower.

Can anyone point me to a showerhead with a handheld piece that I would be able to switch over on my own? Any other suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!
Steve

[Hapahowlee]

Hi Steve ~ Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will receive a ton of useful information as well as give some too. We also have a lot of fun. Great to have you with us.

I'm AB and married to a quad. Our house was brand new when we moved into it in July of 2002. We had a built-in/fold down or up shower bench installed. I don't know where you are located, but I'm in the U.S., Arizona to be exact and I just went to Target and most of their shower massagers had the switch around the massager end. There are many types out there, but I hate shopping and only checked out a couple of stores before I decided on the one at Target. The brand I bought is Nature's Mist and I just make it a habit to leave the head on the ground so hubby can reach it when he gets into the shower.

I did see the type you are referring to, but I figured it would cause a problem if I would forget to switch from the regular head to the handheld. Plus, I only keep the shower head hooked up top for half of my shower and then I do one last hand rinse so I can remember to leave the head down.

Have you had this shower head long? We actually went through 3 brands before we decided on the one we are using. They were all fine for me, but if my husband had a difficult time switching the type of massage he wanted, I'd take it back and try another. If it's too late for you to take yours back then the only thing I can think of for you to do is to have your wife get into the habit of switching the valve over when she's finished with her shower.

Good luck ~ Hapa

Edited by Hapahowlee, 07 April 2009 - 02:10 AM.

[StevenC]

Thanks!! Is this the shower you guys have? For the life of my I can't find one with the switch near the handheld part:

http://www.amazon.co...w...3760&sr=1-4

I cant tell where the switch is on that one.

Here is one from target but it also looks like the switch is at the top:

http://www.target.co...t...mist&page=1

Our showerhead we have now is going out, so yeah we are looking to buy a new one.

Steve

Hapahowlee, on Apr 6 2009, 09:06 PM, said:

Hi Steve ~ Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will receive a ton of useful information as well as give some too. We also have a lot of fun. Great to have you with us.

I'm AB and married to a quad. Our house was brand new when we moved into it in July of 2002. We had a built-in/fold down or up shower bench installed. I don't know where you are located, but I'm in the U.S., Arizona to be exact and I just went to Target and most of their shower massagers had the switch around the massager end. There are many types out there, but I hate shopping and only checked out a couple of stores before I decided on the one at Target. The brand I bought is Nature's Mist and I just make it a habit to leave the head on the ground so hubby can reach it when he gets into the shower.

I did see the type you are referring to, but I figured it would cause a problem if I would forget to switch from the regular head to the handheld. Plus, I only keep the shower head hooked up top for half of my shower and then I do one last hand rinse so I can remember to leave the head down.

Have you had this shower head long? We actually went through 3 brands before we decided on the one we are using. They were all fine for me, but if my husband had a difficult time switching the type of massage he wanted, I'd take it back and try another. If it's too late for you to take yours back then the only thing I can think of for you to do is to have your wife get into the habit of switching the valve over when she's finished with her shower.

Good luck ~ Hapa

[russ1]

Aqualisa Quartz here

superb shower with full thermostatic control - can't recommend it highly enough

[Hapahowlee]

We actually just opted for the single shower head b/c we didn't want to encounter the problem you are having and also I do like to take the showerhead down at the end of my shower to rinse off really well all the way down to my toes. So that's a good way to remind myself to keep the showerhead down off the hook so hubby can reach it when he goes in. We bought one with a 6 ft. hose and it’s great for cleaning the shower too.

Just curious if your home was already built or did you have it built and modified? We had our home built and the model we chose has a very open floor plan. Fortunately, we really didn't have that many changes for the builder to make. If this were our house forever, we would have totally redone the entire bathroom.

Oh just a thought regarding the finish on the showerhead, the nickel tends to come off easily. It didn't take long for that to happen to ours. It still works fine, but just looks like crap.

Steve, I think you might just have to get your wife to get in the habit of switching before she leaves the shower area. Or, maybe you can consult with a plumber to see if there is a way to switch the valve to the head you use.

StevenC, on Apr 6 2009, 08:09 PM, said:

Thanks!! Is this the shower you guys have? For the life of my I can't find one with the switch near the handheld part:

http://www.amazon.co...w...3760&sr=1-4

I cant tell where the switch is on that one.

Here is one from target but it also looks like the switch is at the top:

http://www.target.co...t...mist&page=1

Our showerhead we have now is going out, so yeah we are looking to buy a new one.

Steve

Edited by Hapahowlee, 09 April 2009 - 01:44 AM.

[mjrcpd]

We had our home built post injury. We have a large shower with wife's shower controls and high mounted shower head on one wall, and my seperate controls and handheld shower on another wall. Both are individual controls and work apart from eachother. We could both shower at the same time choosing our own H2O temps. Just a thought for you...... Good luck and welcome to the forum. An awesome resource for all of us.

[dexter]

I just have one of the girls that is showering me switch it over. All I really do is just sit there and let them do the work.

Maybe I will be lucky enough to control my own showers down the road.

[StevenC]

Thanks to everyone for the help. The wife doesn't want a single shower head that we can just take on and off so it looks like I'm stuck having her switch it over for me. Not that big a deal. Actually if I could get a more sturdy reacher than I currently have, I could use it to grip the switch and turn it myself...

Now off to try to find that

Steve