Imagine moving into a leased apartment, and you decide the shower head is the one thing you need to change in the bathroom. Can you replace the shower head in a rented apartment?
It’s normal to seek such changes because a shower head can make a massive difference in your bathing experience. So, what if you want a rain shower head, but you discovered the regular one is what your new apartment has. There could be other reasons for you to desire to change the shower head.
But the question is can you change it? Keep reading to find the answers to this question, and many more you need to know about changing shower head in a leased apartment.
Can You Change The Shower Head in Your Apartment?
Yes, why not. You can change your shower head if you’re not comfortable with what your new apartment has. But before you begin, check your lease agreement for changes you can and can’t make on the apartment.
You can also ask your landlord if you can change the shower head in your apartment. But if you feel like doing so will appear embarrassing to you, approach fellow tenants like yourself or go with what the lease agreement states.
If there’s a clause in your lease agreement that forbids you from changing your apartment’s shower head, then honor the agreement. It’s better to quit the apartment if you find any clause on the lease agreement too harsh than actually violating it.
There’s also a piece of advice for you. If there is no clause forbidding you from changing the shower head, then go ahead and change it to your taste. But after you remove the current shower head, keep it somewhere you can easily retrieve it.
Before you move out of the apartment, ensure you re-install the shower head you met there, even if yours is high quality.
Do not leave yours there because it’s better quality and you feel you’re doing the landlord a favor. Just replace the former shower head and walk away to avoid getting yourself into an avoidable problem or false accusations.
How Do You Check Your Lease For Shower Head Rules?
Checking for shower head rules on a lease might seem like an easy thing to do, but it’s not. And what makes it so are the legal terms that are sometimes confusing. But it’s worth checking before you make any changes to your new apartment.
No court of law would pardon you for claiming you are ignorant after violating a clause in your lease agreement. So it’s better to take the time to check the agreement properly to know where you stand.
If you want to check your lease agreement to know the shower head rules stated by your landlord, here are a few steps to take.
Step 1: Open your lease
Your lease may include both soft and hard copies, which, literarily, makes searching for the shower head rules in your lease agreement a lot easier and quicker.
However, for this process, a digital copy of your lease agreement is what you’re going to need. Now open the digital document on your laptop and get ready to start searching.
Step 2: Open the search bar
Once the document is opened, it is time to start the search. And here, you would need to access the search bar on the document to begin the search.
A short-cut to opening the search bar is to enter CTRL+F on your keyword (if you’re using a laptop).
Step 3: Search digital doc with the appropriate keyword
Now that the “Search Bar” is open on your digital lease agreement, you can start searching for the rules you seek.
Our primary focus is to locate the shower head rules and everything related to showerheads. So the right keyword would be “shower.”
You can use “shower head,” but since with “shower” everything pops up, continue to use that.
However, if there are shower head rules in your lease agreement, they will undoubtedly be displayed before your very eyes. And you should read and ensure you understand every detail therein.
But if there are no shower head rules, then you’re free to change the shower head in your new apartment. Unless there’s a verbal agreement between you and the landlord, no one will challenge you for such changes.
Nevertheless, verbal agreements don’t hold water in the court of law, do they? So the only thing that can stop you from changing the shower head is if the landlord included it in the lease agreement sent to you.
Step 4: Search using “plumbing” as your keyword
Even if your search using the keyword “shower” didn’t yield any result, don’t start changing the shower head yet, until you have tried some other related keywords and exhausted your options.
One of such related keywords to shower or shower head is “plumbing.” And if you search carefully, you may find a couple of rules about plumbing fixtures, plumbing facilities and all.
Search using the keyword “plumbing” to see if you can find any rules relating to shower head changes. If there is none, then you are free to change the shower head.
Step 5: Understand the clauses
This is where most people encounter challenges. Lease documents are legal documents written by a lawyer. Hence, you may find a lot of confusing legal terminologies in them.
Nevertheless, if you can’t interpret what is written in the lease, find a lawyer friend or anyone to help with that. And make sure you understand every bit of the document to make the right decisions.
How Do You Change The Shower Head in a Rental Apartment?
Now that you have confirmed that you can change the shower head in your apartment, how do you want to go about it? Do you want to hire a professional plumber or test your DIY skills?
If you choose to use some DIY skills, then you’re in the right place. By the way, the process is quite simple if you know what you’re doing.
So how can you change your showerhead satisfactorily?
Step 1: Purchase your preferred shower head
Your first decision should be to purchase a brand new shower head if you haven’t done that. And ensure you choose the one you prefer for your new apartment.
Should you be worried about the shower head size? No. All shower heads are installed using the same universal fittings.
Step 2: Assemble the needed tools and materials
You’re going to need some tools and materials to install your new shower head. That’s for sure. So, invest some money into getting the needed tools if you don’t have them already.
Please don’t say it’s a waste of money because you might need the tools for other DIY projects or installations besides shower head.
So, what are the tools you need to remove the old shower head and install the new one? Here’s a list of the equipment you’re going to need.
- Plumber’s tape (Teflon tape).
- Adjustable wrench or pair of pliers
- The channel-lock pliers
- Brush (old or new one)
You would also need a rag or small cloth during the installation. You can get that from your home.
Now, look at the tools listed here. Which one of them do you already have? Again, remember to buy the working tools you don’t have for the task when buying your new shower head from the store.
Buying the shower head and tools at the same time will save you money, time, and energy.
Step 3: Get the old shower head off
Now that your working tools are ready and you have bought the new shower head, you need to start installing it.
The first thing you need to do is hold the shower arm firmly in place. The shower arm refers to the pipe that extends out from the wall.
Just put a rag around the shower arm and use your channel-lock pliers to hold it firmly in place.
You must ensure the shower arm is held firmly in place when unscrewing your old shower head. Otherwise, you might experience some leakage on the shower arm, which would compound the task for you.
How can you unscrew or remove the old showerhead?
First off, place a rag around the shower head’s base. Please ensure your shower arm is held firmly in place at this point.
Now place your wrench or pliers around the old showerhead’s base (on top of the rag), and move it anti-clockwise to unscrew it.
A Handy Tip: Please try to apply caution when losing the old shower head. You don’t want to dent or damage it. Once you loosen the shower head base a bit, you can drop the pliers and unscrew it with your bare hands.
Step 4: Clean up the shower arm
You need to clean up the shower arm pipe’s threads to make installation as easy and neat as possible. Use the brush to remove the old threads (if any is still on the shower arm) and clear off any dirt that may cause leakage or lower pressure after installing the new shower head.
You can clean the pipe thread the way you like. The primary objective is to get the dirt off the pipe so the new shower head can fit in.
Step 5: Apply your Teflon tape
Now wrap the Teflon tape around the pipe before placing your shower head. Ensure the tape is within 2-3 layers high so that there won’t be any leakage after installing the showerhead. And get the Teflon tape as close as possible to the pipe’s end.
Please note that most showerheads don’t require Teflon tape. So, you can read the instructions that accompanied your showerhead to find out if yours requires the tape or not.
Step 6: Install your showerhead
First and foremost, align the showerhead’s base with your shower arm’s end. Now keep screwing clockwise and gently too.
Furthermore, if you discover you can no longer tighten the shower head down the shower arm with your bare hands, use the pliers to give it one last turn. But ensure you have a rag on top of the new shower head before using your pliers on the showerhead to avoid scratching it.
Step 7: Test-run your new shower head
Turn on the shower and observe if there are any leakages from your new showerhead. If there are, the reason could be that you didn’t screw the shower head properly.
The Teflon tape layer, being too small, can also cause leakage of your shower head. Nevertheless, you can fix the problem by tightening the shower head or redoing the pipe threading using the Teflon tape.
The showerhead itself can also be the reason for the leakage. So, if there’s a leakage somewhere after installing your new shower head, check carefully before making any decision on what to do.
How Often Should You Change Your Shower Head?
The shower head is a necessary accessory in the bathroom, yet many people ignore it. An older showerhead can get moldy, leakage, or low pressure.
So, how often should one change a shower head?
The answer is 6 to 8 months. But if your area has hard water, please consider changing your shower head sooner. Why? Hard water contains loads of minerals that might build-up in the shower head over time.
What Other Legal Changes Can You Make To An Apartment?
Because it’s a rented apartment, many people think they can’t make any legal changes. Remember you paid for the apartment and the reason you did rent it is to enjoy some comfort.
Here are some legal changes you can make in your apartment to turn it into a home:
- Install a new security system
- Paint the kitchen cabinet
- Replace the flooring
- Change the door locks
- Change the landscape
- Paint any of the walls in the apartment
- Change the carpets in most of the rooms
Conclusion
It’s possible to change the shower head in an apartment. But before you do, find out if your lease agreement has rules that prohibit you from taking such steps. You can also install your new shower head by yourself. Just follow the steps listed in this post, and you can get it done satisfactorily.