Thursday, May 31, 2007

Full-Cone sprays, hollow sprays, and full-body shower spray coverage

Not all shower sprays are created equally. Not even all rain sprays are created equally. Shower spray functions can vary quite a bit between brands and sometimes even between different models from the same brand.

Next to maximizing water pressure, full-body spray coverage is one of the most important features customers look for in a shower head. Many shower heads have a "hollow" spray with the water going out in a perfect circular spray pattern, leaving an empty water-free area in the middle. Rainmaker-style shower heads, like the 4-inch Brass Rainmaker by Ondine eliminate this problem by having spray nozzles all over the face of the shower head. This works fine with single-function shower heads that may or may not adjust for intensity. However, multi-function showerheads, like ones with with aeration, mist, or massage sprays usually require different sized nozzles with different placement.

Some manufacturers have solved the problem by creating "Full-Cone" sprays. Full-Cone spray still have the nozzles set in a circular pattern, but instead of one ring of spray nozzles, there are 2 or 3 concentric spray nozzle patterns with the center ones pointing the water inward, eliminating the "hollow" center.

Another solution manufacturers have used to minimize the hollow center is by creating combination sprays, where the outer spray ring is a rain spray, but the inner spray nozzles feature specialty sprays. Combination shower sprays usually do provide for full body coverage, but because of the additional water coming out, are often less intense than a full-function spray.

Some shower heads carried by ShowerStore.com that feature full body spray coverage are:

Interbath Brass Watersaver Shower Head

Moen Asceri Rainfall Shower Head

Speakman Anystream 4-jet Brass Shower Head

Speakman Anystream 2000 Shower Head

Interbath InTouch Massage Shower Head

Interbath Tempest Shower Head

Interbath Quattro Massage Handheld Shower Head

Great Vibrations Monterey Handheld Shower Head

Great Vibrations Sunset Handheld Shower Head

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Question: I attempted two of the following product: Product: Shower Arm Diverter Valve by Interbath Model B28723. I received a message that only one was in stock. I need at least two and I don't want to pay double shipping. Will you get more in? Can I order two and just wait until you get more in?

Answer: At ShowerStore.com, we are currently looking for a new supplier of diverter valves, as well as shower heads, handheld shower heads, and other shower accessories. As of today, we don’t expect to be receiving any additional diverter valves in the very near future. Please check back at ShowerStore.com in the coming months as we increase our inventory of items. We may have more diverter valves, as well as additional shower heads and handheld showers, at that point. We apologize for any temporary inconvenience this may cause our customers.

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Comment: I would prefer this in glacier/pebble color accents if you have it available. I could not find a color choice on the website. Thank you.

Each product and finish carried by ShowerStore.com is shown on the website. If we carry multiple finishes of the same product, each finish will be listed individually on our website. Because of this, we can guarantee you will receive the item with the finish pictured on the website and not a substituted finish in the shower head, hand held shower head, or shower accessory you ordered. If you don't see a finish that you are interested in, email a request to us and we will do our best to try to start carrying that item.

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

At ShowerStore.com, we speak from experience

One of ShowerStore.com’s founders, Henning Zieger, is a veteran of the plumbing category. In 1971 his father founded Interbath, Inc., which helped bring the handheld shower – popular in Europe – to America. Zieger grew up in a shower head factory – literally. He worked summer jobs making showerhead prototypes, developing tooling for new showerheads, and designing brochures and packaging to help sell showerheads. In 1991 he took the position of Marketing Manager and through 1999 helped grow and develop Interbath and its high-end brand Ondine. In 1999 he founded Genau Design & Development, LLC – a marketing and advertising agency based in Southern California and, in turn, started ShowerStore.com in August 2005.

“We know showers inside and out,” continues Zieger. “We’ve designed them. We’ve manufactured them. We’ve seen thousands of shower installations. We’ve seen all the problems and challenges of getting a good shower in the morning. ShowerStore.com allows us to speak directly with consumers and the trade to share the knowledge we have gained over the years and help people everywhere have a better bathing experience.”


However, not only do we have a technical background in shower heads but we also enjoy broadening our personal knowledge of individual products by experiencing the items we sell. The staff at ShowerStore.com will often bring home the products we use in our photoshoots and try them out for a day or two. We then discuss our experiences with the products, communicate the features and benefits we enjoyed in our product descriptions, and provide additional support to eliminate any problems or confusions we may have had during installation or use, either in the ShowerStore.com support section, in the ShowerStore.com blog, or as supplemental instructions when we ship out items.

This week, the ShowerStore.com staff had the opportunity to try out several handheld shower heads and shower heads from Great Vibrations by Interbath. Our experiences with these products were surprising.

One of our favorite products we tested was the Monterey Hand Held Shower Head Set. As far as handheld shower head sets, the Monterey is inexpensive ($11.97 – $14.97, based on finish and quantity purchased) and looks fairly unassuming. The curve in the handle makes this handheld shower an excellent alternative to a fixed overhead shower head on a swan or s-shaped shower arm.

The Monterey offers three spray functions, which is quite a bit less than many others out there. However, these sprays stood out among its competitors. The rainspray offered much better water pressure that a lot of other multi-featured handheld showers. Since the question, "how do I increase my water pressure?," is asked of us quite a bit, this was very noticeable. The Monterey handheld shower also features a Full-Cone full-body spray spray which eliminates the hollow center that many shower sprays have. The water pressure maintains its strength when switched to the combination spray. Often, combination sprays feel less forceful due to the increase in outlets for the water to flow through. The Mist spray is very pleasant and soothing, and leaves the skin with a slight tingling sensation when finished.

As we move forward and expand ShowerStore.com, we will continue to provide our customers with factual information based on our knowledge of and experiences with the products we sell in order to create a trustworthy and reliable shopping experience.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Ensuring your handheld shower head maintains it's angle

Handheld shower mounts feature ball joints for ease of angle adjustment. If the mount isn't screwed on tightly enought, the weight of the handheld shower head will cause the mount to move. Simply by slightly hand-tightening the mount, you can eliminate this problem. Remember, don't over-tighten, which can cause the rubber gasket inside the mount to break.

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Monday, May 07, 2007

The benefits of a hand held shower head

We are often asked, "What makes a handheld shower so great?"

Our answer, "Flexibility."

With a hand held shower head, the possibilities are endless. A hand held shower is the perfect solution to small shower stalls either in homes, or on boats and RVs. The ability to maneuver the shower head exactly where you need it simplifies the process of bathing pets and children. Many hospitals and patient-care facilities use hand held showers for the same purpose. Set houseplants in the tub and you can easily water them and let them drain without needing to move them. Hand held showers make cleaning your tub and shower stall a snap.

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Friday, May 04, 2007

I can't decide between a handheld shower and a regular shower head. Which do you recommend?



Without knowing the details of your bathing needs, it's difficult to make that call.

A shower head will usually provide more water pressure than the handheld version of the that model. Typically, a shower head is also less expensive than the handheld version because of the lack of additional accessories, such as hoses and mounts, needed for installation.

A handheld shower provides flexibility because it can easily be moved to focus in on any needed area.

However, there is a third alternative to purchasing either a shower head or handheld shower... buying both! With a shower arm diverter valve, like this one sold on ShowerStore.com, you can easily install both a shower head and wall-mounted handheld shower.

All you do is lift the knob and the water flow easily switches between a shower head and a handheld shower. It installs directly on your shower arm and has two outlets, one for attaching any standard shower head, the other for attaching any standard handheld shower hose. No tools required!

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