How to make your outdoor shower better

[ZZSPIRAL]

This mess started with one of those bisque shower hoses with cheap plastic fittings. They snap under any pressure and leak, so if your connection to the shower is on the inside (like mine), then you can have problems. Don't buy those hoses.

The "professional" supposedly fixed this with an upgraded hose, but he put it on backwards. There was not enough thread, so he figured snug was good enough. Oh yeah, that hose came with a shower head, of which the threads were broken. Don't buy these either. They're bisque and have a lever that locks in place.

Anyway, I bought another hose, but I still needed a shower head (not readily available). So I purshased a spray gun on a hose, like what you see at the kitchen sink. I tried using brass fittings to reduce from 1/2" (shower Unit) down to 1/4" (new sprayer). The sprayer worked great, but it leaked at the connection of the shower unit. So I took the unit off (again), tightened it down, hooked it up and guess what? No leaks and NO WATER. Now I'm frustrated. I took the unit off (again), cleaned the valve, hooked it up and still...... NO WATER. Long story short, you cannot use brass fittings on the shower unit. The threads are the same, but tightening it down must plug up the valve. So, I cut the lines of my new shower hose and sprayer hose, put a 1/8" coupler between them presto.

It works FAR BETTER than any outdoor shower I've used. There's more spray, and the lever is much easier to use. Plus if I ever need a new head, they're $8 at any hardware store.

I don't understand why the manufacturers aren't using these.