Customer Reviews

Niagara 1.50 GPM Low Flow Massage Showerhead

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've tried several low flow showerheads now, and I like this the best. It is better than the kind that mix air in, because those are loud. This gives good pressure, and feels almost the same as a regular 2.5 GPM showerhead, while only using 1.5 GPM, saving water, heat, money, and carbon footprint! I'm very impressed actually. (So impressed that I bothered to write this review - which I hardly ever do.)

This little baby paid for itself in about the first month with water savings and the performance is excellent.

(Note: I think I have a 1.25 GPM model)...For the price, this shower-head is almost perfect, the massage setting leaves a tad to be desired, but it's still a nice feature. The spray, however, is awesome, nice and powerful and not too thin like some other low-flow shower-heads. The water stays nice and warm, unlike aerated types. This is probably the best shower-head I have ever used, not including some of the fancy hotel ones I've used. I like it so much that I have already recommended this product to all of my friends and family. If you're looking for an economic solution to reduce your water usage/costs, this is the one for you...GET IT!

Summary: Purchased June 2010. The best I've tried so far, at a great price. In hard water it will likely will need regular cleaning in vinegar (perhaps every six months- see below).

We have pretty good water pressure here- I think about 60 psi- and the measured flow for full blast cold water is about 1.2g/minute.

Pro: Feels good, and you can get clean! That's what a shower is all about.

Cons: It clogged after about 6 months use by *one person*- seems a bit fast, although I have hard water. You'll be able to tell because the spray gets wider and coverage poor. You have to work a little to get fully rinsed. Tip: spray your head first to warm up the rest of you.

Comments:
- it will be interesting to see how it holds up, as it seems mostly chrome covered plastic.
- I do not use the massage setting, so no opinion on that.
- the water loses heat quickly due to fine spray, so run the water fairly hot.
- I have hard water, so many shower heads will eventually clog. My old low flow head would take 2-3 years, but after 6 months this head's spray pattern began widening. Soaking in vinegar restores functionality.
- my "fussier" relatives seem to be happy with it.

De-Mineralizing
- Put shower head into an empty 2 cup measuring cup.
- Cover with white vinegar, weighting it down (a mug works well) as it floats.
- When you start, vinegar poured into it will probably barely go through. Soak it AT LEAST until the vinegar flows through freely. (In my measuring cup, I can just tilt the cup to fill the water inlet and then lift to see if the vinegar flows through)
- It will not hold much vinegar, so don't work to get more in it. I would soak it at both standard spray and massage settings. Thinking back, shaking it, and working vinegar through it by draining and refilling may make a difference.
- Cleanings: It first clogged after about 6 months of use- to Nov 2010. My notes say I soaked for an hour, & it clogged in 2 months, although I seem to have lost some time! Soaked May 2011 for more than four hours, and it clogged in about 5 months. Soaked 10/25/2011 overnight this time (only soaked spray setting, little agitation) and lasted 3 months. Soaked 1/15/2012 for 24 hours, spray setting only & little agitation. Next time I'll try to agitate more and change spray settings.

Final Thoughts
It's pretty good, even if not perfect. I'd love to find a clone of one I bought 25 years ago that had the same or better low flow and much better coverage, but it finally wore out. I guess they were too far ahead of their time.

Original review: Feb 2011; updated 5/6/2011, 1/15/2012.

We love this showerhead...you can adjust the head to have different "massage" levels and it swivels, just step back and rinse down the shower...we just purchased a farm in the country and we have low water pressure with our well...we were not adjusting very well, when we were in town pressure was not a problem...we ordered the Earth Massage 1.5gpm showerhead and you would not know we have low water pressure issues what so ever...also the fact it is under $17 and featured in "This Old House Magazine" this summer/fall 2009 with a glowing review. I have long hair and have no problem rinsing shampoo, so I don't understand the other complaint...the fact it is a water saver, Bonus! My husband installed this in a few minutes and he had no troubles at all, no leaks, no drips! Try it and if you don't like it, it was under $17...I have 3 of these in a family of 8, we love it!

We don't have great water pressure, but this showerhead makes it feel like we do. I'm very happy with it -- I have long, thick hair and I haven't noticed any troubles rinsing it with this showerhead.

The Niagara 1.50 GPM Showerhead was a pleasant surprise for me. I bought it because I needed one quickly and it was cheap. I could get it on Prime in two days. It is definitely a low flow head, but it has great pressure. I have a well with a sand point, ( only down 25 feet )with a less than powerful pump. In other words, it does not have the pumping pressure of a deep well pump or city water. The Niagara showerhead works very well and my wife and I both like the water stream. It is forceful and gives us plenty of water. The massage works better and is easier to turn from one setting to another than our former very expensive head. I will likely replace our other shower with this unit.

For what it is, it works very well. It doesn't pump out water, but I haven't had problems rinsing and it doesn't take any longer to rinse than it did before. It is comparable to most standard shower heads that use more water. It's a basic, no frills head that does what it's suppose to do.

This clearly isn't a luxury item, but that's fine. It's actually a huge improvement in pressure and coverage over our previous dinosaur showerhead. Anyway, we have a small shower, so there's no need to go overboard on coverage. I got what I wanted -- a quick and cheap investment in saving water that also doesn't compromise too much on a nice hot shower.

Easy install, and seems to be of good quality. I like the way it pivots because it has better range than my old showerhead.

It definitely saves water, but at a cost because the spray radius seems to be a lot smaller. I would say that it makes your shower experience notably colder and less pleasant.

I would recommend this product to be used in the summer, but stick to your old one for the winter unless you want to hate showering.