DIY home upgrades: shower head

This is a great upgrade to take on, since a shower is something you interact with almost every day. You can pick up a new shower head for as little as $15 at any hardware store. Pick the type you like: a fixed shower head, a shower head with a handle and a hose, or a combination of both. Some have a "pause" button to slow down the water: a great feature if your shower is on the small side.

You will also need silicone tape such as this one and possibly a wrench (if the old shower head cannot be removed by hand alone). If you don't already have a wrench of the right size, buy an adjustable wrench so that you can use it for several other projects.

To change the shower head, simply unscrew the old one and remove any remaining silicone tape left behind. After that's done, wind new tape around the threads layering it 3-5 over each other. Finally, screw on the new shower head. Make sure to not under or over tighten. Test if there are any leaks, and if you see any, either tighten the shower head or unscrew it and add more tape.

Bonus: now that you have all this silicone tape, you can use it to fix any of the other leaky shower heads around the house. You can also use it for any of the future plumbing upgrades covered by this blog.