Cozy Little House

Small Space Living & Gardening

How To Clean Your Hand Held Shower Head

Filed Under: Home Hacks

The other night I decided to clean my hand held shower head. It was sending out what I call “zingers.”

Which means the little holes are clogged and it’s sending water out in all directions. Namely on the wall behind the toilet.

Coffee table styling

To do this I get a big zip lock baggie and a bottle of white vinegar. I take these to the bathroom and take down the shower head and let it hang.

It doesn’t reach the bottom of my bath tub. So I went to the kitchen and found a covered casserole dish to give it height.

Then I placed the shower head in the zip lock baggie. I held it in place while I poured half water and half white vinegar into it. I don’t measure. I just estimate.

Once the shower head is covered with liquid, I zip the baggie up to the shower head as tightly as I can.

Cleaning shower head

I leave it this way overnight.

The next morning I emptied the vinegar and water and washed off the shower head. Then I put it in place at the top of the shower and turned it on.

Instant fix! No more zingers. All the little holes had water flowing through them just like when I first bought it, which was when I moved in here.

I need to do this more. But you know how it goes. You put it off till the zingers are driving you crazy and you’re not getting much water from your shower head.

This has always worked for me. I like to use cleaning supplies that are natural when I can. And I usually keep vinegar around for various uses.

Charlie on his bed

Yesterday evening I got ready for the laborious task of giving Charlie his medication. He gets three pills in the morning and two at night.

He hates this. I hate this. But it must be done. And he fights me all the way.

I was giving it to him in low fat treats I get from the vet’s office. But much of the time I can’t get the pills to stay inside. The treat just falls apart and I can’t squish it back together around the pill. And one pill is big, so there’s no covering it up and hiding it.

I can’t put his meds in cheese, because he can’t have anything but his prescription food, low fat treats, a little low fat cottage cheese for his tummy and his once per day hard boiled egg.

I just try my best to get them down him. I hold his head and try to put them at the back of his mouth as I’ve watched the vet do. Then I hold his snout closed until I think he’s swallowed each one.

Something surprising happened after I took my hand from his snout. Two teeth, set together, fell into my hand.

Charlie on the couch arm

I was horrified. For a minute or two I just stared down at them. Had I knocked his only remaining teeth out? I felt awful.

I called the vet’s office and they said the teeth were probably about to fall out. He had horrible teeth and a few years ago they had to take out all but two teeth when they were in the process of cleaning them.

Still, I felt like sitting down and crying. I felt so guilty. My poor little Charlie boy. What had I done?

But I guess he’s been managing to eat with two teeth, so hopefully he’ll be able to eat with no teeth.

If that was the case I sure wish if they were going to fall out that they’d done it on their own. Rather than when I had my hand in his mouth trying to get his medication down him.

Business cards

I ordered new business cards from Vista Print. They have cheap prices and it takes me years to hand out 500 business cards. The green leaves were one of the templates you could choose.

I wanted something different. But for some reason this time around I couldn’t figure out how to download a logo. Sometimes direction just stymie me. Particularly toward the end of the day.

These remind me of gardens and nature, so they’re right up my alley.

Now for what Miss Ivy Lou has been up to this morning:

She starts out the morning wanting me to pet her and rub her tummy, which I do. Then she wants her food, which I get for her. Then she usually plays on her cat tree.

These photos are kind of dark because of the way the light is in the morning.

Ivy on the cat tree

I have noticed lately that she’s moving the whole cat tree around a bit as she plays. Could she be getting too big for it?

Because I don’t want to get a big honky cat tree that takes up the whole side of a room. This place isn’t big enough to have one take up that much space.

Hopefully if it falls over she will be acrobatic enough to land on her feet.

Do you think it’s true that cats always land on their feet? Or is that just folklore?

White dishes in blue hutch

I bought myself a pumpkin pie at Braums yesterday. They only sell them at holiday time.

But the pecan pie they sell year round is also scrumptious. I also got some eggnog, which is something that I rarely do.

Tomorrow it’s just me and the pets. I’ll eat whatever and have some pie and eggnog.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Are you cooking?

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  1. Absolutely better that those two teeth fell in your hand rather than having him choke. Happy thanksgiving.

  2. Since those two teeth were loose already, maybe they were bothering Charlie some, and that’s why he was not happy with Ivy, when she wanted to touch him. Now his mouth will heal and he’ll have no more pain. Have a happy Thanksgiving with the fur kids. Pumpkin pie, and eggnog is on our (just husband and me) menu also. Love it. Hugs from WI..

    • If you’ve got dessert, really what more of a celebratory food do you need? (Ha!) Maybe you’re right about the teeth. Before he had the others taken out, they told me they were hurting him.

  3. Hi Brenda! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your fur babies!!! 🍗

    I made 12 medium sized pumpkin breads, angel food cake, and snickerdoodles yesterday. I was going to make fudge but only had a handful of nuts. Darn! I’m trying to find something yummy to make that I have ingred too. 😂

    My car isn’t working…think it’s the starter. It’s always something! I haven’t been able to comment cuz my browser stopped working and I couldn’t even get google to work! So I’m catching up on ur blog now. 😀

    For Thanksgiving it’s only going to be my parents, brother, 1 sister and her husband. My other sister will be at the hospital with her husband cuz he is having an operation today…prostate cancer. Everyone else is going somewhere else this yr.

    I love ur open shelves concept! Nice! So organized!

    Brenda, just remember you are loved! 💞 Look at all the people surrounding you! Your daughter, Andrew, son in law, ur neighbors, ur fur babies and us…ur readers! 💝

    Happy Thanksgiving to all ur readers too!

  4. I was just thinking about cleaning my shower heads. I seem to have so much on my to do list and so little time. I am going to pick up some food tomorrow at the food co-op for my mom and me. She hasn’t been able to eat much lately and doesn’t feel like going out so it is our best option. I am pretty worn out from three trips to the ER and a hospital stay with her over the last ten days. I’m just looking to have a quiet day. xo Laura

  5. Brenda, I just looked at your up-to-date pictures under the heading “My Apartment.” And I absolutely love them! You have some pieces of furniture that I would love to have … especially Ivy’s drop-leaf table. And you put pics of your furbabies in there, too. After all, it’s their home, isn’t it? They just allow you to live there. I look forward to reading your blog every day.

  6. Poor Charlie! But I agree that the teeth may have been bothering him so this is best and also that they fell into your hand rather than down his throat although I can understand how it was a shock for you.
    I hope you enjoy a peaceful day tomorrow and enjoy your pie and eggnog.
    A Happy Thanksgiving to all readers.
    -Andrea R. from SoCal.

  7. Poor little Charlie!! And yes, I agree with Eileen, he could have easily choked on them had they fallen out another time! Enjoy your peaceful Thanksgiving, Brenda – and thanks for the tip on cleaning the shower head, I must do that!

  8. I assume Charlie is on soft dog food. Maybe you can insert a pill at a time, and cut the large pill into half (?) and insert them into small pieces of the soft dog food. My dogs hated taking pills too, just like children don’t want to either (I’m a long way from childhood and I still hate taking my daily medications too, UGH!) With my dogs, I was able to wrap the pills in a bit of braunsweiger (liver sausage) and they would gobble it right down, just GULP and done, like they inhaled it! You probably don’t want to give Charlie anything not prescribed by his vet to him, though. The large pill – poor mommy having to administer it and poor Charlie having to take it! Is there a way to cut it up or chop it up and mix it in with Charlie’s prescription food? Later today I will be making my Thanksgiving meal of brownie cupcakes with chocolate frosting (YUM!!!!) and a large Shepherd’s Pie casserole. I make a very easy recipe: browned ground beef, a package of frozen vegetables partially cooked (the rest of the cooking is done in the oven), and a can of tomato soup all mixed together and poured into a shallow casserole dish, topped with heaping piles of mashed potatoes made with plenty of milk and butter. YUM!!!! Then I bake about 40 minutes at 350% until its’s bubbly and the “gravy” is bubbling up along the sides of the casserole. I also mix in some shredded sharp cheddar cheese into the mashed potatoes to add some color and then sprinkle some on top that browns nicely in the oven. I like easy. That will be my meal tomorrow and for several days afterward. I make a lot of casseroles and meat pies in the fall and winter – there’s something about filling the house with the scent of a casserole, or a pot roast or a hearty stew in the slow cooker. Today for lunch I finished off the last of a cheeseburger casserole which I bake in the form of a pie. So I’m backwards – I bake a casserole as a pie and a traditional meat pie as a casserole. LOL! Happy Thanksgiving to you, Brenda, Charlie, and Ivy and to your readers.

    • Charlie’s food is more of a stew. There’s no way to hide his pills in it unfortunately. I’ve actually never eaten Shepherd’s pie. Sounds delicious though!

  9. Why do dogs and cats have to be so difficult with their medicine taking?! I almost cried for Charlie and for you when I read how his teeth fell out in your hand. I would have cried.

    One time when my husband and I were trying to cut a hairball out from under our old Persian kitty’s armpit (paw pit?) the scissors cut his skin. the skin was so paper thin there. Me, and my husband, actually cried about it, and then called the vet. Luckily the cut healed quickly.
    I hope it gets easier to give Charlie his meds as it becomes more of a routine.

    • Sadly I don’t think Charlie will ever allow me to give him medication without a fight. He’s always been this way and I doubt he’ll change. I feel terrible every time I have to administer his meds.

  10. Happy Thanksgiving to you and the fur babies. Can Charlie have a little low-fat cream cheese works like a charm for medication? Colleen and Baron

  11. Brenda,

    Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you have a wonderful day! Enjoy your dessert! That to me is what the meal is all about.

    I’m sorry about Charlie’s teeth, but I agree with everyone else I think Charlie’s teeth have been bothering him. Hope he feels better.

  12. A few years ago I fostered and then adopted a very small , sickly old little papa , a miniature poodle . I named him Doobie, he was sooo sick for so long . But he had no teeth , I always bought canned food and watered it down a little, so it was easier for him to eat . I like to think I made his last couple years good ones . As for me and my fur babies we will just be home here tomorrow. Happy Turkey Day .

    • Wonderfully quiet. Just as I like it. If people love big crowds and lots of noise, I’m glad they can have that. For loners like me, the quiet is the best music in the world.

  14. Hello Brenda;
    So sorry to hear about the teeth, poor Charlie. My mother would take pills, put them in an envelope and crush them by rolling with a weight. The powder (pulverized pill) was easier to take, easily hidden in food. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving, enjoy the egg nog, my most favorite delight.

    • Maybe I’ll try that. I hate to scare him trying to get them down him. But if I don’t get them down him, I won’t have him long and the thought of that so soon after Abi just breaks my heart.

  15. I’m sorry it’s so hard to give Charlie his pills. You feel like you’re abusing the animal when you have to force medication on them. I know; I’ve had to do it. I think that it’s better that Charlie’s teeth came out instead of him swallowing them or choking on them. Actually, they must have been so loose that they were ready to almost fall out. He probably has been just kind of mashing his food with his gums up ’til now anyway. I can see how it was a shock to suddenly see the teeth in your hand, though.

    I won’t be cooking much tomorrow as we are having Thanksgiving on Sat instead of tomorrow. I will be cleaning and getting supplies to cook, mostly on Friday. I’ll make the pumpkin pies and cranberry bread and probably the mashed potatoes. My daughter’s boyfriend who is a chef will be making the turkey. Yay! That is the part I like doing the least. Oh, yes, I will also be making the dressing. My other daughter will bring a cranberry salad and probably the squash we usually have. I don’t really enjoy preparing even that much of the meal, but I do like having everyone here.

    Guess I best go to bed so I can do what needs doing tomorrow. I kind of envy you just having a quiet Thanksgiving by yourself. I wouldn’t mind that at all! I am just that much of a recluse!

    Enjoy your solitude and your fur babies tomorrow–and the pie!

    • People think I must be lonely on holidays. But they’re wrong. I would be far more uncomfortable among a lot of people and noise. Growing up, we didn’t celebrate holidays and have all the traditional food. And really, food is something I eat to live. Not live to eat. I just don’t look forward to holiday meals like many do.

  16. Ah yes, cleaning the shower head is something I need to be doing…. I would say more often but I’ve yet to do it once yet, lol

    Poor Charlie boy! I would have been devastated too but it does sound like it was just time for them to come out. Maybe it’s better they came out that way instead of him swallowing them? I would think so.

    Love your pretty new business cards! The leaves were a good choice. Your white dishes are so pretty too!

    You, Charlie, and Ivy have a wonderful Thanksgiving~

  17. Have you ever used a Pet Piller? It’s a short stick with a rubber slit at one end, which holds one pill (like those old rubber coin purses that had to be squeezed to spread open), and a plunger at the other end. It’s great for holding a tiny pet pill, and depressing the plunger kind of pops the pill into the pet’s mouth. I’ve had great luck with them, and I usually slip the pill into the side of the mouth, rather than from the front. Your vet might have them. If not, PetSmart and PetCo sell them. Happy Thanksgiving, Brenda!

  18. For Charlie’s meds, you might try stewing some chicken livers and then using a blender or food processor to make a sort of pate. A carton of chicken livers is inexpensive, and they have a strong smell and taste (I assume) that might mask the pill taste. As another alternative, I wonder if mixing the pills with molasses would work. I would definitely try the low fat cream cheese first, but I just wanted to try to think of something that might help you and Charlie boy. I guess now it is officially Thanksgiving, so THANKS for GIVING your readers so many ideas, insights, and inspiration through your blog!

    • Charlie is on a strict diet. Has been for years because of bad bouts of pancreatitis. I nearly lost him about six years ago. So I doubt he can have molasses or chicken liver. He has to eat the same prescription food day after day for his digestive tract.

  19. I apologize for offering suggestions that might go against Charlie’s health. I guess I got carried away in my concern for him and you. Thank goodness Charlie has you as his Mom. You do such a good job of managing his health.

  20. Thank you for the information on cleaning the shower head. I will give it a try.
    So sorry that Charlie has lost his last two teeth, but maybe he will feel better now. Have you tried crushing the pills into his food? It has worked for me.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you, Charlie and Ivy.
    Wishing you a wonderful blessed day.

    Marilynn and Hayley

  21. thanks for this post, I need to do the same thing. Have been thinking about it for a long time. Needed you to post to get me going.