People put off fitting a shower filter because it sounds like plumbing. It is not. It is unscrewing one thing and screwing on another, and the only real skill is knowing when to stop tightening.
Why it fits
Virtually every domestic shower in the UK is built around a 1/2 inch BSP thread. That is the standard your existing showerhead screws onto, and it is the standard our heads and hoses use. If your current head unscrews by hand, ours screws on the same way.
Wall-mounted head
- Turn the shower off. Have a towel ready, because there is always water left in the arm.
- Unscrew the old head anticlockwise. Most come away by hand; a cloth gives grip without marking chrome.
- Wipe the exposed thread clean of limescale and old PTFE tape.
- Check the rubber washer is sitting flat inside the new head.
- Screw the VORASSO head on clockwise until firm. Hand tight is correct and sufficient.
- Run it for 30 to 60 seconds to flush the media, then check the joint for drips.
Handheld head
Identical, except you are unscrewing from the hose rather than the wall arm. One thing worth knowing: fitting a new head often reveals a tired washer at the other end of the hose, where it meets the wall. Check both ends before you decide the new head is leaking.
Faucet filter
Unscrew the aerator from the end of the spout anticlockwise and keep it somewhere safe for when you move house. Fit whichever adaptor from the box matches your tap thread, then screw the filter on clockwise until firm.
These fit standard threaded spouts. They do not fit pull-out spray taps, sensor taps, or spouts with no thread at all.
The two mistakes
Overtightening. This is the big one. The seal is made by a rubber washer compressing evenly, not by force. Crank it down with a spanner and you deform the washer, which creates the leak you were trying to avoid. Firm by hand, then stop.
A missing or misseated washer. Nearly every drip we get asked about is a washer that fell out unnoticed or is sitting at an angle. Before you blame the head, unscrew it and look.
The first flush looks cloudy. Is that normal?
Yes. New carbon media shed a little loose dust. Run the shower for a minute and it clears completely.
The thread will not meet
Then your fitting is not 1/2 inch BSP, which is unusual but happens with some imported and older installations. Send a photo to hello@vorasso.com and we will tell you which adaptor you need.
The full guide, including cartridge changes and a troubleshooting table, is on our installation page.