Showers are a place to get clean, relax, and escape from stress. A showerhead plays a vital part in creating the right experience. Showerheads like the Delta Full Adjustable Handheld Shower Head offer a gentle spray and a handheld shower piece to clean you, the shower, and pets. The best showerheads provide a reasonable flow rate, multiple spray options, and easy installation. A good hand shower should easily snap into place after each use. I tested the Delta to see if it offered the luxurious shower the price suggested. I don’t like messing around with fixtures and faucets that take too long to install. The Delta was right on track. If you already have a shower arm in place, all you have to do is unscrew the old showerhead and put the Delta on in its place. There are a couple of parts to assemble, like placing the hose gaskets inside the hose and screwing on the hand shower, but the directions are easy to follow with helpful pictures. Installation took about 15 minutes. This showerhead comes in six finishes. I got the shiny, lightweight chrome model. After using it for a few days, I wished I’d gotten the polished nickel or a matte black to hide the water spots. The shiny finish didn’t look as shiny after a couple of uses, but it was easy to wipe it shiny again. The Delta comes in two flow rates—1.8 or 2.5. The 1.8 flow rate produces 1.75 gallons of water per minute, while the 2.5 flow rate offers 2.5 gallons per minute. I opted for the 2.5 flow rate because I like a solid spray. Even at the higher flow rate, the Delta provides low flow water efficiency. Delta’s H2Okinetic technology forces the water into a pattern that concentrates the water, making the water stream feel like it’s using greater volume than it is. My previous showerhead wasn’t low flow and had some serious power; it gave me a prickly water massage every time. In comparison, the Delta has five different spray options, and they all felt gentle—even the massage setting. I’m not sure about the pressure issue; it’s either the low flow design, or I’m just used to a showerhead with more power. I preferred the rain setting of the full, standard, massage, jet, rain spray options. The rain setting, however, offered a luxurious amount of water. It’s super easy to switch between settings using the control button on the front of the hand shower. I could take the hand shower out and adjust the spray from there. A diverter valve by the shower arm lets you change the flow to the showerhead alone, hand shower alone, or both together. It was harder to reach than the spray pattern button, but it wasn’t hard to use. Shorter people (like me) may have a more challenging time reaching the valve. The magnetic locking mechanism housing the hand shower in the main showerhead posed the biggest issue with this model. Even during installation, I noticed a problem with the hand shower staying locked into the head. Getting the hand shower out isn’t the issue; returning it to its housing was problematic. I thought maybe the shower arm’s length or angle was the problem, but I did a little research and found that I’m not the only person who had issues with the hand shower piece. It’s a common issue with this model. I learned that if I snapped the hand shower in place and gently tugged downward, it locked in place a little better than if I just set it into the holder. It took a few tries every time to get the handpiece back in place. For this model, it’s a flaw and not just an inconvenience. One of the benefits of a hand shower is that you can take it in and out without worrying about it. The Delta’s hand shower doesn’t fall out once in place, but getting it housed is not easy. After a few days, I stopped using the hand shower altogether. I didn’t want to fiddle with it anymore. The hand shower is a big selling point for many people; it was pretty disappointing it didn’t work as well as it could.
Does the Delta Showerhead get clogged easily?
If you have hard water or sand in your water, this showerhead does well. The spray holes are relatively large, letting water through more efficiently. With time, you will have to clean out the deposits like any other showerhead.
Can you divert the water to come out of only the main head or the hand shower?
A diverter valve near the shower arm diverts the water to the main showerhead, hand shower, or both. Depending on the height and angle of your shower arm, the diverter switch can be hard to reach if you’re shorter than average.
Is the Delta showerhead worth the money?
The Delta brand comes with a reputation for high-quality with equally high prices. However, the issue with the hand shower knocks this model out of contention for me. The point of a hand shower is convenience. It’s not convenient to wrestle with the hand shower every time you use it. I would opt for a showerhead with a hand shower with a stronger magnet or a better holder.
Delta Full Adjustable Handheld Shower Head vs. Moen Velocity Two-Function Rainshower
The rain setting stands as one of the Delta’s greatest strengths, so I compared it to a rain shower specific model. The Moen Velocity Two-Function Rainshower provides a full rainshower experience. Moen’s 8-inch diameter beats Delta’s 5.25 inches. However, the Delta offers more spray options. I would say that the Delta wins because it has a shower wand, but the hand shower’s connectivity issues nullify any victory. For those devoted to a rain shower, the Moen offers a more immersive experience for a similar price. For the price of the Delta Full Adjustable Handheld Shower Head, I would expect every feature to work as it should. If the hand shower stayed in place, I’d be tempted to recommend this model. As is, I prefer a model with a more effective hand shower.
