How to CORRECTLY install a shower head?

[hj]

I do not think I have seen such a long thread for such a simple procedure.

 

[HighqualityPlumbing]

I do not think I have seen such a long thread for such a simple procedure.

And you just made it longer! Thanks for everybody else's interest and helpful comments.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Josh12345]

My shower head is leaking at the connection to the shower arm.
Whenever I screw on the shower head and tighten, the rubber washer that was included with the shower head (and most other washers that I tried to use instead) get pushed into the shower arm pipe, rendering it useless!
Adding plenty of Teflon tape reduces the leak, but does not completely stop it.

My question is two-fold:

1. What is the proper way of installing a shower head? I am confused because elsewhere in pluming, to my knowledge, fittings that require a washer normally don't need thread sealant as the watertight seal is made by the compression against the washer (however my understanding was that the threads in compression fittings are not tapered NPT but untapered - e.g. stop valves, garden hose). In most videos, many of them by amateurs, they use Teflon tape. However I read two comments from pros on other threads in this forum who DON'T use Teflon tape for shower heads. I am confused by all of this and by the fact that shower heads have NPT threads AND come with washers - which of the two is supposed to make the seal?

2. Why does the washer "disappear" into the shower arm, rendering the washer useless? The shower arm appears to be a garden variety from a big box store. The shower head manufacturer reassured me that the shower head nut and the washer are manufacturerd to standard U.S. specs. Do I need to get a new shower arm?

I was having the same problem. The washer kept getting pushed into the shower arm pipe, rendering it useless. I did two things, which together seem to have solved the problem:

1. I noticed that the end of my shower arm was a little jagged. So, I used a file to smooth it out, so that there wouldn't be any jagged portions that would catch on the washer. This didn't seem to resolve the problem by itself. The rubber washer still kept on getting lodged in the shower arm pipe. So, I tried something else...

2. I used a Q-tip to swab a little bit of silicone lubricant onto the side of the washer facing the shower arm pipe. My reasoning was that perhaps the washer was getting crimped by the end of the shower arm while I was screwing on the shower head. That crimping might cause the washer to buckle and slip into the shower arm while I was tightening the head. So, I thought, perhaps a little lubricant would help the washer to stay in place by allowing it to slide against the end of the shower arm while I was tightening the shower head.

This seems to have worked! I used silicone lubricant instead of an oil based lubricant that might erode the rubber washer.