Match your personal shower style to the latest shower heads

More than anything else, how you shower—or want to—should influence your choice of sprays. Here are some common shower sprays:

Shower head The most common type of shower spray, it’s usually mounted high on a shower wall but may be attached to the ceiling.

Handshower A hand-held spray with a flexible hose. This spray rests in a cradle that’s attached to the shower wall or to an adjustable riser bar. 

Rainhead or rainshower An overhead downspout that mimics a natural downpour. It’s usually larger than a standard shower head and may be mounted on the ceiling or on an extender arm attached to a wall. Handshowers may also feature a “rain” setting.

Shower tower An all-in-one unit that stacks various sprays and controls in a linear wall-mount fixture.

Body sprays Smaller sprays mounted on the walls or on a shower tower that direct water to various parts of the body.

Aerated spray A shower spray that infuses the water with air to influence the shower experience and save water. It produces a fine misty spray.

Laminar flow A water-saving shower technology that produces many individual streams of water. If you live in a humid climate, you may prefer laminate flow to the mistier aerated spray.

 TIP:  Install a shower head above the head of the tallest user and controls at about waist-high (36 inches from the floor).

What’s your shower style?

Whether you speed through the spray or like to linger, there’s a right set of spouts for your shower.

Splash & Dasher Who has time for the water to get warm? A quick soap and rinse is all you need to start the day. Streamline your morning routine with a basic shower head, perhaps with a few spray settings for variety.

• Hansgrohe’s S200 Eco 3-Jet shower head has easy-clean silicone spray channels and nozzles and uses 1.75 gallons of water per minute (gpm).
• Rohl’s EcoClassic shower head has four settings and uses 2.0 gpm.
• KWC’s Ava shower head offers a sleek modern design that uses 2.0 gpm.

Concerned Citizen Torn between your love for a robust shower and a desire to save water, your morning shower has become something of a guilt trip. Give yourself and the planet a break with shower fittings that bear the WaterSense label. Available from a variety of manufacturers, these spouts use 2.0 gpm or less.

• American Standard’s FloWise shower heads
• TOTO’s High-Efficiency shower heads

 TIP:  Thinking about minimizing flow with a new shower head? Replace it yourself! Watch this how-to video from the Sierra Club – see Owen Bailey install a low-flow showerhead. Plus, their website is full of great ways to reduce the amount of water and energy your home uses. Check it out @  Sierra Club GreenHome

Morning Person You jump out of bed each morning humming a happy tune. By the time you hit the shower, you’re in full Gene Kelly mode. Supplement a ceiling-mount rainhead with a handshower that can double as a karaoke mike.

• Moen’s 8″ Flat Rainshower comes in 2.0 and 2.5 gpm models.
• Kohler’s Katalyst rainheads comes in four sizes and in round and square models that use 2.5 gpm.
• Grohe’s Rainshower Icon Color Collection handshowers have six spray settings and come in six colors.

Secret Agent You crawl into the shower stall like a mild-mannered slug, but with an invigorating spray, you exit like a superhero. Ease the transformation with a digital shower system that controls single or multiple jets and can gradually ramp up the flow and temperature—plus remember your settings and those of others in your household.

• Hansgrohe’s RainBrain
• Kohler’s DTV Prompt
• Moen’s ioDIGITAL

Popped Star Oops! You overdid it again. Soothe those aches (from the gym, the garden or a weekend pick-up game) with body sprays and a handshower that direct massaging flow where it’s needed most.

• Hansgrohe’s T120 Body Shower has an adjustable height handshower and four body sprays
• American Standard’s Monoglide handshower has an easy-glide toggle switch on the handle that keeps your hands out of the spray while you change to one of four settings.

Night Owl After a long day, you like to wind down with a soothing shower. Set the mood for relaxation with multiple flow settings and perhaps a therapeutic LED lightshow.

• TOTO’s Aimes overhead rainshower has water-powered LED lights, so no separate power source is needed.
• Jaclo’s colorful LED dream light rain canopies are a specialty splurge sure to spark your splashiest shower fantasies.