Most how-to guides—and many showerhead manufacturers—recommend wrapping the clean threads on your shower arm with plumber’s tape, also often called Teflon tape or PTFE tape. Two clockwise turns around the threads should be plenty.
The tape, in theory, serves two purposes: First, it prevents leaks by filling any gaps in the threads where the arm and the head don’t form a perfect seal. Second, it should make it much easier to remove the showerhead in the future, like when you’re moving out and want to take your nice showerhead with you. The tape is a little slippery, and it can help prevent mineral scale from jamming up the threads.
A roll of the tape costs a few bucks, and you’ll have it for a while. With a single roll, I managed to plumb two sinks, a new garden spigot, and my fridge’s ice maker, with plenty of room for mistakes.
If your showerhead recommends using plumber’s tape, go for it. The Kohler Forté Multifunction Showerhead K-22169 that we recommend is among them. But some showerheads don’t need plumber’s tape, including the Delta 52535, which we also recommend.
Gary Schopp, a customer solutions expert at Delta Faucet, told us via an email interview that the gasket in the Delta 52535 showerhead is enough to prevent leaks on its own. The head’s threads are also straight (rather than tapered), so those should be watertight without tape as well.
In some instances, tape can create new problems. For example, it can get in the way of the shower arm sealing against the gasket without sealing the threads on its own, according to Schopp. And if the tape is wrapped too thick around the shower arm’s threads, it can crack the plastic fittings inside the showerhead. “No amount of thread seal tape will stop the leak of a cracked fitting,” Schopp said.
One downside of skipping the plumber’s tape is that it might be harder to remove the showerhead in the future, especially if you live somewhere with hard water. In that case, the pliers-and-wrench trick ought to work. You could also coat the threads with something slick. Senior staff writer Joel Santo Domingo rubs his threads with bar soap before he connects a new head. Wax might also work. (Schopp doesn’t endorse soap or wax but doesn’t warn against them either.)
While we’re here: Plumber’s tape contains PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a class of so-called forever chemicals with links to health risks, including some cancers and weakened immune function. There’s not much research into the effects of plumber’s tape in particular. But some experienced researchers have noted that of all the sources of PFAS to be concerned about, Teflon tape probably isn’t too high on the list.
“Depending on your relationship to risk, I’d focus on other possible PFAS exposures that are more direct, like food surfaces, drinking water, and products that touch your skin, above plumber’s tape in this kind of use,” says Katie Okamoto, Wirecutter’s sustainability editor. We have advice about where to strategically reduce PFAS exposure.
If you’d prefer not to use plumber’s tape, pick a showerhead that doesn’t require tape at all.
