Life Changing Shower Hack

Ok, so maybe that’s a bit dramatic.

But I’ve been in hibernation mode for awhile working on other projects and waiting for inspiration, and darnit if this idea didn’t come to me late last night in bed like a bolt of lightning.

It was so epic that I sent myself an email to jog my memory in the morning.

So epic that it brought me out of blog hibernation.

So simple, yet effective, and I just had to share it with you.

Please tell me dear folks, do you have a shower caddy that hangs over the shower head? Have you ever noticed the huge design flaw that causes them to constantly slide down the pipe, always tossing your things overboard and making a crashing sound so loud you think you’re being robbed? This infuriates me to no end. I have raged so intensely over this issue that I have questioned my sanity. But actually, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.

I’ll admit that some of these contraptions work better than others. But NONE of them are actually rust/mildew resistant despite whatever claims they make on the package. I’ve replaced these about once a year since I started using them, so I’ve been through my fair share. But let’s just say I never want to spend more than $15 for one of these things. I got one once- I believe it was that OXO brand – that stayed in place pretty well, but it ended up rusting just like the rest of them.

I replaced it about 2 months ago with a new one – a bronze-y metallic beauty that promised me the world. It came with this plastic ring to hold it in place and a suction cup to keep it level. I eagerly installed it and watched in horror as the weight of the caddy alone slowly pushed the plastic ring down the shower head and me into a buyer’s remorse spiral like never before.

I HAVE BEEN DECEIVED YET AGAIN.

Ok, shower caddy. I will put loads of duck tape around this ring and that will surely do the trick. I don’t even care that it looks horrible.

This worked for about a week, but eventually the humidity led to the same result. It was a slippery slope down the shower head and the edge of my sanity.

I decided that I must solve this problem once and for all. I didn’t think about it all the time, I would just ponder over it while in the shower whenever my things would fall on my feet. Then it hit me – a clamp! Like a hose clamp, or something of that nature that would really allow me to ratchet it tightly enough to prevent slippage.

This morning, I didn’t even need my little reminder email as I leaped out of bed to start my quest (ok, that’s really an exaggeration). I walked straight to the plumbing hardware section of Home Depot and found the hose clamps. However, I immediately realized they wouldn’t work because they didn’t open up fully. Without taking the shower head off, I wouldn’t be able to get it on the pipe. The universe is conspiring against me.

Well, I’m nothing if not persistent. There must be something else that would work. I thought about other things that need clamping. Like the vein that’s popping out of my forehead from rage.

Electrical things need clamping, like cables and conduit. Oh yeah, I’m so smart. I found the thing alright, yes I sure did. I grabbed two sizes that I eyeballed to be about the same diameter as my shower head pipe.

After taking longer than you think to remove the “loads of” duck tape I had put all over the shower head, I removed the stupid, useless plastic ring and the caddy to see which size clamp fit best. Finally, things are turning around for me, I thought, as the first bag I opened contained the perfect fit. I replaced the caddy, lined it up with the suction cup on the wall, and started closing the clamp with a screw driver. As I slowly tightened the clamp into place, I felt like I was really sticking it to the man and made sure to savor the moment.

TA- DAH! Take that, you piece of crap thing that I can’t avoid needing and constantly buying!

Like a little kid with a new dollhouse or something, I started putting back all my shower goodies into the right place, taking care to watch for *gasp* slippage.

Oh man, it’s rock solid.