Why are shower controls often under the showerhead, so you have to get wet (and cold) turning on the water? Our shower is round the other way and it’s brilliant. Kathryn Grant, by email
Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.
Readers reply
When the future, via Star Trek: The Next Generation, finally gets round to the sonic shower (and haircuts and shaving), then we won’t have this problem! theseligsussex
If you are distressed by being sprayed with water then perhaps a shower is not for you. CaressOfSteel
I am distressed by being sprayed with water while still wearing my dressing gown to switch the shower on and wait for it to warm up. Figara
This is exactly why I prefer the kind of showerhead that’s on the end of a hose. The other reason being that I’m Malaysian and we generally like to be able to hold the showerhead and power-wash all parts of our bodies, instead of just having the water drip from above. Xenobio
I’m a product designer and haven’t before considered why this issue persists and why they can’t just change the position of them, so thanks! Industrial designers will be thinking about the individual product itself, not how it fits into the wider bathroom interior. How can one design an individual piece that suits a wide range of needs? There might also be a bit of a silly assumption that, when one showers, they follow the process of a) get undressed, b) get in shower and c) turn shower on, when this is not the case in reality. Then there’s the aspect of cost: making more variations of a product – controls positioned left or right, for example – adds up a lot in manufacturing costs. The final point is that the person making the decision on what shower to buy may not be the end user and may have other priorities (eg cheap units). Perhaps if we all start complaining about this a bit more, they might catch on and do something! Jess
When I had my bathroom renovated, I wrote acceptance criteria for what the bathroom should achieve. Being able to turn the shower on without getting my hand wet was one of them. Apparently, people don’t like the idea of the water being cold, but I’m scared of being burned. Imagine my glee when the bathroom designer said there was a solution: a digital shower that turns on from the outside.
I also have an in-built shower seat, because I don’t like standing up in the shower, and a Japanese style bidet. The bathroom designer said no one had written acceptance criteria before, but I can’t fathom why you wouldn’t. It meant the problems that usually bug me in the bathroom no longer exist (and the designer didn’t suggest shapes that I didn’t like). smittenbunny
In the UK, this can be achieved only in rare situations where the contractor renovating your bathroom a) listens to what you’re actually asking for and b) has some kind of contractual obligation to note that degree of “detail”. The UK has yet to evolve to this point. Porthos
Take the showerhead off its holder with one hand, point the jet or spray away from you (eg at the floor or into the corner of the shower cabin) and turn on the water with the other hand. Then, when you have got the temperature adjusted to your liking, you can point it at yourself. That is assuming that you have a shower something like the one shown in the photo (which is the norm in Germany, where I live). However, I must admit that I have more often come across other types in the UK, such as with the showerhead fixed to the wall. That is stupid. How do you, for example, direct the jet of water directly on to your bottom without doing a handstand? UnashamedPedant
Most shower units, at least those at the cheaper end of the market, are “all in one” units, which, for simplicity of installation, are fitted wherever the supply pipes are, with the outlet on a flexible hose. It’s impractical and would look strange to have the showerhead on a long hose away from the controls. The answer is to have the control unit and shower head completely separate and plumbed in behind the wall, but this is a lot more costly, especially as a retrofit. It’s not something many housebuilders would do in this country, unfortunately. Pharmagiles
When we were having work done, the plumber recommended having the shower control opposite the entry to the shower, not under the showerhead. It requires controls separate from the showerhead arrangement – a bit more plumbing, but not difficult. He said he always suggested it. We love getting home from a holiday to our sensible shower that’s always at the right temperature. JeremyohJ
Whoever designed showers must be a psycho. Sagarmatha1953
