Which Handheld Shower Head Is Best for an Ella Walk-In Tub?

The handheld shower head that works best on an Ella walk-in tub is the one built for it. Every Ella fast-fill faucet set includes an extendable, multi-function hand shower with five spray settings on a 5 foot retractable hose, so seated showering is built in from day one. If you ever need a new head, order a matched handset rather than a generic one, because hoses and handsets are matched to your faucet set. Our guide Can I Shower in a Walk-In Tub? Hand Showers, Shower Columns, and Screens covers every way to shower in your tub.

What the Included Hand Shower Does

All of Ella's fast-fill faucet sets come with the same style of pull-out hand shower, and it is designed around seated use.

• Five spray settings, with flow limited to 1.9 GPM by plumbing code.
• A 5 foot retractable hose, which is comfortable to use while seated in the tub and handy for rinsing the tub after your bath.
• On the 2-piece faucet set you push the diverter button to send water to the hand shower. On the 5-piece set you turn the diverter handle.
• The handheld is fitted with a backflow prevention valve to help protect your home's water supply, and a small blue check valve sits inside the head where it threads onto the hose.

The Capri, for example, ships with the five-piece faucet installed on the deck along with the handheld shower, and customers who want a different setup can upgrade to a wall-mounted or overhead shower.

Why a Generic Replacement Head Is Not the Answer

On the Ella fast-fill faucets the handset threads onto the end of the 5 foot hose, so if the head cracks, sprays out the side or squeals, you can replace just the wand and leave the hose, deck mount and faucet in place. Before ordering, unscrew the head by hand and look for the washer and the blue check valve inside the threads, because a missing washer or check valve is a common reason water sprays sideways at that joint. A crack above the threading cannot be repaired. Because hoses and handsets are matched to your faucet set, please do not buy a generic head. Contact your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support, with your tub model, a photo of the wand and a photo of the faucet. If you bought the tub years ago, the team can look up your original order to match the right handheld. The full checklist is in Why Does My Hand Shower Head Spray Out the Side and Can I Replace Just the Head?.

If You Want a Wall Bracket or an Overhead Shower

Many owners like to lift the hand shower to a wall bracket for a more traditional shower feel. Please do not attach the hand shower to the wall unless the extension hose with the barrel protection is installed. Without it, water can travel down the hose and leak behind the tub where you cannot see it. Ella's wall attachment and leak elimination kit adds a 5 foot extension hose and a stainless steel barrel connector that plugs the deck insert hole.

For a full standing or seated shower, the optional Shower Column Kit adds a 10 inch pivoting rain shower head that swivels, with the head adjustable from 37 to 64 inches above the tub deck. Its diverter selects either the rain head or the pull-out hand shower, and the kit includes an adjustable height and angle bracket for the faucet's 5 mode hand shower. The kit fits only tubs with an Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet, uses the hand shower from that faucet set, and must be installed before the tub's final installation because the supply line connects behind the tub. Details are in Installing the Shower Column Kit on Your Walk-in Tub.

Related Guides

• How Do I Replace a Cracked, Leaking Hand Shower Hose?
• Hand Shower Leaks at the Head or Deck: Hose Orientation, the Blue Check Valve, Washers and a Loose Mount Base
• Replacing Your Walk-In Tub Faucet Set, Valves or Hand Mixer

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