A hand shower attachment is very useful to reach all body areas if the bather is incapacitated and has to shower sitting on a medical bench. It's also great, for the elderly (same reasons). And, it's superb for use when cleaning the shower to rinse away everything in the corners and on the walls.

I really wonder why anyone would care. Truly.

So, I have 2 shower heads. One stationary and one on a hose.

Sure, you could just have one pull out that acts as both, but who cares if anyone has 2 heads?

I hate stationary heads. Just doesn't get 'er done, if ya know what I mean.

Personal hygiene aside, I cannot remember how I cleaned a shower that had only a stationary head. If I were to choose only one, it would be the hand held assembly type.

Mimi, I'm not making any judgement of what people put in their shower. Jeeze, what's your problem? I've seen you be rude before, for no reason. That's okay, you'll just go on my short list.

I'm asking what a stationary head can do that a hand shower can't. There must be some advantage to having both. But you seldom see just the hand shower in today's remodels. I also remember a post where several people said they never use their fixed head as they prefer the hand shower.

Thank you, jewel and morz, but your answers explain why the hand held is preferred. I prefer it myself for all the reasons stated.

morz8

Personal hygiene aside, I cannot remember how I cleaned a shower that had only a stationary head. If I were to choose only one, it would be the hand held assembly type.

******

Oh, great point. Cleaning is so much easier!

Sorry mayflowers, don't mean to be rude. I just don't get what you don't get.

Handhelds are wonderful and so am I, btw ;-)

BTW, I have a Speakman dual shower. Good product.

I really wonder why anyone would care. Truly.

who cares if anyone has 2 heads?

Rude.

I'm putting both fixed and hand shower in our third bath. The fixed is more of a rain head, so low pressure and up high. The handheld is higher pressure and will have two mounts (high and low). The low mount is easily reachable from the tub, the high mount can be used for regular showering for those who don't like a rain shower.

All of this does seem a bit overkill in our small bath, as it almost never gets used by human... This is primarily used for washing our two large dogs. But while I wanted it functional for my purposes, I also still had to think of resale.

There is no need for two shower heads IMO. I have *only* an adjustable-stream hand held, height-adjustable, in every shower in the house.

Since the advent of pull-out and pull-down kitchen faucets, we no longer need the 'sprayer' faucet at the sink. Same applies in the shower.

(What I do have in our MBA shower-- and NEVER USE -- are three body sprays. Dumb idea, and I have to own it.)

2 of my showers came with both, so I have them. One shower has just a hand held.

Nope, no actual need for 2 but sometimes, you get what you get.

I'd forgotten about rain shower heads that are on an arm that come from the wall, so you would have a different shower experience than you could get from a hand shower. My hand shower has four patterns and I only ever use two. Of course I used them all at first.

Resale? I would be concerned about only having a handheld- even though I agree that it is more useful.

Why is a fixed head expected in a resale then?

We updated the guest bath a few years ago but didn't change the tub and shower. I changed out the shower head for a hand held and came here first for advice. It got very confusing and I thought I needed an expensive hand shower, but I ended up buying a $60 Kohler Flipside that I'm happy with. For the master we'll be taking out the shower unit and tiling so do I need to have both? I thought I could just do a hand shower on a pole, but I don't think we'd ever use the pole.

Good question.

A sense of "quality"? Maybe the aesthetics?

I really get what you're saying. My 3rd BR shower looks a little lacking with just the hand held. But, do I love it? Yes.

I am doing both in all my bathrooms being remodelled. A fixed shower head has more pressure than a handheld and gives a better basic shower experience. You lose pressure when water travels through the handheld hose. The handheld is used for cleaning the bathroom and washing kids, dogs, etc. They are not interchangeable, and having both covers all the function perfectly.

If you are happy with just a handheld, then that is great, but don't dictate what I "need" in my house, or for the way I like to shower.

I agree with chispa. I find that my fixed has better water pressure than my handheld (same shower/same supply/same "eco" ratings). I think a little pressure is lost with the hose. And, since the girls in my house all have quite thick hair (and long), we need the "higher" pressure to rinse our hair without spending inordinate amounts of time doing so.

Wow. Now chispa. What happened to manners?

Kirkhall, I do remember the old Water Pik shower massagers having less pressure. I guess I picked a good hand shower in my Kohler, even though I thought I was cheapening out by not buying Hansgrohe. I use the big droplet spray most of the time and it does feel drenching. I think I removed the flow restrictor too.

If the shower will be used by multiple people (not necessarily at the same time!) and there is a significant height difference, having a fixed and handheld can be useful.

As others have said, handheld is great for cleaning the shower, so I would prefer that if we could only have one head. But, if a handheld is set high enough for DH's comfort, I would have to jump or stand on something to get it down (been there). For convenience and safety, we find it worthwhile to have both -- a fixed head at a comfortable height for DH, and a handheld set where I can reach it.

I use the hand for rinsing harder to reach areas. I use the fixed for washing and rinsing my hair allowing my hands to be free. Hand shower has a "harder" stream but fixed has greater water flow.

Good question. You're right that a hand-held will do everything that a stationary shower head will do. On the other hand, a rain shower is different, and that makes sense.

It's smart to question standard "you must have these" items. A number of things that're tossed around frequently don't actually make sense.

mayflower, sorry, I just get annoyed when people tell others they don't need something because that person uses something else and is happy with what they chose for themselves, but don't think others have the same right to choose something else, that might work better for them. Just a pet peeve of mine ...

Then you totally misread my question, which I clarified in my first follow-up comment. I was making no value judgement. I was curious about what benefits a stationary shower head provided that two were needed. Others have graciously given several reasons for one or the other or both.

I was reacting to another comment, I didn't see any issues with your question or the way it was phrased.

I prefer a fixed shower head for washing hair, handheld for body. Washing my curly hair is a chore and it's easier with both hands free and a stream of water.

I have both. Shower controls on the right so I can reach in to turn on water and adjust which place it's coming from: shower head, hand held or both, The shower head is on the back wall and the hand held is on the side wall opposite the controls.

Mainly I use the wall mount shower head. But, there are many times I want to shave my legs and not get totally wet or I want to shower off but not have to get my hair wet, I will use the hand held. My hand held is on a slide bar so I can adjust its height. My husband has recently been treated for degenerative disk and he has trouble standing for long periods until his shots kick in, and has used the bench and held held a lot. When I was under the weather with the cold from Hades, having the hot water hit me from the wall mount and the hand held was amazing when you feel like crap.

I put a rain head on a long arm and I love standing UNDER it instead of having one on the wall shooting me in the face. I also have a handheld, but different from the above poster, mine has more pressure than the rain head (even on its most powerful setting). I use them both every shower (one at a time).

When we remodeled our master in our old house we went with a handheld that sat in an adjustable holder at the height a fixed head would be at. Our shower was small so I didn't want to clutter it with a bar and two heads. In our new home I went with the exact same set up as it worked well for us. Since I've never had two heads, I can't honestly answer why this would be preferred. I'm happy with one.

my husband insisted on a fixed arm shower for good water pressure. We kept our original shower head that almost hurts it is so strong. Our handhelds don't have nearly as much pressure. I added the handheld mostly for ease in cleaning.

I guess I wasn't "way out there" in asking this question after all. Thanks, everyone. Lots of good info.

I grew up with adjustable hand showers, and believe me, when I finally had a shower with a stationary shower head, I was ecstatic. Slight hyperbole, but seriously: Sooner or later, the adjustable hand showers started sliding down from their arm, swiveled side to side, or drooped their heads.

So, if I had to pick one, definitely a fixed shower head high from the wall. Rain showers are ok but just for fun. Handheld is fine for cleaning the shower, a little kid or dog, rinsing targeted body parts (or your head) without the rest of the body getting wet, filling a bucket, whatever, but not for a proper shower.

I see Mayflowers' question as one of curiosity, period. It's a helpful discussion for anyone building/remodeling a bathroom.

I have a handheld only. At first I wondered if I should have also included a fixed because I sometimes wish the stream from the handheld was more forceful. But I've adapted and no longer second-guess my decision. There's already a lot going on with the hose. When I redo my other bathroom, I might consider both, but if only one, it would be a handheld.

I have a Grohe handheld. It's adjustable in height and stays put, never slipping down, swiveling side to side or drooping. I would hate that. Cleaning the tub and shower surround is no longer an ordeal of collecting water in a cup and flinging it to rinse surfaces.

I haven't experienced any of the problems with my hand shower that people have mentioned. It's in an adjustable bracket attached to the pipe. It's a large head so I get good coverage with two full head shower sprays, and then there's two concentrated sprays in case I want to power rinse my posterior. That'll get your day started!

I have Grohe and Hansgrohe Handheld showers. They are super large, I think 6" and work wonderfully. The pressure is good and rinsing of hair is without challenges. One is on an arm and the other is on a slide, it does not slip, there is nothing to droop because of the large shape of the shower head that is spread out. The shower heads have air and are perfect! They also have adjustable sprays. Cleaning the shower and bathtub are made easier with the handheld shower. In the bathroom remodel, one of my bathrooms will get a rainshower, handheld and tub spout.

Good luck!

I've been wondering about this myself, and it looks to me it is going to be most efficient to go with both. Shower head for water pressure and doing my hair with both hands; and hand shower for everything else. Thanks for asking.

I'm not understanding why people are saying they can't use the handheld when washing hair because they need to use both hands. The handheld stays in its bracket, so it acts like a fixed head, and you always have both hands free.

I didn't understand that either, catbuilder. Nor why you don't get a proper shower from a hand shower. The only thing I'd do to improve mine is add a pause feature.

mayflowers and catbuilder, exactly. "Hand-held" doesn't mean you have to hold it in your hand to use it. That would be a deal-breaker. You can, if you want to. The rest of the time it sits in its little bracket functioning quite ably as a fixed shower head.

We got both so my wife can fix the handheld where she wants it (she usually sits down) and I can have the fixed head where I want it and strong (Speakman)

I hate the feel of hair on my body -- gives me duck bumps! -- so I wash my hair in my extra large MBR sink. I *could* easily wash it using the hand-held Grohe that can be positioned 'wherever' on its vertical pole. There's *plenty* of water pressure through this. The house is 14 now; no slipping, sliding, or other problems with the hand-held. (We had an old Speakman head in our condo until recent remodeling. Minimal difference.)

OT: One of my favorite things in this house is the recirculator on the hot water line. This provides hot water in seconds at every hot water tap in the house. Now that I think of it, even with that fast delivery, I push the hand-held shower spray away from me for those few seconds and flip it back when the water is hot.

We should start a thread on how long you spend IN the shower, after all the debate about the water delivery system!

How long in the shower? It depends on time available, am I thinking about the drought, how I feel, how sweaty I am, do I need to wash my hair, etc. etc., so it could be 5 minutes, 30 minutes or any other number.

A bit of a different question for those with both handheld and shower head -- are they a combo unit and/or mounted on the same wall, or are the two separate units on different walls?

When we bought a lake place, people commented they thought it was "weird" to have two fixed shower heads on opposite walls of a tub/shower combo! (Can't vouch for my relatives....) We kept a fixed head on one end and installed a solo handheld on the opposite end. Great for keeping body warm under the fixed head while rinsing off hair or all the nooks and crannies after soaping down.

I also have one shower with just a hand held unit. On cold winter mornings, the double shower set up is definitely appreciated (we shower less than 5 minutes even when washing hair.)

loonlake, my master bath has the fixed head on one wall and the handheld with slidebar on another wall. Both are independently controlled for volume and can be used together. They are on the same thermostatic valve so they have to be at the same temp. Large shower so two can shower at the same time.

The other bathrooms have smaller showers and the fixed head and handheld on slidebar are on the same wall. These have a diverter and can only be used one at a time.

I've never seen 2 fixed heads on opposite walls of a tub/shower combo! The previous owners much have liked to shower together or be able to throw a couple of young kids into the shower after a day at the lake, without fighting over the showerhead!

We're planning on being able to have both on at the same time (if were both in the shower at the same time) but we decided against curbless partly for that reason and our plumber knows to design the drain to capture that much water. Since trying a rainshower I'd never design a bathroom to just have a little handshower.

Years ago I rennovated my children's bathroom with a rain shower and a hand held. Looking back, I think it was a waste of money. A hand held would have done the job. Now were are renovating a townhome in Florida and will not make the same mistake. The master will have both, but the other 2 bathrooms will have the hand held only.