What Is a Tabletop Shower?

Basics

• Aside from where it is located, a tabletop mounted shower will generally differ from a full-fledged bathroom shower in that it can be started with the simple pull of a chain. These showers are designed to be easy to access and usually provide a continuous spray of cold water when the chain lever is pulled down into the "on" position. This is meant to provide relatively easy access in the event of an emergency situation. The water, once accessed, will remain on until the lever is manually pushed back into the "off" position. For this reason, these showers are sometimes referred to as deluge showers.

Features

• Various brands exist on the market, but most showers have similar features. Showers come with variety of these features, even though they are meant to be basic safety showers. For instance, some come with chrome-plated shower heads, chrome-plate brass pull levers and an even an emergency sign for those who might not be familiar with the environment in which they are installed. Additional options may be available, including air horns and electrical alarms, anti-freeze protection valves and anti-scald valves for hot water applications.

Installation

• Installation of a tabletop shower is a fairly basic process. It requires drilling a 1-1/4-inch hole in the tabletop. Using the supplied hardware, the shower is attached to the counter or tabletop. The shower itself consists of an upper and lower section that must be attached to each other before attaching the shower to the table. The shower is connected to a 3/4-inch uninterrupted supply of water in the same way that any other basic water line is attached--using pipe thread compound and the necessary plumbing connectors.

Maintenance

• Maintenance of a tabletop shower is minimal, since these showers are rarely used, except in the event of an emergency. Any troubleshooting should be attempted only after the water supply has been shut off; if it is necessary to install replacement parts, they should be parts created by the manufacturer of the shower.