How do you switch a shower to the overhead head?
Many shower diverter valves feel so stiff that people worry about breaking them if they pull or push too hard. This fear of applying too much force prevents them from successfully directing water from the hand set to the overhead shower head.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
- This comes up 12.2× more often in r/Plumbing than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
How do you switch a shower to the overhead head?
- 1Try pushing it up and down or moving it left to right or sideways with no water flow.Did this help you?
- 2Push up or pull down on the rod directly behind the rain head while the water is running.Did this help you?
- 3Pulling it up with force while holding the faucetDid this help you?
- 4Spraying WD-40 on itDid this help you?
- 5Soaking the faucet spout in a cup or bag of vinegar or CLR to dissolve hard water scaleDid this help you?
- 6Replacing the entire tub spout.Did this help you?
- 7Spraying a lubricant on the diverter and working it up and down.Did this help you?
- 8Unscrewing the diverter and taking it to a hardware store to find a replacement.Did this help you?
- 9looking on amazon for a shower hose attachment that connects directly to the bath tapsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I just moved into a new apartment and the shower is so confusing??”source ↗
“there's no switch/buttons anythinf to switch tap/shower mode , turning on the faucets just does the bath taps”source ↗
“The weird looking poking out bit on top of the faucet does literally nothing :(”source ↗
“The diverter on this spigot won't budge. Seems like it's toast. Can I just get a new one and screw it on? Or do I need a plumber to intervene?”source ↗
“The top part of the tap in my bath (not sure what it is called) is very difficult to pull up. It’s almost like it’s jammed somehow.”source ↗
“I would look this up on YouTube or something but I didn’t know what search terms to even use.”source ↗
“Maybe I’m being too gentle with it. Feels like if I push or pull too hard I might break it?”source ↗
“the diverter itself, yes, it can be screwed off the spout if i just keep turning it. but I wasn't able to unscrew the spout itself off.”source ↗
“honestly it is pretty old and last time my plumber was there he said it looks nice and not to replace it, but he isn't the one who has to deal with this stuck diverter everyday.”source ↗
“I can’t seem to figure out how to switch from the hand set to the overhead shower.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3How to identify a shower valve with no markings
- 14Old water shut off valve won't turn off
- 5Why is my apartment shower too hot and low pressure?
- 31How to fix a stripped or jammed shower handle
- 2How to find new shower trim that fits an existing valve
- 3Which automatic water shutoff valve should I buy to prevent leaks?