Shower column without mixer

Despite its name, this is not a rain-head shower system: it is a chrome wall-mounted shower bar, with a slider and a round handset. There is no tap: water comes from your mixer or thermostatic valve.

It is the simplest way to update a shower without touching the plumbing: you keep the taps and change the bar and handset.

It also suits a rental, where you don't touch the plumbing: the bar and handset can be swapped, and the taps stay. Allow a few minutes for connecting once the bar is up.

The handset head is round, ringed with chrome, with a white face pierced with nozzles. Three photos show three different jets: a wide rain, tighter streams and a concentrated jet.

You switch from one to another with the small button on the side of the head. The soft jet suits children, the tight jet suits rinsing thick hair.

The nozzles on the face are raised: rubbing them with a finger clears the limescale. Rinse the head after each shower to avoid dried drops on the chrome.

The bar is fixed by two wall brackets, top and bottom: a few holes need drilling in the tiles or wall, with suitable wall plugs.

The handset screws onto a hose with the standard 1/2″ (15x21) connection, the thread found on almost all shower mixers in France.

Once the bar is up, the slider is adjusted by hand and locks at the right height for each user. If you keep your current hose, check its condition: a cracked or scaled-up hose should be replaced at the same time.