Side by Side Comparison of: Waterpik vs Dixon Valve & Coupling vs DELTA FAUCET

I have bought 3 of these over the years. All three worked as desired, and are still working. I think they are some of the better shower heads out there. What I like about them is the fact that you can pull the head up and point it down, giving me extra height in the shower. I am 6'5 and the showers in my house were designed for someone under 6'. With these, I have plenty of room. An extra nice touch, when I am shaving I push the head down so I can shave without rinsing my face, works great. For the money, these are great.

Great solution for an incredibly low shower pipe in our older home. Very easy install. Do know that it's a single piece... there's no way to detach the bendable pipe from the shower head. I was originally looking for just the bendable pipe to use with a shower head I already have, but took a chance and was pleased with the stream settings of this shower head.

We had one for years ordered three more. The extended flex allows you to easily change the shower head position without stressing the shower head connection to the metal tube or the metal tube connection to the wall which could cause leaking inside the wall. Two of us use the shower head daily so the head is constantly be changed and we have no issues after years of use. We removed the water restricter inside the shower head and use the shower valve to control the amount of water coming out of the shower head. We contacted Waterpik to find out the difference between the NSL-603 and the NML-603S. Waterpik told us the difference is just appearance and the functionality is identical we bought the least expensive.

Okay, that's probably a little extreme but this flexible hose showerhead did make taking a shower more pleasant. My husband is a foot taller than me and our shower is rather narrow. We previously had a big sunflower-type showerhead way up high that made taking a shower like getting in a rain stall for me. He loved it since it was above his head, something most 6'4" people don't get to enjoy when dealing with most shower fixture heights. When we installed the shower years ago, we installed a fiberglass unit and didn't want to cut into it to install a vertical rod for an adjustable socket for a hand held. Sooo, I've hated taking a shower in this bathroom for years! Until we found this flexible hose item.

Generally, we keep it in an "S" shaped curve since the hose it too long to be a straight line from where it is attached to the pipe and being in position for either of us, but this is good since it is pulled up for him and down for me. It does leak a little around the coupling but only a few drips while the water is on, and it goes down into the shower. We don't really use the different settings, just a good straightforward shower with which to rinse shampoo and such.

What is wonderful, from my perspective, is the fact that I can adjust the head to be lower, at shoulder height, if I am only getting in for a quick wash but don't want to get my hair wet. Even when shampooing, I need to be able to have space in the small shower compartment where I am not constantly having water sprayed in my face. This flexibility has helped me deal with the small space of our shower so much better now, and the spray has more pressure than our previous "rain" type of fixture, which makes rinsing shampoo and conditioner so much easier.

We've had it over a year and a half. I love this fixture!

I was very pleased with Waterpik's previous model of this product. The flexible goose-neck hose is infinitely adjustable. Different family members can raise it or lower it, and if you shave in the shower with a fog free mirror like me, you can point it at your back (which is more toward the shower door instead of the middle) to enjoy hot water while you shave.

With the old model, you had to occasionally remove it to soak it in vinegar for a few minutes to remove the hard water deposits that interfere with the shower stream. This new model is truly amazing! The many little water spouts now come out of some kind of little flexible rubber nozzles that never ever clog up! They are somehow self cleaning!

I have decided to add the following to all my reviews:

Beware! Some "reviewers" will trash a product for no reason simply because they are paid to or because they sell competitive products. Other "reviewers" will give products - that they have never seen and never used - glowing 5 star ratings - for a fee. Some honest reviewers do not understand what a product is for or how to use it and will trash a product simply because they are just plain dumb.

I needed and used this for a shower head I purchased,The price was great, cost less here than in the store.Wrapped it around the threads and no more leaks.

I bought this tape to repair the power cord for my macbook air, and so far it's worked perfectly. The tape has been on for over a week so far and the end hasn't started unpeeling in the slightest. I think it will last for a long time, and it's saved me from buying a new cord. I also liked that the tape came in a nice round plastic case, which among other things prevents the edges from getting stuff stuck to them and getting dirty.

I had the thinner size before...and I bought this wider size by accident.It turns out, it was a great accident. It reduced the amount of times I had to wind the tape around by half, since I no longer had to wind diagonally to cover the entire surface of the thread.(Not for a very small surface)Maybe everyone else already knew that there is more than one size of plumbers tape, but it was news to me.Worked great on our shower head.

Well, it's sealant tape. You can't really go wrong with it. It worked as it was intended. Bought it to wrap around the thread of a hand held shower head that needed replacing. I should have prob went with a different size tape, because this was a tad too wide, but that's not an issue since you can either have a bit of tape showing, or push the tape down.I wrapped the threading about 4-5 times, and it sealed it perfectly. Not one drop leaking, and there's plenty of tape left over for the tool box!

If you're looking at this tape to use for stretching a piercing, you have found the perfect tape for a really small price. a few wraps of this a day and before you know it you're at the next size. the only bad thing about this tape is that it does not slide well in oral piercings, and its so incredibly thin it can be kind of frustrating to wrap around a piece of jewelry, but that can be a positive too because you're able to fine tune the size increase to an incredible degree.

Does what it's meant to do!It's not too thick that you won't be able to screw the pieces together, and not too thin that it rips while using.

This works very well and I like that it will probably go a long way to eliminate leakage problems since it is so flush with the pipe and there is not a lot of grooves that can wear down or other problems that would cause it to leak. However, if you are used to something with a hand held hose option, you will miss it, and while flexible and you can accomplish moving it while showering, it's not the easiest to grapple with when you are trying to rinse parts of the body you might otherwise use a hand held for.

 Had a couple challenges installing the head ... you'll see in the video. My application was a very small shower where the head faces the door, so an adjustable showerhead neck saves wetting the floor. I had to add a pipe extension because the stub out of the wall was tiny.

The NML-603 made a rattling sound when I took it out of the package ... and the head seemed to want to unscrew itself, but in the end, it was a successful install and I'm looking forward to using it. I'll update the posting if I have any problems as time goes by. Check out the video.

The convenience of the flexable head is the reason that I love this showerhead. My wife is 4'-10” and I'm 6'-2”. I have been using Waterpik flexable heads for 10 to 12 years, and have purchased 5 or 6 of them during that time. I normaly keep a new one on hand, because the flexable line has broken twice over the years. The soft plastic liner on the outside of the flexable line prevented water from splashing all over the bathroom. They are very easy to remove, and replace. The only reason I gave it 4 stars, is the durability of the flexable line, even though we use it a lot. I intened to continue purchasing this showerhead for as long as Waterpik makes them.

This is the best replacement shower head on the market. My wife is very picky about the water pressure and the shower head and over the years we have tried several different ones. When we installed this shower head at our house we had average water pressure and the old shower head had some problems building up enough pressure to provide a good shower. As soon as I installed this shower head it was like a whole new world.

The best parts about this shower head are that is has an adjustable neck. I am tall and my wife is short, so it is nice to be able to adjust the height according to who is using it. The 6 different setting are really nice and it is so easy to change from setting to setting.

Installation was a breeze and I have installed this shower head in my kid's shower as well.

We've been using the "snake" for years (about 10 years). We love how you can position the water stream wherever you want - high or low. The weak link seems to be the plastic connector. After a few years we've cracked or broken off every one we've had. Over 10 years we've been through three, and just received our fourth from Amazon (as they aren't offered for sale in Canada it seems). But, we're happy to keep replacing it as we love everything else about it. Only 4 stars, but if they made a metal connector I'm sure we'd never have to buy another one.

been using this stuff like crazy working on the pool this summer. I wish it was easier to tear however and did not shred and wrinkle up as soon as you tried to cut or tear it. Otherwise it works great, stopped my leaky air compressor fittings and sealed my pool fittings quite well.

I have used this tape on a few plumbing projects ranging from two shower head replacements and a couple of water supply line hook ups. I am very pleased with the results. My only complaint is the tape will fold over onto itself very easily when trying to wrap onto the threads, so just take your time. Other than that, this is a great addition to your plumbing tool kit.

Not a whole lot to say. If you need pipe tape to seal things like your shower head, this is that. It seems to work well. With the semi-flimsy reel it's on and the natural properties of sealant tape, I found it easy to get it tangled up, but that's the only real nit-pick. This isn't some big purchase, it's just the tape you need and it does its job.

Works well. The first time I only wrapped it around the threads 3 times and there was a single drop leaking from it every 5-7 seconds. The next time I wrapped it 6 times around and got a perfect seal with not a single drop leaking. The tape can be ripped with hands. Be sure to push the tape down around the threads with your thumb before attempting to connect the shower head. Also, clean the threads on the pipe of any previous residue before applying tape for the best results.Only gripe is that I bought this because it was the recommended one. Not knowing anything about sealant tape at the time, I ordered it. When I received the item I did some reading saying 1/2 inch tape is the best size. After using it I discovered this to be true. Half inch tape would have been more than enough. The 3/4 inch tape works the same, but leaves a lot of unused white tape visible on the pipe.

It's okay. It does the job. It IS very thin, so cutting each piece you'll use with a small pair of scissors is highly recommended. Having worked as a plumber for some years back in the late 1970's the tape we used was a bit thicker and never once did we cut it. it did have stretch to it, but all you had to do with that pretty much was pull it tight and yank it. Try that stunt with this gauge of tape and I think you'll find that you're going to need the more than ample supply provided. the description DOES read "Industrial," so having not worked in the trade for so long I won't attempt to call this one. It IS also on the thick side measuring side to side. For shower head installation let's say, it might be a bit much. I don't know. Improvise. It does the job won't break the bank you MIGHT find Sealant Tape at the 99 Cents Only Store, but I needed it TODAY. So...

Yep… there’s a difference in tape but I had to be convinced. I thought no matter what brand or thickness I purchased it was just wrapping more around the threads would do it. I’m not a plumber but I do buy homes, live in them for 2-years, make all required repairs/improvements and then see it. Seems every house needed major plumbing work so I just purchased the cheapest 10-packs of Teflon tape I could find and kept wrapping tape until the leak stopped… or changed out the fittings. The added thickness to this tape makes for a better seal but it does not tear off easily. I’m happy with it but had to go with 4-stars because of the difficulty in tearing it off and the ragged end that is left. If you’re prone to cutting it with scissors then it’s a 5-star item. I think it is much better for metal threads because they tend to cut away the tape more when threading fittings together.

While the goose-neck shower head is terrific in our teensy shower, we've found that hard plastic washer at the connection to the pipe invariably cracks, allowing a small leak, and attempts to tighten it to stop the leak shatter it, leading to a big leak dribbling down the outside of the neck. The place the washer goes is not accessible, so while we can see what's left of the broken washer, we cannot push another one into its place.

It's still the best option for our very small shower; we are on our third one of these Waterpik shower heads.

For want of a three-cent part, two stars were lost.

This used to be a wonderful product...but not this specific model. This silver model is apparently made of different material that end up squeaking very loudly when the unit is moved for a different angle. That and the female union and washer do not create a water tight seal. I had to use copious amounts of teflon tape to eradicate the leak. Squeak you say? Well, you take that squeak and amplify it through the whole house via the water system and it is quite annoying. It did take a couple of years to grow the intolerable level at which it eventually arrived, but I can already see that the new unit I just replaced it with has the same issue. The white model that we purchased in 2001 is still going strong, but they are no longer available. Very disappointing.

One of the main reasons I chose this model is that it shows it having the "water saving trickle feature". I read the reviews that said it did not have this feature, so went directly to the Water Pik site and saw that it is listed there as having it. Given that both Amazon and Water Pik show this model as having the trickle feature, I decided that some reviewer was just reviewing the wrong model. I should have believed the reviews; my item arrived and it does not have that feature. What a disappointment!

Other modes work as described. Unfortunately, we live in a city with severe water shortfalls and tiered billing, so water conservation is imperative; that trickle feature was the reason for replacing the current shower head, which was working just fine and had a 2.5 GPM flow rate, the same as this one. The only improvement this one offered was the trickle. I spent so much time sorting through the options and am sorry to have wasted that time on a product that is mislabeled.

By the way, we bought two shower heads, two different models, in this order, both for the same reasons; both were labeled to have the trickle feature and neither one has it.

As for the reviews that mention leakage, we had that problem on initial install, but a little tweaking took care of it. No big deal.

And regarding the flexible neck on this model; that was the other reason for buying this one. My husband is 6'4", so we thought this looked like a great option for him. Once installed however, even in the highest position, it is still no higher than the hand held model. The neck is flexible, and it does stay in place, but because the pipe coming out of the wall angles downward (I think it has to angle like that to work properly), by the time you bend this thing around, up, and over, into a showering position, it is hardly tall at all and it sticks way out into the shower. It would be a good option for people shorter than average it they wanted to be able to make it lower, but as a shower for tall people this is a fail.

For the money, we like this. it has a number of settings, and it move in almost any direction easily and stays. We had one of these earlier models before and it finally broke on the goose neck. it did leak around the connection end. so does this new one. i don't think it did originally when i put it on, but the movement of the neck seems to have loosened something. I don't think this one is made as well, but if i get 2 years out of it, it will have been worth the $30.

The new one fell apart as well. It always leaked after the shower was shut off, and the head always got mold on it which needed to be cleaned regularly. We live in a motorhome, so water conservation is more important than ever. I really liked the shower and flexibility, but just not worth that much money again this soon. We'll try something else.

The pros: You can easily reposition this, and if you are cleaning your tub, and want to rinse a spot, you have more flexibility.

The middle ground is the massage head. It's average and does it's job okay. I usually select one setting and use the same setting for the life of the shower head, so I may not be the best to comment. For the massage setting I chose, I felt like it has less pressure than the last head I used, but it's acceptable.

The cons: This sticks out a long ways from the wall. To get it to stay in place, you must twist it into an S-shape, and it results in the shower head being much further from the wall than a regular head. If you have a small shower, like a corner unit, it would be difficult to use this. I have a medium-sized tube, and this forces me to stand nearly in the center, whereas I used to stand in the first quarter of the tub. This may or may not be a drawback, but there it is.

Also, there's not too many ways to position this. The neck is not that rigid. You can't, for example, keep it in position without bending it into an S-shape. If you tried to position it straight out at a 45-degree angle, it would droop down out of position.

ues it to fix my faucet

What a pain in the ass this was to use. I've used pipe tape before, but this had no tackiness to it that I expected, and was always a struggle getting a tight wrap going. Next time I will get off my chair and go to Home Depot to be sure of what I'm buying.

Teflon tape. It is what it is :)

It works.

nothing to say.

not what I expected from plumbers tape

Flexible but quickly looses its ability to stay in one spot. Started drooping down, always had to keep pushing it up. Eventually tossed it and went with something else

I used to have one at our old home and loved it. Bought this one and enjoyed it for only a couple of months before it quit working. The flexible arm does not let water through so the water trickles out. Because I owned one I liked that lasted years, I'll give it one more try, but if it fails like that again, I will be very angry & disappointed.

All plastic - not chrome

I bought this to replace an aging, similar looking shower head that I've had for years and was very happy with. This one is poor construction and is weak. The tubing isn't even strong enough to hold up its' own weight and when adjusting the spray, it feels like the head is unscrewing.

You can see when I push it up, it just falls back down. Sometimes it stays up but usually after moving it, it won't stay high enough to spray my head.

I'm pretty forgiving of lower quality in exchange for affordability but I would consider this to be a cheap knock-off. I'm considering putting my old rusted head back on because it, at least, still works.

This used to be my favorite shower head. The pressure was incredible. But I noticed that after 5-6 months, the parts would wear out and it would have to be replaced. Since the shower head was so powerful and since it was inexpensive, I didn't mind too much.
Eventually it got to be time for the next replacement so I ordered another one. The head itself (not the connection, which we sealed with teflon tape) on the this brand-new head leaked, which frankly is unacceptable. Our apartment had decent pressure already, so I was willing to overlook it. But when we moved to a new home I decided to try ordering another one, assuming that I had just ended up with a rare lemon. Nope, I was wrong. This one leaked WORSE than the previous one, and refused to hold a steady temperature. And our new house has almost no water pressure to begin with, rendering this shower head USELESS.
I guess that I could have returned both of them. But it's a pain in the butt and there's no guarantee that I'd get any $ back, so it didn't seem worth it. I'll just never buy from them again.
Unfortunately, I've yet to find a shower head that's as good as this one, (back when they actually made it well). The one that we have now is better than the leaky POS, but it still takes me a good 5 minutes just to rinse shampoo out of my hair. It is frustrating to say the least.
I don't know what changes Waterpik has made to their manufacturing, but NO ONE should have to pay $ for something as badly made as this. A basic garden hose would do a better job of cleaning you off.
~L

Back in Jan 1, 2011, I rated this 5 *s but have knocked off 3 *s because of mold issue. So this is a buyer beware. Gives great showers as long as you remove the stupid water restrictor inside the tube. BUT, and I mean BUT...keep an eye for mold!

Here it is May 27, 2011 and this showerhead has developed black drippy MOLD around the center nozzles, also some of the outer green rubber nozzles! I've owned Waterpiks since the early 80's and this is THE 1st to ever get mold...nasty. Took it off and soaked the head and tube with bleach. It now appears every 3 months I will need to soak the head and tube in bleach to prevent/retard mold growth. If it starts to gather mold sooner I'll chunk it in the recycle bin and buy something else, but not another Waterpik.

For my uses the tape was not too helpful. In order to keep the pivot on my folding knives from coming loose I tried using some of the tape to help tighten up the threading between the screw and female pivot end. Since the tape is so wide compared to the small screws it was difficult to wrap the tape around the screw without using too much of it. I was able to use it on two different pivots successfully. If the tape wasn't as wide it might work out better for my applications. If you use this with a longer screw it should work fine.

I purchased this to stretch my ears further and it was wholly unsuccessful. I know that's not the purpose it's intended for initially but that was my experience with it. I'm sure for its other uses it works fine

Too wide to use easily. The shower head unit that I bought also came with thread sealant tape so this wasn't needed. It didn't apply easily, but it WILL do the job.

It's so small, don't believe the picture

Absolutely the worst threading tape I have ever worked with. Almost imposable to use on small fixtures or on hard install places.

I had owned a Waterpik NML-603 Flexible Shower Head for many years and then the shower head fell apart. I ordered another one and had a professional plumber install it. No matter what the plumber did, the new shower head leaked at the top connection. Had to return it and bought a hand held shower which is holding up beautifully. Very disappointed with this purchase.

I've used these Waterpiks for about 7 years. But these are being made more and more cheaply of late. We bought one in May of 2016 and the neck broke this week (January 2017). We bought a replacement this week and the new one didn't even survive the install. The neck broke as we were tightening it and we could see a ton of tiny voids (air pockets) in the plastic of the neck. Very flimsy. Never again.

JAN 2015: My husband is 6'2", and I'm 5'2". With this wonderful shower head, we can both get a great shower. It's very easy to adjust and tons of water comes out. It's the 4th one I've purchased in 18 years, so they don't really last forever.

SEPT 2015 UPDATE: Well, this new model has been in use for 9 months, and it is DEFINITELY not as well made as the previous ones. The jointed ball-and-socket tubing broke in one spot after 2 months and it wouldn't stay upright anymore. Since it is on warranty, Waterpik replaced it. But the replacement one broke in August when the inner tubing got pinched from us turning it to spray the walls while cleaning the shower which we've always done with previous models. Once the inner tubing gets pinched/kinked, water will not spray through the shower-head, only dribble. Waterpik refused to replace it under warranty a second time, though, even though we've only been using in 7 months. My previous 5 star rating is now being dropped down to 1 star since it is obvious that the quality of these things has gone downhill. I don't mind purchasing a new shower head every 5 to 10 years, but certainly, a shower head should last longer than 2 or 7 months.

Love the flexible hose but it leaks where you mount it to the shower arm. If you can handle the small leak dripping down then it might be ok for you. But beware, the company will NOT stand behind its warranty without a receipt, period. I had another product with a lifetime warranty, called the company about it not working and basically they told me without a receipt, nothing could be done. Since I didn't have a receipt from 5 years ago, I was stuck with a broken showerhead that was supposed to be covered for life. Not a cheap one either. Basically, I bought this showerhead before I had a warranty issue on another Waterpik showerhead or I would have never purchased this one and will not ever in the future. Companies need to figure out what makes customers want to buy their products, here is a hint: stand behind your product especially in the event that it breaks for no apparent reason.

Totally disappointed in this shower head. Waterflow was terrible, quality even worse. We've had similar showerheads in the past, and loved them. This model must be made by totally different vendors. We no longer need to worry about being disappointed with this purchase since the showerhead totally seperated from the flex hose and couldn't be replaced. It was actually satisfying to remove it and throw it in the trash. It may be we just received a lemon, seems like most reviews are favorable, but that was NOT our experience. Biggest disappointment was the waterflow, followed closely by overall quality of this particular unit. If you don't mind having to run around in your shower to get wet, then this is the showerhead you want. On a brighter note, if you wait just a few weeks the waterflow will improve......after the showerhead comes off in your hand.

Do not buy from amandami. They sent a cheap, unusable knock off. The plastic wheel was thin and sharp. It was not Dixon. The tape was unusable. We have a plumbing shop. We know tape. We sent it back for a refund and had to drop it off at a UPS site, which was a pain.

Roll is very small

Horrible and low quality. Will not recommend.

this was not a good bargain it look like a sample

It is horrible, it does not attach at all. Pointless purchase!!!

doesn't hold to the threads as well as my old tape, hard to keep this on before putting the connections together