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I bought a plastic shower head from home depot for $1.97. It said hand tighten. When I got home I could not find my teflon tape. I installed the new shower head by hand tightening very tightly and it seemed to seal good.

Should I use teflon tape? Should I use pipe thread compound as if I was attaching metal to PVC?

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Justin Dearing
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    Be careful not to over-tighten, it's really easy to split the threaded part of those cheap plastic shower heads. Maybe leave it be now, it's not leaking. Even if you *should* have used Teflon... "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". – Jimmy Fix-it Aug 15 '15 at 02:41

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Most shower heads seal to the shower arm using a rubber washer. If that's the case with yours, the purpose of the threads is more to hold the washer tight, not provide a seal, and teflon tape or thread sealant compound are not useful.

Shimon Rura
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  • On the other hand, I've seen many plastic fixtures where it wasn't possible to screw them down tight enough to form a good seal with the rubber washer, in which case the white tape *may* be useful. – Craig Tullis Aug 15 '15 at 01:23
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    I agree with @Craig. While it may not be required, PTFE tape couldn't hurt. The primary function of PTFE tape (and pipe dope) is to reduce friction, which allows you to tighten the joint a bit more. – Tester101 Aug 15 '15 at 02:27