my shower's gone rogue and sprays everywhere but down

Had something similar happen in one of my rentals last year - tenant called me in a panic because the showerhead was spraying sideways and soaking the bathroom floor. Turns out, cheap plastic fittings inside had cracked overnight. Have you checked if your water pressure's unusually high? Sometimes that can cause even decent showerheads to fail prematurely. I've had good luck with mid-range metal ones - nothing fancy, just solid build quality. Maybe worth looking into brands like Moen or Delta...they've held up pretty well for me.

Yeah, had a similar issue myself a couple months back. Turns out my water pressure was way higher than recommended - didn't even realize until I borrowed a gauge from a neighbor. If you're curious, you can usually pick up a cheap pressure gauge at any hardware store and screw it onto an outdoor faucet or washing machine hookup. Takes like two minutes to check, and if it's too high (mine was around 90 psi, yikes), installing a pressure regulator isn't too complicated or expensive.

Also agree on metal showerheads being better, but if you're on a tight budget, I've found some decent plastic ones that hold up surprisingly well if you pair them with a pressure regulator. Just avoid the absolute cheapest ones - they crack if you even look at them wrong. Learned that the hard way... twice.

Had a similar call last week - customer's shower was spraying sideways like a sprinkler. Checked pressure first (always my go-to), but turned out the showerhead just had mineral buildup. Quick soak in vinegar overnight sorted it right out... might be worth a shot before buying new gear?

Vinegar soak usually does the trick for me too, but if it's really stubborn, sometimes you gotta get in there with a toothpick or old toothbrush to loosen up the deposits. Also, once you've cleaned it out, consider installing one of those inline water filters - they're pretty cheap and can significantly cut down on mineral buildup over time. Saves you from repeating the vinegar routine every few months...