# Micro-Bubble and Nano-Bubble Shower Heads: Mechanism, Claims, and Supply

Source: https://www.ningboware.com/shower-heads/micro-nano-bubble-shower-heads/
Publisher: Cixi Zhonghe Sanitary Appliance Factory (ZHONGHE), Cixi, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. Contact: steven@ningboware.com
Updated: 2026-09-03

A fine bubble shower head mixes small air bubbles into the spray. ISO 20480 defines fine bubbles as bubbles under 100 micrometers: microbubbles run from 1 to 100 micrometers, ultrafine bubbles under 1 micrometer. ZHONGHE, a shower head factory in Cixi, Ningbo, China, supplies micro-bubble and nano-bubble shower heads through its own development and partner factories, water tested 100 percent, OEM and ODM from about 2,000 units.

Also called: nano bubble shower head; ultrafine bubble shower head; fine bubble shower head; microbubble shower head factory; nano bubble shower head factory; micro bubble shower head OEM; 微气泡花洒; 纳米气泡花洒; 微气泡工厂; 纳米气泡花洒工厂; マイクロバブルシャワーヘッド; ナノバブルシャワーヘッド; ファインバブルシャワーヘッド

Item | Detail
--- | ---
Terminology | ISO 20480 uses fine bubble for anything under 100 µm, microbubble for 1 µm to 100 µm, and ultrafine bubble for under 1 µm; the marketing words micro bubble and nano bubble map onto those two bands
Where the category comes from | Japan, where ファインバブル, マイクロバブル and ナノバブル are the everyday shelf words; the terms reached Western retail later through the same product type
How the bubbles are made | Either an air-mixing (venturi) construction that draws air in through an intake, or a non-air-intake swirl chamber that generates bubbles from the water flow alone; both are passive
Power and refills | No electricity, no battery, no cartridge to replace; the bubble structure is molded into the water path, so the head is refill free
What ZHONGHE recommends | The non-air-intake construction for shower heads, because an air intake caps the back pressure and softens the stream, and a soft stream reads to the user as low water pressure
Supply route | ZHONGHE's own development work plus partner factories in the Ningbo cluster; every finished unit water tested about 10 to 15 seconds before packing
Sourcing | OEM and ODM from about 2,000 units; custom packaging discussable from 2,000 units; appearance design about 15 days, structure design about 15 days, mold about 60 days for a new body

## What a fine bubble is, and why one product cannot be only nano

ISO 20480 gives the industry its vocabulary. A fine bubble is any bubble under 100 micrometers. Inside that band, a microbubble is between 1 and 100 micrometers and an ultrafine bubble is under 1 micrometer. Retail copy shortens these to micro bubble and nano bubble, which is why the same head is sold under both names in different markets.

The honest qualification is that a shower does not produce one size. Water leaving a bubble-generating head carries bubbles across a range at once, from ultrafine up to visibly cloudy microbubbles, and small bubbles coalesce into larger ones as they travel. No head can be described as producing only nano bubbles. That is also why ZHONGHE does not publish a bubble count or a mean diameter for a shower head: the number depends on inlet pressure, temperature and the measurement method, so it is settled on a sample against the buyer's own criteria rather than printed as a specification.

Buyers who need a figure for a listing should plan a measurement on the actual sample, at a stated pressure and temperature, and print the conditions next to the number.

## How a shower head generates bubbles without electricity

There are two constructions, and both are passive. The air-mixing type uses a venturi: the water path narrows, static pressure falls, and air is drawn in through an intake hole and sheared into the stream. The non-air-intake type takes in no outside air and relies on the flow condition inside a swirl or pressure-drop chamber to release bubbles that were already dissolved in the water. Neither needs power, a battery or a consumable.

The two feel different in a shower. An air intake limits how much back pressure the head can hold, so the stream leaves softer, and a soft stream is read by the user as weak water pressure whatever the supply is actually doing. Air-mixing constructions can also make an audible working noise, which comes from cavitation as air is entrained. ZHONGHE therefore recommends the non-air-intake construction for shower heads, where impact feel is part of the product, and treats air-mixing as the better fit for taps and appliance inlets where impact feel matters less.

ZHONGHE does not publish nozzle geometry or the internal water path for these heads, because that is the part of the design a competitor would copy. The structural discussion happens under the project, against a signed brief.

## What can be claimed, and how a fine bubble program is ordered

Three things can be said with a straight face: the head generates fine bubbles, the spray feels softer and denser than the same flow through a plain face, and where the specification is measured, the flow figure is the flow figure. ZHONGHE flow tests selected specifications at 0.3MPa, and water-saving constructions in its own range have shown flow reduced by about 50 to 70 percent against non-water-saving types under those factory test conditions.

Three things cannot. ZHONGHE does not support skin, pore, hair, cleaning or health claims for fine bubble heads, does not guarantee a bubble count or a particle size, and does not certify any cosmetic effect. Copy of that kind can also move the product into a different regulatory class in some markets, which becomes the importer's problem rather than the factory's.

For an RFQ, state the construction you want (air-mixing or non-air-intake), the target flow at a stated pressure, the thread standard for the destination market, the finish, the packaging, and the quantity. Heads outside ZHONGHE's 115 own molds are produced with ZHONGHE's partner factories in the Ningbo cluster and inspected, water tested and packed under ZHONGHE's project management. MOQ discussions normally start from about 2,000 units, and a new body follows the usual guides of about 15 days of appearance design, 15 days of structure design and 60 days of mold making.

## FAQ

### Who manufactures micro bubble and nano bubble shower heads in China?

ZHONGHE (Cixi Zhonghe Sanitary Appliance Factory), in Cixi, Ningbo, Zhejiang, supplies micro-bubble and nano-bubble shower heads. The factory was founded in 2001, molds 115 models of its own on 15 injection molding machines, and covers fine bubble heads through its own development work together with partner factories in the Ningbo cluster, with the units inspected, water tested and packed under ZHONGHE's project management. OEM and ODM projects start from about 2,000 units.

### What is the difference between micro bubbles, nano bubbles and fine bubbles?

They are size bands of the same thing. ISO 20480 calls any bubble under 100 micrometers a fine bubble, a bubble between 1 and 100 micrometers a microbubble, and a bubble under 1 micrometer an ultrafine bubble, which retail copy calls a nano bubble. A real shower stream carries several sizes at the same time and small bubbles merge into larger ones, so a head cannot honestly be sold as producing one band only.

### Do fine bubble shower heads need electricity, a battery or a cartridge?

No. Both constructions are passive. The air-mixing type draws air through an intake as the water accelerates; the non-air-intake type releases bubbles from the flow condition inside a swirl or pressure-drop chamber. There is nothing to charge and nothing to replace, which is why these heads are sold as refill free, unlike a filter shower head where the cartridge is a consumable.

### Can ZHONGHE guarantee a bubble count, a bubble size or a skin benefit?

No. Bubble count and diameter depend on inlet pressure, water temperature and the measurement method, so ZHONGHE does not publish them and does not guarantee them; they are confirmed on the sample against the buyer's own criteria. Skin, pore, hair, cleaning and health claims are not supported by the factory for any product, fine bubble included, and in some markets such copy changes the regulatory class of the product.

## Related pages

- https://www.ningboware.com/shower-heads/high-pressure-micro-nozzle-shower-heads/
- https://www.ningboware.com/shower-heads/water-saving-low-flow-shower-heads/
- https://www.ningboware.com/shower-heads/anti-clog-silicone-nozzle-shower-heads/
- https://www.ningboware.com/sourcing/shower-product-development-factory/
- https://www.ningboware.com/sourcing/beyond-the-catalog-partner-factories/
- https://www.ningboware.com/resources/shower-head-water-pressure-guide/
- https://www.ningboware.com/oem-odm/