How Do I Fix a Dripping Shower Head? | DIY #4

Have a leaking and dripping shower head not only means chaos in your bathroom, but also a great waste of water. A leaking shower is a common and widely occurring problem which you can easily tackle using a few tools, all by yourself. Follow these steps and save yourself time and money.

• Turn off the water supply from the water main in your house.
• Remove the showerhead from the water pipe and examine it for wear and tear that is causing it to leak. If the leakage is being caused by the tiny plastic washer, remove it, however, if the showerhead seems too damaged from within, it is best you replace it.
• Clean the showerhead before you replace it. The best way to do this would be by placing the showerhead into a pan of warm vinegar and nicely cleaning the debris and sediment.
• If you have replaced the plastic washer, you need to use Teflon tape to wrap threads on the pipe stem. Make sure you do not use a great deal of the tape.
• Reinstall the showerhead back to the water pipe using pliers, and make sure that it has been nicely tightened.
• Turn on the water, and turn it off after 2 minutes to examine whether the leak persists or not.

In the instance the leak still persists, the problem is then being caused by a malfunction in your faucet. If your faucet is worn out, it will have to be replaced, and using these simple and easy steps, you can see if can be repaired. You have to:

• Once again, you begin by cutting off the water supply coming into the shower from the water main.
• Open the faucet and allow the water to drain out completely.
• Disassemble the faucet using a screwdriver and a wrench. You will have to unscrew all the valves and remove all the handles in order to remove the open the faucet.
• Examine all the different washers, particularly the packing washer and seat washer, which is made of rubber and is attached at the end of the shower stem.
• Nicely clean all the pipes by soaking them in warm white vinegar, water solution and using an old toothbrush to thoroughly scrub away any debris or sediment that you can see on the pipes.
• Reattach all the valves and knobs to reassemble the faucet.
• Re-install the faucet.

If the leakage persists despite fixing the shower head and the faucet, chances are that your existing faucet is simply beyond repair and you need a new one. Hillcrest Plumbing and Heating provides the latest plumbing supplies at affordable prices.

Should you ever need professional assurance that your shower head does not leak, do not hesitate to get it checked by a professional plumber. Hillcrest Plumbing & Heating can fix any leaking shower head and faucet problems.