How To Fix A Leaky Shower Head

Do you know how much you can save by plumbing on your own if you have a small leak? A single small breakage makes us call the plumbers right away, especially when we need it fixed the most. But if you decide to do it on your own, you could be saving yourself quite a lot, not just in terms of money but time as well.

Why is my shower head dripping?

Lime and mineral deposits clog the sower holes over time, causing it to leak or squirt water in all directions. This lowers the water pressure or clogs it completely. Unclogging your shower hole is an easy way to fix the problem without having to part the entire shower fixture. If you plan to start with this simple process, here are the steps to it.

The first and the most obvious step to it is to turn off the water supply. You can do it by turning off the valve or by shutting the mainline. Turning off the valve carefully can alone do the work, and you do not have to shut down your house’s water supply completely.

Depending upon your shower type, take off the shower head or if you can, then just the faceplate. Look for the screws around the fixture, if you can’t just take off the faceplate. You can try to remove it by moving it clockwise and anticlockwise.

Now comes the cleaning part. Take a container big enough to immerse the face plate or the shower head. If you can stop the water flowing from the sink through a sink stopper, you can even use the sink then. Fill the container with white vinegar and some bristle or coarse salt. The amount of vinegar should be enough to immerse the face plate or the shower head completely.

The vinegar can dissolve the lime and mineral deposits, cleaning the holes for better water flow. For effective results, leave the shower head immersed for at least eight hours.

After eight hours, the lime build-up must have dissolved. Now, you have to remove the debris. Take something thin and sharp, enough to fit in the holes of the shower head. You can take a toothpick or a small nail. Stick it into each hole to remove the leftover. Then clean the face plate with a stiff plastic brush for a final touch. You can use also use an air compressor for the final step of removing the debris as it will easily remove the junk. Fix the shower head or the face plate back to its place. Initiate the water supply and check if it works fine.

How To Fix A Shower Diverter

One of the five ways through which you can replace a leaky showerhead is by changing the rubber washer. A rubber washer is a rubber ring used in mechanical devices to keep them in place and prevent annoying noises. When the rubber washer leaves its place or cracks up, it seeps water, causing a leaky showerhead. If you think you need to replace the rubber washer here is how.

Shut down the water supply to your bathroom or the shower.

To replace the washer in your shower head, you have to take down the shower head. Beneath the shower head’s swivel ball is a small band of rubber that we need to replace. Take it off and find one of the similar sizes. Make sure the new one is of the same thickness as the older so that it can keep the shower head in place and not make it leak anytime soon.

The last step is to reassemble and give your shower a final check. Fix the showerhead in its place. Make sure the swivel ball tightly sits into its section so that it doesn’t come loose with the pressure of water. Once you are done, turn on the water supply and check if the shower works fine.

How do you fix a leaking shower diverter?

The diverter valve is the valve that changes the flow of water from the bathtub to the shower head. Sometimes this valve starts to malfunction either due to clogging or ineffective rubber washer. This can cause a leaky shower head. Fortunately, replacing it isn’t too hard.

You have to start by turning off the water supply because you don’t want to have a pool in your bathroom right after you take the faucet off.

You can access the diverter valve by removing the faucet-covering over it. For that, locate the screw of the faucet and undo it. This will let the faucet come loose. Rotate it to take it apart.

The diverter valve is attached to the hex nut of the faucet stem. Unscrew it to take down the faucet. The lime build-up on the screw can make it difficult to do the job. If that happens, take a piece of cloth soaked in vinegar and wrap it around the screw to dissolve the lime build-up. You can also use WD-40 spray to remove the build-up. Once the lime deposit leaves its place, the screw can be easily removed. Take the valve off the attachment and move to the next step.

Check the valve to see if it needs cleaning or replacing. If you see cracks on the valve, you better replace it. If all you see is a lime deposit, then it’s time for a little cleaning. Use white vinegar and a stiff brush to clean the diverter of any lime deposit. Leave it to dry for some time.

Reassemble the faucet step by step as you took it off. Fix the valve then the faucet’s stem screw and then the faucet. Turn on the water supply and check if it works fine.

Replacing A Shower Valve or Hose

A damaged shower hose can also lead to a leaky shower head. It can cause water to drip along the hose reducing the water pressure directly in the shower head. You should replace it as soon as you see the water dripping the wrong way.

The first step to it is safe before work. For that, turn off the water supply to your shower if you can or to the whole bathroom.

Disconnect the hose from the water supply first. You can use a plier or a rag to do this. A rag would be safer as a plier can damage the washer of the hose. But if the hose is fixed tightly and does not come out with a rag, you can use pliers. Keep the washer of this end of the hose carefully if it is not damaged and can be reused.

Now remove the other end of the hose that is attached to the showerhead. Use the same process to take it off carefully and keeping its rubber washer to reuse.

Connect the new hose to the water supply and the shower. First, screw it to the water supply carefully. Make sure your new hose is the same size as the old one, so it fits perfectly and doesn’t come loose. You can use a new washer or the old one from the previous hose. Be careful not to damage the screw while tightening it. Then connect the hose to the showerhead in the same way.

The last step is to test your performance. Turn on the water supply and see if the showerhead still leaks.

Why is my shower head dripping water?

One quick way to fix a leaky showerhead is by taping the showerhead holder. It can be easily done with a Teflon tape. It keeps the showerhead in place and prevents leakages.

Turn off the water supply to your shower carefully.

Use a wrench to loosen the shower head. You can use a soaked piece of cloth between the wrench and the shower head to avoid scratches on the surface of the shower head. Move it anticlockwise to loosen the shower head and get a hold of it with your hands before it falls to the ground or on your feet.

There might be dirt or lime build-up on the threads of the shower arm or the swivel ball of the shower head. Clean it with white vinegar using a brush or rag.

After cleaning, wrap the flex tape around the thread section of the pipe coming from the wall that supplies water to the shower head. Make sure to wrap it clockwise so that it remains intact when you fix back the shower head. The length of the tape should be enough to fix the shower head and not too much.

Fix back the shower head to the shower arm. Do it tightly, so it does not come out loose soon. At first, adjust it with your hands and then use a wrench to tighten it. Turn on the water supply and check if the showerhead works fine.