How to fix a leaky shower...

Stopaleakingshowerhead

Aleakyshowerheadissignificantlyannoying—notonlydoesthedrippotentiallycausediscolorationintheshowerorbathtubanddriveupyourwaterbill,buteachdripmayslowlydriveyoucrazywhilemockingyourskillsatfixingit.

Ifyoufeellikeitshouldbeeasytofixsuchasimpleproblem,you’dberight.Fixingaleakyshowerheadjusttakessomebasictools,alittlebitofknow-howandminimalexpense.

Aplumbercouldfixtheissueforyou,butyou’llspendfarmorethanifyoutreatthedrippingshowerheadasaDIYproject.

Whatyouneedtofixaleakyshowerhead

Youwillneedtouseafewtoolstoremovetheshowerhead.Thesearebasicitemsthatmanypeoplewillhaveonhand.Ifnot,they'renotoverlyexpensive.

Thebesttooltousewiththistypeofrepairissomesortofadjustablewrench,asthenutontheshowerheadcanbeprettylarge.

Apairofchannelpliersoradjustablepliers,suchastheIrwinVise-GripPliers,isagoodplacetostart.Ithasanadjustableopeningfrombetweenafractionofaninchtoafewinches.

Somepeoplepreferalockingwrenchforthistypeofjob.Itusesathumbwheeltoadjusttheopeninginthewrenchfromafractionofaninchtoaninchormore.TheCrescent10-InchLockingWrenchisagoodchoiceforthistypeofjob.

Forsomeonewhohandlesseveraldifferenttypesofplumbingrepairs,apipewrenchisagoodoption,suchastheMaxpower14-InchPipeWrench.Thistoolhasquiteabitofhefttoit,helpingyouapplytheforceyouneedonatightnut.

Oneofthemostcommonsourcesofaleakyshowerheadisoldsealantthreadtape.Alsocalledplumberstape,thiscreatesawatertightsealattheconnectionbetweenthewaterpipearmandtheshowerhead.Ifthistapebecomesworn,theresultisoftenaleak.

You'llonlyneedafewinchesofplumber'stape,sobuyingarollwillgiveyoufarmoretapethanyouneedforthisjob,butthat'stheonlywayit'ssold.

Cleaningtheshowerheadinsideandoutsidemayhelpeliminatethedrips.Youcansoaktheentireshowerheadinabowlofdistilledvinegar,whichhelpstoremovehardwaterscalingthatcancreateclogsandallowleaks.Anylonbrushcanremovescaling,too.

Finally,youmaybeabletofixtheleakingshowerheadwithanewrubbergasketorO-ring.Havinganassortmentofrubberwashersonhandcanensurethatyouhavethecorrectsizereadytogo.

Howtofixadrippingshowerhead

Herearethestepstofollowtoremoveandrepairaleakyshowerhead.

Iftheshowerorthebathroomhasaseparatevalvethatyoucanaccess,shutitoffatthevalve.Otherwise,youmayneedtoshutoffthewatertotheentirehouseduringtherepair.

Aftershuttingoffthewatertotheshower,openthefaucetandletthewaterthat'salreadyinthepipedrain.

Lookonthebacksideoftheshowerheadforthenut.Then,twisttheunittowardtheleft(counter-clockwise)toremovetheshowerheadatthelocationofthenut,whileleavingtheshortwaterpipearmthatextendsoutofthewallinplace.

Iftheshowerheadwillnotcomeloosewhentwistingbyhand(anditprobablywon’t,especiallyiftheshowerheadhasbeeninplaceforayearormore),useanadjustablewrenchtoremoveit.Attachthewrenchatthelocationofthenutasgentlyaspossible.(Showerheadsmadefromplasticcouldcrackifthewrenchistootight.)

Youwillnoticesomedripswhiletheshowerheadtwists—thisisjustwaterthatwastrappedinsidetheshowerhead,andalittlebitofwaterleakingisnormal.Ifyouseemorethanatrickleofwater,youmaynothaveshutoffthewatervalvetotheshowerproperly.

Submergetheshowerheadfullyinabowlofdistilledvinegarforafewhourstoloosenanycorrosionorscale.Ifyounoticequiteabitofscaling,youcanleavetheshowerheadinthevinegarovernight.

Useabrushtoloosenmorescalingaftertheshowerheadhasbeensoaked.Youmaywanttouseaneedleortoothpicktounclogtheindividualholesintheshowerhead,too.

ThebackoftheshowerheadshouldhavearubberwasherorO-ringinsideit.Thiswasherbecomesstiffovertime,leavingitunabletocreateawatertightseal.Ifneeded,replaceitwithanewwasherofthesamesize.

Beforereattachingtheshowerheadbyscrewingitbackontotheshowerarm,applyplumber’stapetothethreadsoftheshowerarmontowhichyou’llbescrewingtheshowerhead.

Usearagornylonbrushtoremovealltracesoftheoldplumber’stape.Wrapanewsectionoftapetightlyaroundthethreadsfourorfivetimes.Thenscrewtheshowerheadontothearmslowly.Someofthetapemaypushupwardalittlebit,whichisfine.

Howtoreplaceashowerhead

Ifyoudiscovertheleakisintheshowerhead,youmayultimatelydecidetojustinstallanewshowerheadratherthanrepairtheoldone.It'sagoodideatoreplaceashowerheadeveryfewyears,andanewshowerheadmayalsohavesomecoolnewfeatures.

Youmaywantahigh-pressureshowerheadthatdeliversaconsistentjetofwater,suchastheAisosoHighPressureAnti-ClogShowerHead.Somepeoplepreferarainfallstyleshowerhead,suchastheWaterpikFlexibleNeckRainfallShowerHead.Forthosewhohaveasprayarmaspartoftheshowersetup,theAquaDancePremiumShowerHeadoffersavarietyofwaterflowoptions.

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