There is nothing that is as annoying and wasteful as a leaking shower. It requires immediate attention and fixing because it might waste a lot of water otherwise. There could be a leakage or something inside the mechanism that might not be working as efficiently as it should be. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to hire a plumber to repair it. If the solution is simple enough you can do it yourself and not have to pay the plumber to do it for you.
The problem may be trivial and then the problem can be fixed by you. However, if after resorting to all the home remedies and repairs, the shower still leaks then a professional help might be required. The challenge is to figure out where the problem lies and if it is a leakage or just some mechanism going array. Once the problem has been figured out, fixing it will get easier.
The Techniques You Can Use to Fix a Leaking Shower
There are a few easy fixes to leaking showers. Resorting to these can help you fix your shower without consulting a professional help. Use of these techniques can greatly benefit you. Some are mentioned below:
- Clearing shower head holes - Often, leakages can be prevented by just clearing up or making head holes clog free. A leaking shower head is often the result of a clogged head hole of a shower. It is caused by deposition of minerals. The way to clearing the head hole is to shut off the water supply to the shower head so as to prevent further flow or accumulation of deposition. The next part involves scrubbing and cleaning the shower head, so the shower faceplate or the shower head needs to be removed and scrubbed. Then the shower head needs to be immersed in vinegar (white) for about 8 hours straight. After most of the deposits have been rinsed clean, the little deposits left behind can be removed manually. Then the parts can be re-attached to see if the leak has been fixed.
- Faucet fixing - Sometimes the problem may lie with the faucet of the shower. For this problem, you need to cut off the water supply first. Then, using the tools at home you can easily disassemble the entire faucet system. The guards and the nuts are to be removed; then the shower stem needs is removed. The shower stem will have several washers. Once you have all the washers, replace them and put the faucet system back as it was, and check for possible leaks.
- Repairing a malfunctioning diverter valve - The correct way of doing this is by cutting off or switching off the water supply to the entire bathroom. Then, to get to the diverter valve, the faucets handle needs to be removed. The diverter valve is then removed and cleaned with vinegar. Once the sediments have been cleared, it can be put back in and checked for leakage again. As it is an effective method for fixing leaking showers, a lot of people go for it.
- Replacing cartridge valve - After turning off the water supply, the faucets handle needs to be removed and the cartridge has to be pulled out. If it is damaged of malfunctioning then the cartridge needs to be replaced in the valve; then the faucet system can be assembled and put back together and checked for the leakage again.
These are a few different techniques that you can use for fixing leaking showers; and then you wouldn’t have to pay a plumber to do it for you.