Most homeowners are familiar with the dreaded drip, drip, drip coming from a leaky faucet, and when you have a leaking shower, it can be even more grating. Hearing that water echo in a bathroom is enough to drive any respectable person up a wall. But the sound isn’t the worst part. Faulty faucets can cause water damage, staining, scaling, and indicate a more serious issue with the plumbing. It’s always better to get it take care of sooner rather than later.
There’s all kinds of do-it-yourself advice out there on the internet and a skilled homeowner might be willing to tackle faucet repair, but this is really a job best left to professionals. Professional plumbers, that is, who have the skill and experience in their trade to do the job well, spot any potential weak spots, and guarantee their work. The last thing you want to do is attempt to fix a leaking shower, get in too deep, and make things worse.
Repairing plumbing can be a pretty complex process, even for something that looks outwardly simple, like a leaky faucet. You might think something just needs to be tightened, but in reality there may be a lot more going on that you can’t see.
When we come out to fix a leaking shower head or faucet, the first thing we have to do is shut off the water main for the entire house. This may seem like overkill to the inexperienced, but for those of us in the business, we know that you’re going to get wet no matter what, and the last thing you need is to get in there and have the water still on.
Next step is to unscrew the shower head completely so we can see what’s going on. For some heads that are really stuck, we might need special wrenches or pliers to get it off without damaging it. From there, we’ll check the shower pipe and hardware to make sure there aren’t any washers or o-rings missing, which could be the source of the leak. Sometimes these parts wear out and need replacing, too. If everything seems well, we’ll likely wrap it up with Teflon tape and test it for leaks again. If there’s still a problem, it could point to a bigger issue with the pipe, which means more extensive work.
You might be wondering if there’s anything you can do yourself to help prevent leaks so you can avoid future faucet repair. No matter what, homes are always going to need some maintenance, but you can certainly lessen your expenses by regularly taking your shower head off to clean and inspect it. Make sure the rubber o-ring is still in good shape and that everything is screwed on nice and tight. Just be careful not to strip your threads! Don’t ignore small issues, because they only every get bigger. If you’re still having problems, we’re just a phone call away.
