How to fix leaky showerhead?

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Answer
To fix a leaky showerhead, follow these steps:
  1. Turn off the water supply to the showerhead and remove it from the shower arm by unscrewing it counterclockwise123.
  2. Inspect the rubber gasket or O-ring inside the showerhead for cracks or wear. If damaged, replace it with a new one123.
  3. Clean the showerhead by soaking it in white vinegar for 6-8 hours to remove any mineral deposits. Scrub the threads and nozzles with an old toothbrush123.
  4. Wrap Teflon tape clockwise around the shower arm threads to create a tighter seal12.
  5. Reattach the showerhead by screwing it back onto the shower arm. Tighten it securely with an adjustable wrench12.
  6. Turn the water supply back on and check for leaks. If leaking persists, tighten the connection another quarter turn1.
  7. If the leak is coming from the shower arm connection, wrap Teflon tape around the threads and tighten the showerhead more securely4.
A leaky showerhead can waste hundreds of gallons of water per year, so it's important to fix it promptly to prevent water damage and high water bills4. If the leak continues after trying these steps, you may need to replace the entire showerhead or consult a licensed plumber3.




Author: ChickFix USA



Key insights

  • Dealing with a dripping shower head can be a frustrating experience, especially when trying to figure out the right part to fix it.
  • The decorative cap covering the screw on the shower head may need to be pried off with a flathead screwdriver, but it can be broken.
  • The process of fixing a leaking shower head involves identifying and replacing the seats and springs.
  • Turning the water back on after fixing the bonnet nut is a crucial step in the process.
  • Proper installation of the plastic piece is crucial for preventing water leakage from the shower head.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Bathroom renovation plans were delayed due to health issues and COVID-19.
  • 00:46 Shower head is dripping, needed to find the right part to fix it, found it for five bucks on Amazon.
  • 01:30 Shut off the water, remove the decorative cap, and tighten the screw to fix a dripping shower head.
  • 02:12 Replace the seats, springs, and rubber gasket in the shower head to fix the leak.
  • 03:45 Reassemble the shower head and turn the water back on to fix the leak.
  • 04:44 Check for sealant around the shower head to prevent water leakage.
  • 05:12 Fixing a dripping shower head by adjusting the plastic piece and allowing water to drain out.
  • 05:57 The speaker gets distracted by a phone call and a spider while trying to fix a dripping shower head.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 Hello! How's it going? I'm sorry that I've been annoying. You so much lately, but I'm just getting really ooooold. Now just like everybody else, I started off 2020 with the best of intentions. You know, I think this year, I will finally renovate this bathroom. Really? Yeah, THIS is going to be the year. The first thing that way laid that plan was a wicked case of sciatica that I got from a herniated disc. And that laid me up for about two months. And then as soon as I was getting over that, COVID happened. My beautiful bathroom renovation project has gone on hold.
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  • 00:46 In the meantime though, this shower head has developed a constant drip. It is driving me BANANAS! I went to the Delta faucet website to figure out exactly which part I needed to fix this particular problem. Unfortunately, because this faucet handle is original to the house, which is about 20 years old, I had to reach out to the customer service department to find out exactly which part I needed to fix it. They were only about five bucks on Amazon, and I'll put the link to that in the description or the comments, but keep in mind that yours might be different for your faucet.
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  • 01:30 Now before you do anything with a plumbing fixture. Like this, you have to shut the water off. And although sinks and toilets have their own little shut off valve next to the fixture, my shower does not, and I think a lot of showers are like that. So I actually had to go down to my basement and shut the water off to the entire house, and then let the water drain out before I can even get started. And you really got to turn that thing as tight as you can clockwise otherwise you're going to have a low steady stream of water the whole time while you're trying to work. Now usually on this there's a decorative cap that covers up this screw, kind of like on my sinks as well, that you normally would just pry off with a little flathead screwdriver. Unfortunately that has broken as well.
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  • 02:12 I could get a new one, but it's really only decorative, and it's just me and my husband in here. So I'm not gonna do anything on this that I don't have to do, so that I can give myself more of a reason to gut it later on. Ugh I have to go clean that out while I'm at it. YIKES! Ooof! Look at that sucker! Oh, okay! I think the seats and springs are these two little guys right there. Now on this little rubber gasket here you can see that there's a little lip on one side of it. So the narrow end of the spring goes into there like that, with the rubber end at the top. And then you just take this whole thing and then you slide it in there. All right! Now for this little old man.
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  • 03:45 Here, there's a little notch right there that matches a little notch on the side. They're on both sides, so you just fit those little notches back in and that's how you know... Before I do the rest of this, I'm gonna go clean it. But in order to clean those things, I have to turn the water back on. But luckily I'm at a good point to do that. Once you get that bonnet nut back on that you can turn the water back on. You can more or less tell where the screws need to be because this needs to be on the top.
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  • 04:44 There didn't appear to be any kind of a sealant or caulk going around this anywhere, So I'm going to leave it as is. I'm a little leary about that though. It seems like there should be some sort of a sealant in here so that you don't get water behind the shower. But if anybody's got any comments on that please feel free to post them in the comments below. All right, put this little plastic piece back on here. All right, here we go.
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  • 05:12 Oh, you know what? I put that little plastic piece in there wrong. Gotta go back and fix that. Ah! See if you have it on like this, when you try to turn it, on it doesn't go anywhere. So you need to turn it like that. All right, here we go again. Now when you first turn these off, there's always a little bit of water. That's still stuck up in the head that has to drain out, but it's been about five minutes now and there's no more dripping. And shut the water off nice and tight.
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  • 05:57 Before I could do that...let's see, uh oh. Okay. Every time the phone rings. Now, I'm afraid that it's gonna be a quarantine call from the school. Ugggghhhhh...2020! Oh! There he is...or she. Oh. Check this thing out. I wonder if there's any little baby spiders in there.
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