How to fix my shower head?

by delavin home May 30, 2024

Sources

Replacing a Showerhead - Today's Homeowner

todayshomeowner

Change Your Shower Head and Get BETTER Water Pressure

youtube

How to Change a Shower Head - YouTube

youtube

Answer

To fix a shower head, follow these steps:

Unscrew the old shower head by turning it counterclockwise using pliers or a strap wrench. 1
Clean the threads on the shower pipe stem to remove any old Teflon tape or debris. 1
Wrap the threads on the pipe stem with new Teflon plumber's tape in a clockwise direction, making 2-3 rotations. This helps create a water-tight seal. 1
Screw the new shower head onto the pipe threads in a clockwise direction until hand-tight. 1
Use a strap wrench or pliers wrapped in a rag to further tighten the shower head, being careful not to over-tighten and damage the finish or threads. 1
Turn on the water supply and check for any leaks at the pipe threads. If leaking occurs, tighten the shower head a bit more or re-wrap the threads with additional Teflon tape. 1

If the issue is low water pressure, you may need to remove the flow restrictor from the shower head. Consult the manufacturer's instructions or look for a small plastic piece that can be pried out from the shower head inlet.

References

1. Replacing a Showerhead - Today's Homeowner 2. Change Your Shower Head and Get BETTER Water Pressure 3. How to Change a Shower Head - YouTube 4. How To Install A New Shower Faucet - Bath - Home Depot Videos 5. Waterpik™ Shower Head Product Support Installation Videos

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Author: Silver Cymbal

Key insights

The most common place for a leak in a handheld shower is between the shower head and the hose connecting to it.
Unscrewing the collar with an adjustable wrench can prevent damage to the shower hose.
The collar inside the shower head is the part that causes the leak, so it's important to inspect it carefully.
Removing the ceiling washer and tightening the collar are two options to fix a leaking shower hose.
It's important to check for cracks or chips at the end of the hose to determine if it needs to be replaced.
Tightening the shower hose can be a bit tricky, but it's important to ensure it's completely seated.
The only thing that makes the shower hose seal water tight is the washer, not teflon tape.
Many shower heads on the market won't even include those flat spots so you're going to need something like this to give you some extra grip when you're first taking it apart.

Timestamped Summary

00:00 Fixing a leaking shower hose is quick and easy by tightening the collar connecting the hose to the shower head.
00:30 Use an adjustable wrench to unscrew the collar on the leaking shower hose without causing damage.
00:59 Use an adjustable wrench or jar opener to unscrew the collar and check inside for the source of the leak.
01:24 To fix a leaking shower hose, slide the collar down to remove the ceiling washer, then flip the washer over for a new sealing surface.
01:49 Replace the washer and check for cracks in the hose or shower head to fix a leaking shower hose.
02:15 Replace the leaking shower hose by pushing it into the end and screwing the collar back on without using sealing paste.
02:29 Replace the washer in the shower hose to fix leaks, avoid using a wrench to tighten it.
02:52 Use a tool for extra grip, check for leaks, and try tips if there are any leaks in your shower head.

Video Full Text

00:00 Handheld showers are great except for one problem. They're all going to eventually develop a leak right at the hose. Now it doesn't matter if it's at the front of the back because in this video I'm going to show you can repair this problem in just a few minutes and make this thing work like new. The most common place you're going to see a leak is between the shower head itself and the hose connecting to it and you might luck out. Because oftentimes with that hose it kind of makes the collar rotate and it can become loose so grab. A hold of the shaft try to turn it to the right and see if you can make it any tighter you might luck out and your leak could be solved.
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00:30 But if it doesn't fix it we can go ahead and look a little bit deeper to see what's going on to start. We want to unscrew that collar and you can try to do it with your hands but you're going to often find that it's on there so tight. The thing is never going to budge and you don't want to use any kind of tool like this because those sharp teeth are going to bite right into that collar and tear the thing apart. But fortunately many of these collars have a built-in trick and that's these two flat spots on the end and those are going to work perfectly with an adjustable wrench and those have flat jaws so you're not going to cause any damage to the collar slide.
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00:59 Your adjustable wrench right onto those flat spots and give it a twist and that collar should come right off and here's a trick. If you don't have an adjustable wrench or you just don't want to use. One go ahead and grab one of those jar openers and put that onto the collar and then squeeze it as hard as you can while you turn that shower head with your other hand and these silicone oven mitts work just as well. Now once you get that collar unscrewed you want to take a look inside because this is the part that's going to cause your leak.
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01:24 This black ring is called the ceiling washer and this is what keeps everything water tight. You can try to remove it by picking it out. But it's going to be easier to just slide that collar down and then the washer will kind of pop out on its own and at this point if you already tried to tighten that collar up and it didn't solve your leak. You've got two options. The first is you can try to flip that washer. Over this is an old plumber's trick that actually works because when you flip it over you kind of get a new ceiling surface and that might just solve your leak.
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01:49 But if you want to be sure to get rid of that leak once and for all you want to take that washer and go down to your local hardware store home depot or lowe's and have them match you up a replacement and if the one they give you doesn't include the screen. It's not really a big deal because many shower heads on the market don't include a screen at all. You'll also want to take a look at the end of the hose. You're looking for any type of big cracks or huge chips and that's going to mean you're going to have to replace the hose or the entire shower head. Know whether you're going to try to flip your old washer over or you've got a replacement.
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02:15 We've just got to put it into the hose. Now. These things can be kind of tight so you got to just work it into the end push it around the threads until it's completely seated. Now we just need to screw that collar back onto our shower head and you don't use any kind of sealing paste.
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02:29 No teflon tape you don't put anything on those threads. The only thing that makes that seal water tight is the washer so if you've got any kind of a leak you can try flipping it over first and if that doesn't work go ahead and buy a replacement and that should completely solve your problem and when you tighten this thing back up you don't want to use the wrench. It's too easy to over tighten it you might crack the shower head but it is okay to use that jar opener and keep in mind.
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02:52 Many shower heads on the market won't even include those flat spots so you're going to need something like this to give you some extra grip when you're first taking it apart. Now. We've just got to turn the water on and check for leaks and this one is looking perfect and you shouldn't have any leaks at all in your shower head. And if you do you want to give some of these tips to try to see if they can make a difference. I hope you enjoyed this video if you did. Please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel if you're not already for more videos coming up.
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