It is a common thing to end up with a leaking shower head. The leakage in your shower head causes wastage of water, which is not good. You don’t need to hire a professional to fix the leakage because you can do it yourself by following some easy steps. Additionally, fixing a leakage yourself saves money that you have to spend in order to hire a professional.
There are 2 methods for fixing a leakage in the shower head and each of them are mentioned in the following section.
Method-1: Unclogging Holes of the Shower Head
Clogging of holes of a shower head is common and occurs due to the build-up of lime and other mineral deposits that are present in water. Unclogging a shower head holes is simple and you should try it when you do not know the exact problem causing the leakage.
First, you have to switch off the water supply to your bathroom. Either shut off the water supply of the bathroom or turn off the main water line.
Remove the faceplate of the shower head by unscrewing it. If you are unable to remove the faceplate, then you should remove the shower head itself from the fixture.
Arrange a container capable of holding faceplate or shower head. Pour white vinegar in the container sufficient enough to completely immerse the faceplate or the shower head.
Let the faceplate or shower head stay put in the white vinegar for 8 hours. White vinegar will dissolve mineral deposits and lime in it.
Remove the faceplate or the showerhead from the solution and clean the holes manually by utilizing a toothpick or nail. Use a stiff plastic brush to scrub and remove the traces of debris.
Attach the faceplate or shower head to the fixture and turn on the water supply. Check for leaks, if leakage persists then you should try the other method.
Method-2: Replace a worn rubber washer
A worn out rubber washer can be a cause for the leakage of your shower head. Rubber washer also known as the O ring, starts to crack with the passage of time. The cracks are responsible for water leakage through them. Replacing a worn rubber washer with a new one will solve the leakage problem.
Turn off the water supply of the bathroom. Remember that for a compression faucet, you have to determine whether the leakage is from hot-water valve or from cold-water valve.
If you have a single-handle faucet, then you have to replace the rubber washer present inside the shower head. While for a two-handle faucet or compression faucet, rubber washer present inside the faucet needs to be replaced.
For replacing the rubber washer of your shower head, you have to detach the shower head from the shower pipe. You can use a wrench to loosen the collar nut that shuts tight the shower head with the shower pipe. The rubber washer is present beneath the swivel ball of the shower head. Pull off the old rubber washer and replace it with a new one.
For replacing the rubber washer present in the faucet, you have to unscrew and disassemble the faucet. When you remove the screw, you have to pull the faucet handle with your hands or with a faucet puller. After removing the handle, you will need to remove trim and sleeve covering the faucet stem. Unscrew the hex nut holding faucet stem by utilizing a deep socket. Finally, you will be able to replace the rubber washer present inside the faucet.
Reassemble everything and turn on the water supply to check whether the leakage is eliminated or not.