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How to fix dripping showerhead?

Unless I turn the shower handles off extremely hard, the showerhead drips. I'd like to fix this so the shower handles can just be turned off normally without breaking an arm. Given the handles seem to be the issue, can anyone advise what the likely problem is and how easy it is to fix? Thanks!

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EricL

Hello @kayara

The jumper valves inside your tapware have worn out which is why your shower head is leaking, and the taps are difficult to shut off. I suggest having a look at this guide - How to replace a tap washer. This will give you a general idea of how to change the Jumper valve in your shower tap. The general steps are to turn off the mains water outside your home. The next step is to remove the tap handle, unscrew the flange and use a shifter to remove the spindle itself. You can then have access to the jumper valve itself, replace it with a new one and do the steps in reverse to re-assemble.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

kayara

Hi @EricL, thanks for your help. I finally got round to fixing the taps and wound up having to replace the tapware altogether (installed Mondella Chrome Cadenza tapware), as the old tapware was corroded and fused together. The new install has fixed my initial issue of the dripping showerhead, but I’ve introduced a new issue, which is that water now leaks from the taps themselves. I tried reinstalling a few times to ensure all done correctly but no luck.

There is some kind of black material around the exterior of the tap seat that seems worse for wear - it’s not an o ring as it stays on the wall when spindle is removed and is around exterior of seat. Could this be causing the issue? Thanks.See black stuff on outer edge

MitchellMc

Hi @kayara,

From your photos, it looks like the leak is on the hot side. The first thing I would check is whether the red fibre washer is actually installed on the hot tap. I can clearly see a red fibre washer on the cold side, but from the angle of the photos it is hard to confirm whether one has been fitted to the hot side as well. If the fibre washer is missing between the spindle and the locking cap, that alone can cause a leak.

If the washer is definitely installed, the next thing to consider is the installation order. Did you remove the top locking nut first, which is the exposed copper section that sits proud of the wall? The correct process is to install the inner spindle into the wall and fully seat it first. Once that is done, the red fibre washer should be placed over the spindle, followed by refitting and tightening the locking nut to compress the washer and create the seal.

If the spindle and locking nut are installed together as one piece, it can affect the depth and prevent the washer from sealing properly. I would double-check that the red fibre washer is in place on the hot side and that the spindle was seated first, followed by the washer and then the locking nut. Those two points are the most common causes of this type of leak.

Please let me know how you go.

Mitchell

kayara

Hi @MitchellMc, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I've already done all of those things! I installed several times, ensuring to seat the spindle first, put in the red washer, then put in the locking nut - for both taps. Both taps leak every time when turned on (there is no leaking when turned off though).

It's interesting that the previous taps didn't leak but these new ones do, making me think it is something to do with the new tapware, despite being sure I have followed instructions and installed correctly.

Any other ideas of what the problem could be?

MitchellMc

It sounds like you’ve been very thorough with the installation, @kayara, and since the taps only leak when on, the issue is likely with how the fibre washer seats against the internal tap body. That black twisted material is probably some sort of filler or sealing rope that was put in the wall around the copper pipe. It’s not part of the tap’s working mechanism, so it could be interfering with the red fibre washer compressing properly against the metal.

Even a small gap or obstruction there will prevent the fibre washer from sealing fully, which is why you get a leak under pressure. The next step is to turn the water off, remove the locking nut (or slightly lift it up the spindle), and check whether the black material is caught between the fibre washer and the tap body. If it is, I would suggest removing it. Once the washer is properly compressed by the locking nut, the leak should stop.

If you can undo the locking nut and take a picture I might be able to see if the black material is encroaching on the seating area.

Mitchell

kayara

Thanks @MitchellMc. See pics below - it's a bit hard to see what's going on; I've upped the brightness to try to see the black stuff better. On the cold tap, I did try with the installs flipping that little black overlap piece at the top 'up' (so it didn't sit under washer) and also 'down' (so it sat under washer). Still leaked both times, though I didn't think there was any black stuff between the washer and the seat sometimes. Perhaps it's worth trying cutting away the black stuff, if that won't compromise anything?

kayara

@MitchellMc update - I went ahead and tried cutting back the black stuff a bit, sadly didn't fix the issue at all. The only other thing I can think of is that I've only hand-tightened the spindles (didn't do the extra wrench half-turn) as if I tightened further the locking nuts would just spin and spin and wouldn't catch to tighten. Not sure what this means or if it signals some other problem. Ideas welcome 😁

MitchellMc

OK, so that explains a bit @kayara.

Firstly, there's a whole heap of muck on the contact surface there. All that red is likely an old fibre washer stuck to the seat. That should be scratched off with a metal pick or something. Also, the black stuff (which is likely a waterproofing membrane is all over the mating surface. It's good that you've cut it back. Please clean off the residual old red fibre washer and expose the metal contact surface before trying again.

There might also be an issue here with the depth of the wall fitting. If it is so close to not fitting that you can nip up the spindle, then it indicates these spindles are not suitable for the depth. They are outside their maximum adjustment.

Clean up the area and try again. If that doesn't work, you might need spindle extenders. The problem with those are, if it extends the spindle too far, you end up with a gap between the cover flange and the wall.

Mitchell

kayara

Thanks @MitchellMc. I cleaned everything up really well, but still get leaking, and the locking nuts still wouldn’t fully tighten. I put in 28mm spindle extenders (compatible for ceramic disc). This allows everything to be installed and well tightened, but has introduced two new problems:

1) once I turned the mains back on, the shower turned on. Wouldn’t turn off even with taps in off position. Double-checked that spindles were installed with valves in off position, so this isn’t the issue.
2) as you said, the flanges now sit about 250mm off the wall.

I think I’m probably close to being out of my depth and will need to get a plumber involved, but I’d love to exhaust all options first, if you have any further advice on above?

JacobZ

Hi @kayara,

At this point, I am also out of my depth and would need to contact a plumber.

@MitchellMc will be back online on Tuesday. If there is anything else he can recommend, I am sure he will do so.

Please bear with us.

Jacob

kayara

Thanks @JacobZ - keen to hear if @MitchellMc has any ideas!

MitchellMc

The water running after install is typically when you haven't separately locking nut from the spindle when installing @kayara. The locking nut bottoms out on the tap housing and prevents the seal at the end of the spindle from making contact with the seat. The water just continuously runs. You need to remove the locking nut from the spindle, screw the spindle in fully and then screw the locking nut onto it. I haven't seen that leak issue in any other circumstances; in fact, it's what I did the first time I installed ceramic disc spindles.

If that doesn't resolve the issue, I'd be calling in a plumber, too.

Mitchell

kayara

Thanks @MitchellMc. I made sure to tighten everything up separately, with the spindles well tightened before putting on the locking nuts, but unfortunately I'm still getting the issue of the shower running at full when the mains go back on. I'm at a loss as to what's happening, as I've put the spindles in as far as possible (and tightened with wrench) and they still have plenty of room on the thread as pictured. If you have any other advice I'm all ears, and sorry to still be trying to solve this issue!

MitchellMc

The only thing I can think of now is that the extenders are not seating correctly and water is bypassing them @kayara.

Are the spindles still leaking out the front, and is the shower running? If so, it sounds like a compatibility issue, and you might not be able to get this tap set to function with your shower.

Mitchell

kayara

Hi @MitchellMc, I tried with new tapware with more thread on the spindles to see if that worked instead. I installed these Estilo ones, taking me back to jumper valve taps (which I had originally). The taps no longer leak (yay!) but the original issue has returned and the showerhead is leaking again, worse than before, even when turned off hard.

What's interesting is that when I first installed Mondella ceramic disc taps that leaked, the showerhead actually stopped dripping, so the problem is able to be fixed. But now I've returned to jumper valves (with brand new taps and valves), my taps don't leak, but my showerhead does again. Very confusing.

I've attached a few pics showing the seats in case there's something I'm missing there (though look okay to me).

Any further advice?

Noyade

Try re-seating and if you haven't already tried - use a 'domed' shape washer.

Just a thought @kayara

EricL

Hello @kayara

I agree with @Noyade's recommendation. It appears that the spindle seats have a bit of damage on them and polishing them might do the trick. My best advice in regards to the reseating tool is to apply very light pressure and let the tool do all the work. Your goal is to get a level polished surface.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

kayara

Hi everyone, to tie a bow on this adventure for anyone following along at home: I ended up getting a plumber in as I wanted to make sure the reseating was done properly. The plumber agreed the seats had probably just worn down over time, reseated them, and the taps are working well so far. Sometimes you have to call in the big guns!

Thanks for all the advice from everyone along the way.

MitchellMc

Thanks for the update, @kayara. Glad you got it sorted!

Mitchell

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