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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!
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
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.
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
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
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?
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
