DIY Plumbing Repair - How to Mend a Shower

If your shower doesn’t work how it used to (i.e. fails to produce steady flow of water at controlled temperature) it may be tempting to call in the experts to fix your problem; but there are some plumbing repairs you can do yourself – saving if not time, certainly money. Here are two common problems and how to deal with them.

Scalding shower

If you’ve been getting 3rd degree burns from your shower lately, you may have it set too hot. This is when the temperature of your shower is heated to a point that literally ‘scalds’ your skin. You may have a shower that is prone to random phases of being extremely hot all of a sudden (a common problem in old houses where taps in separate rooms are connected), so you might need to install a scald protector.

Without having to tear down the wall behind your shower, you can just replace the showerhead and spout with an anti-scald valve. This can be done by simply unscrewing the fixtures and following a plumbing repair manual. Once attached, the scald protector is able to cut off the water supply whenever it reaches a dangerous level, thus saving you from more towel-wrapped trips to A&E, or worse.

Dripping shower

A less dangerous plumbing repair problem, but no less infuriating, is a shower that dribbles when you turn it off. Usually when you turn a tap off you expect it to stay off. When it doesn’t stay off, this usually means there is a problem. But with a fundamental understanding of faucets, a basic set of tools, and a fair bit of good fortune, a dripping shower could be a thing of the past.

As a basic rule of plumbing repair, one of the first things you need to do is turn the shower off. If at this point you realize the shower wasn’t dripping but was just “turned on” you can put your tools away and go and have a beer. If not, pry the handle cap off with a pocket knife/small screwdriver/chisel to expose the handle’s internal organs: the shower’s nucleus, the cartridge. Remove the cartridge with pliers or a cartridge puller (available at all good DIY stores), twisting it first before pulling it out fully.

Next, take the old cartridge to a trade store and exchange it for a new one of the same make (there is usually a charge for this service unless you have some sort of gentlemen’s agreement in place). Back at home, affix the new cartridge and reassemble the remaining parts in the opposite way to how you took it apart (filming yourself pulling out the original cartridge then playing it back in rewind may help you remember).

Enjoy a successful day of DIY plumbing repair.

Sarah Saadoun works for HMS Plumbing, a family-owned business in Manassas, Northern Virginia. If you need plumbing repair services, Herve and his dedicated employees at HMS are proud to be serving the plumbing needs of Northern Virginia residents and businesses. For reliable Fairfax plumbers HMS Plumbing is your first choice.