Leaking shower tap

last year

Hi all

I am wondering what could be the problem here as I am unable to locate how the water is leaking to the shower head!

There was a slow drip from the shower head, which got less when you really tighten the taps, to try and fix this I have done the following:

Used a reseating tool to shave down the tap seat smooth, then replaced the tap valves with normal new ones from Bunnings - this didn't work
Replaced the tap valves with anti-leak ones, worked for a while, but as they are very soft and you needed to turn the taps off very tight, they soon failed
Replaced the spindles with new ones, didn't work
Replaced the tap seats with a tap seat replacement tool
Replaced the spindles with the newer type (half turn) spindles as the 'reach' was longer as I thought that might be the issue (tap seat too deep)

Nothing has worked, there is a continuous (but slow) flow of water to the shower head still. I would normally call a plumber at this point to find the issue but we are doing a full bathroom reno in 18 months or so and the shower will be relocated so really don't want to spend money on this issue if I don't have to!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

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Comments (5)

dreamer
last year
If your new bathroom is 18months away, then call a plumber. If you had done that earlier, you may have saved yourself a lot of time.
Kate
last year
Why are you on here and not on a web site booking a plumber
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Zande Willson
last year
last modified: last year
Sounds like the seat inside the breech might be cracked or worn past the point where any washer/spindle combo will seal properly. You’ve replaced pretty much everything else.

If you’re trying to stretch it till the reno, maybe chuck a shut-off valve on the shower line (if you can access it from behind or under)? Otherwise yeah, probably time to call a plumber for a temp fix before your wall cavity turns into a water feature.
User
last year
This was driving me nuts too: swapped washers, spindles, even used the reseating tool like five times. Still had that slow drip. Turned out there was a crack deep in the breech that nothing could seal properly. I got someone from Your Choice Plumbers to sort it enough to get through till the reno, no more drip and didn’t have to rip into the wall. Worth trying if you’re in the same boat.
Elena Zzzz
last year
last modified: last year
I had one that behaved almost the same way, tried new washers, swapped spindles, even reseated the taps, and it still kept dripping. Turned out the problem was deeper in the breech, so nothing I did at the surface was going to fix it. I got Your Choice Plumbers in and they managed a solid temporary fix that’s held up fine, which meant I could keep using the shower until my renovation without ripping into the wall.

Leaking shower tap

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dreamer

Kate

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