How to Fix a Leaky Shower Faucet

Do you have a leaky shower faucet? Did you know you could lower you water bill if you fixed it? The best part is that it's pretty easy to do and relatively inexpensive to do it.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Rubber O Rings
• Plumbers Grease

Instructions

1. Turn off your water at the water main. If you're not sure where it is, call your water company. You shouldn't need any tools to do this. As a guideline, you will want to turn the shutoff valve handle so that it is perpendicular with the water line.

2. Release the water pressure in your water line. Just turn on the faucet and wait a few minutes.

3. Remove the faucet paying close attention to how you took it apart.

4. Analyze the faucet. Find the rubber O rings and see if they need replaced. They are pretty easy to spot. You know... the rubber things that are in the shape of the letter O. They need to be replaced if they don't feel rubbery when you try to bend them. Also, if they are leaving a colored residue on your hands then it's probably a good idea to replace them.

5. Take the rubber O rings with you to a hardware store like Lowes. There may be a couple different size O rings being used, so make sure you find them all. Buy replacement O rings that are the same size. Also while you are here, buy some water proof plumbers grease. Your total purchase will be close to $10.

6. Return home and install the O rings. Remove the old O rings and make sure the faucet is completely dry. Apply plumbers grease too all areas that the O rings will touch. Put the O rings in place and put some more plumbers grease on top of the O Rings. This will help create a seal, lengthen the life of the O rings and prevent slow faucet drips.

7. Reassemble the faucet in the reverse order that you took it apart.

8. Turn your water on back at the water main and enjoy the sound of a drip free faucet. Ahh... it sounds great.

Tips & Warnings

• O rings are cheap. If your not sure of their condition, just replace them.

• If you still have a leaky faucet, start over and try again. It's possible that the O rings fell off or that you didn't use enough plumbers grease. If you still can't get it to stop, you may have to replace your entire faucet or parts of the faucet like the cartridge.

• Have a towel nearby in case the pipes have some built up water pressure that hasn't been released.

• Make sure you clear any openings of the plumbers grease. If you plug the hole, it will make it more difficult for water to travel.