A dripping tap in the shower is not just annoying it’s also potentially a significant waste of water. If you have a cartridge style shower tap that’s dripping then it’s actually fairly straight forward to resolve the problem. If you don’t want to deal with it yourself you can call an expert plumbing service to help?
Experienced plumbers like these guys are there to help when you have a plumbing job that you need a hand with. If you feel confident to fix your dripping shower yourself then we are going to take you through the process. Remember, before you start the process you need to switch off the water supply to the shower tap.
Removing the handle
The first part of fixing a dripping shower tap is to remove the handle. To do this you will need to remove the handle cap to get to the screw beneath. If you have any problems removing the handle you can try applying heat from a hairdryer. You can also use a handle puller which you would need to buy. If this is necessary then you may want to think about whether it’s a better idea to just ask a professional plumber to do the whole job.
Pulling the cartridge
In order to replace the cartridge, and stop the dripping, you need to pull out the cartridge that is already in place. To do this you need to pull off the stop tube then lever the clip that retains the cartridge. After you have done this, and removed the handle washer, then you should be able to manoeuvre the cartridge free.
It’s worth noting that the best way to remove the cartridge differs from product to product and a lot of this part of the process involves trial and error as well as patience. If you are really struggling to remove the cartridge then you may need to use a cartridge puller. As with the handle puller you may feel that it’s a better an idea to get in touch with a professional to complete the job.
Making sure the new cartridge is in place
The most important thing to remember is that you need to ensure that the cartridge you buy as a replacement is identical to the one which is worn out. If you do not do this you will have wasted your time and money. Once you have the cartridge you need then you simply need to go about reassembling the parts?
As you can see, if you have a cartridge style shower tap that is dripping, replacing the cartridge is not that complicated. The only problems you might have are with the removing the handle and cartridge so that you can place a new cartridge in the tap. If you do start to struggle, then it may be worthwhile getting in touch with a professional plumbing service to finish the work for you rather than spend money purchasing special tools.
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