How to Fix a Leaking Shower Faucet Handle

We had the fun opportunity to fix our leaky shower faucet in our old basement bathroom. Here are some helpful suggestions if you are going to do it yourself. (with pictures of what we were dealing with)

Best Fix – Most of the time a leaky faucet or shower is the stem cartridge leaking behind the actual faucet head. So since the real only thing that could be leaking was the cartridge, we decided we needed to replace the cartridge. We removed the shower faucet handle by loosening the screw. We were able to find the exact replacement cartridge at our local home superstore. Replacing the cartridge is the best way to go. The complete cartridge is around 20 dollars. Bring the old one with you and can match it up right in the store… In most cases it will be Moen, Delta or Pfister brand.

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After we removed the faucet handle, here is what it looked like. It was leaking behind this.

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Here is a close-up of what it looks like behind the shower head faucet handle.

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We completely removed the cartridge that was leaking.

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Here is the cartridge removed. We took this to Home Depot and got a replacement. Very easy to fix yourself.

The black washer is removable, there is also a spring that will come out too. Nothing really holds it in, so you can pick at it with screwdriver and it should come right out. Replace the little spring and washer and the cartridge. It was the spring and washer that was causing the leaking for the most part. The easiest way to get the new spring and washer in is to put them both on a screwdriver and put the screwdriver in the hole and slide them both into place. Then put the cartridge in and tighten up the packing nut.

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