Do I call a plumber or do you think a handyman could do this for me??
by
E S
+1
My shower continues to pour water out the faucet even when it's supposed to spray from the shower head only. It also pushes the hot water out the faucet more than the shower head - so it's cutting the house's possible shower time in half. I was going to call a plumber, but wondered if I could call a handyman to fix this instead. What do you guys think??
4 answers
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Plumber! The handyman can do the work of getting to the plumbing hardware, but the plumber is the expert as to the problem and then fix it. Sounds like a diverter valve issue. It's pressure that makes the water run upward to the shower head against the forces of gravity. The "diverter" uses that same water pressure to direct the water between the tub fauset and the shower head. Normal wear and sediment building up sometimes makes it malfunction. A dollar to a doughnut says that's the issue. The fix is... a new diverter valve.
Ricardo B
on Feb 17, 2012
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is this a three handle shower ( hot, cold, diverter) or a single mix valve with a "divert" at the tub spout?. if this is a tub spout divert, replacing just the spout my do the trick...this could be a diy or handy type fix. if the problem is more in the first group then a cartridge kit for the divert valve may be needed...this may best be served by a plumber.
KMS Woodworks
on Feb 17, 2012
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It sounds as though the diverter valve has a damaged washer. The diverter valve is much like the faucet, but has two positions. When it is open to allow the water out of the tub, the washer seals off the shower head side. And when your looking for shower it shuts off the tub. When the washer dries out and cracks it ends up leaking and not allowing the water to flow out of the shower head. This can be fixed simply by removing the faucet handle, then the wall plate. Under that is two nuts. A small one that seals the packing nut so water does not come out of the faucet stem. The larger one removed the entire assembly. That is the one you want to take off. Remove that and the entire faucet will come out. Take that to your local plumbing supply, not big box store type, but a plumbing supply store and they can give you the parts to fix this. The main water does not even have to be off when doing this.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Feb 17, 2012
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Thanks everyone. I'm calling a plumber to come look at it. And it is the three knobs, one for hot, another cold, and the third in the middle for the diverter. I'll let you know how it goes.
E S
on Feb 22, 2012
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