How To Troubleshoot a Leaky Showerhead | Ask This Old House

In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey helps a homeowner dealing with a showerhead that leaks every time they fill their tub. SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse. Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey takes us on a road trip to solve a homeowner's shower problem. Every time the homeowner turns on their tub spout, water also flows out of the showerhead. After inspecting the issue, Richard finds a problem with the water pressure and provides the homeowner with a simple (and free) fix. Water coming out of a showerhead every time the tub is filling can be an annoying issue. With modern shower valves, the issue is typically that not enough of the water can exit the tub spout, and there can be a couple of causes. Here’s a helpful way to troubleshoot the issue. How Modern Shower Valves Work Before pinpointing the issue, it’s important to understand how modern shower valves work. These valves look like 4-way connections, with hot and cold water coming in from the sides of the valve, and exiting into the tub through the bottom outlet. Inside that outlet are two orifices. The larger orifice supplies the water to the tub spout. Under normal conditions, with the tub spout open, the water simply flows from the orifice and out of the tub spout. With the tub spout shut, the water backs up and travels back to the shower valve, passing through the smaller orifice. From there, it travels straight up and out of the showerhead. Why Water Might Leak from the Showerhead If the tub spout is open and water is leaking from the showerhead, there are generally two causes. The first cause is that the tub spout’s guillotine-like gate is stuck or partially obstructed. When this is the case, all of the water cannot exit the tub spout, causing it to back up and overflow out of the showerhead. The other possible cause is that there is simply too much water pressure for all of the water to exit the tub spout. When this is the case, the backpressure will cause water to exit through the smaller orifice and out of the showerhead. How To Tell Which is the Case The easiest way to tell if it’s an issue with the tub spout or water pressure is to take the tub spout out of the equation. Do this by removing the tub spout from the plumbing, either with an Allen key or by unscrewing the tub spout, depending on the model. Next, run the water at full force. If the water stops coming out of the showerhead, there is likely an issue with the tub spout itself. If water continues to flow from the showerhead, there is too much pressure in the system. How To Solve It If the tub spout is the issue, simply purchase a replacement tub spout and install it. Test it to make sure that it works properly. If the shower head still leaks with the new spout, it might be time to lower the pressure. If the pressure is the issue, there are some simple fixes. If the pressure in the rest of the house is okay and the only place high pressure is causing an issue is the shower, simply find the control valves and throttle them back slightly until the shower runs properly. If the pressure is too high throughout the whole house, adjust the pressure-reducing valve until the pressure levels are more reasonable. This valve looks like an upside-down cone with a bolt sticking out of the top, and users can adjust the pressure by turning the bolt in or out. Where to find it? Richard troubleshoots how to repair a homeowners water pressure valve for their tub and shower. Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House Insider to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: https://bit.ly/2GPiYbH Plus, download our FREE app for full-episode streaming to your connected TV, phone or tablet: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/streaming-app About Ask This Old House TV: From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home. Follow This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG How To Troubleshoot a Leaky Showerhead | Ask This Old House https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/