Is the shower faucet not work correctly ? We ’ve got you covered .

Troubles with your tubful and cascade faucet can be surprisingly easy to fix — if you contend to turn the faucet on and off or moderate the temperature , your shower faucet cartridge belike needs to be repaired or replaced . Once you exclude off the body of water and remove the handgrip and escutcheon , you’re able to quickly check whether the cartridge for your single - handgrip bathing tub and cascade faucet is a pickup , musket ball , or magnetic disc type .

Before you replace your shower pickup , note that mineral deposit from hard water supply could be the cause of your faucet issues . If you see deposit when you disassemble the spigot , gazump the cartridge invinegar to clean itbefore reattaching . Otherwise , a damaged cartridge might command repairing or replacing a sealed part .

Bathtub with organized artwork in frames

Credit: Emily Followill

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Instructions

Remove Handle

Before you begin , shut off the waterto the fixture and move around the faucet on until the water kibosh hunt . To remove the handle , you might necessitate a hex spanner , which is sometimes included in a repair outfit . Remove the screws holding the escutcheon ( the 2-dimensional plate surrounding the handle ) and slide out the finger plate .

Remove Retaining Clip

If there is a chrome arm , unscrew it or pull it out . employ a small screwdriver to pry out the keep on clip that holds the cartridge in place .

Remove Cartridge

Some cartridges can be removed easily with plier . Others call for a special cartridge - pulling wrench ( usually available at hardware stores or home centers ) made for a specific brand name of faucet . If you have a tapered pickup ( which work by virtue of its tapered shape , rather than a series of groove ) , note the magazine ’s orientation when you remove it so you could put it back the same way . If blistering and cold are change by reversal after you reinstall the cartridge , turn it 180 grade .

Replace O-Rings

Look for mineral deposits on the pickup and soak in vinegar to clean if necessary . If the cartridge is in serious figure , replace the O - ring and any other worn parts as needed . ( It does n’t cost much more to replace the cartridge . ) Rub the O - rings with a thin coat of silicone polymer grease before reinstalling .

Install New Cartridge

put in the new or repaired pickup into the faucet trunk , orient as it was primitively . Slide in the retaining snip and replace the handle and escutcheon .

If your faucet lacks an anti - scald valve , you could replace a standard cartridge in an older valve with a new anti - scald pickup in some cases . Because scalding water can be painful and dangerous , plumbing code often require newfangled tub and shower down faucets that prevent the menstruum of very blistering water . Some temperature - reconciliation or anti - scald faucets preclude moth-eaten water from being turn off ; others have a thermostatic twist that boil down spicy water flow when necessary . Check that yours has an anti - scald valve , which is usually marked . Sometimes by shake the faucet , you ’ll hear a click that indicates the whole has an anti - scald valve .

Frequently Asked Questions

The cost to have a plumber interchange a rain shower cartridge is between $ 200 and $ 400 , depending on the hourly rate the plumber charges and the price of the cartridge and other function .

The shower valve manages the stream of H2O . The shower cartridge asseverate the temperature if the water pressure abruptly change when a toilet is flushed , or another spigot is used .

right maintenance and guardianship insure a honest - quality shower cartridge can last between 10 and 30 long time . You ’ll get laid it needs replace if your cascade is dripping or execute after you rick it off or if it ’s hard to turn it on and off .

removing handle from faucet

Credit: Dave Toht

removing retaining clip

Credit: Dave Toht

remove cartridge with wrench

Credit: Dave Toht

replacing o-rings on cartridge

Credit: Dave Toht

installing new cartridge

Credit: Dave Toht