Are you planning to repair the shower in your bathroom? It is always wise to hire professionals for the job but if you have budget constraints, why not try to repair the shower on your own? Regardless of how much plumbing experience you have, there are certain repair jobs that you can handle on your own. Here are some shower repairs that you can easily do yourself at home.
It is highly likely that you have been using the same old showerhead for more than 10-12 years. If yes, then it is high time that you should replace it. You need to understand that the old showerhead is not only hampering the aesthetic beauty of your bathroom but it is also very dirty. It is obvious that you don’t want to clean yourself every day with a dirty showerhead. Replacing an older showerhead is not rocket science! It is just like any other easy DIY (Do It Yourself) job. Once you shut the water off, you can easily remove your old showerhead with a wrench and a little elbow grease. Moving ahead, you can replace the old showerhead with a new one by just screwing it into place. However, you need to use thread tape in order to prevent pressurised water from oozing out or leaking out of your showerhead.
One of the most common places where you will find shower leaks is the shower tray. Here are some tips for making sure that you don’t have a leaky shower in the bathroom. Carry out a detailed inspection of the shower tray and also try to find out whether there are cracks in the grout. Make sure that there is no gap between the shower tray and the wall. To inspect or locate this kind of leak, you need to seal off the shower drain before filling the tray with water from your bucket. Pour about an inch of water and observe whether water is leaking around the shower. You should also inspect the ceiling in the area just below your shower. Minor leaks may take few hours to show up. However, small leaks should not be ignored as they can cause serious trouble over the course of time.
It is highly likely that you don’t give it much importance or you overlook its functionality, but the shower’s drain flange plays a pivotal role in its operation. If you look carefully, you can find it around the drain for your shower. In technical terms, it seals the joint between the shower and the drain assembly below. If the drain flange is failing to create a tight enough seal, then it can lead to a leak below the shower. So, as soon as you spot or identify the first sign of trouble, you need to fix the drain flange.
Does the area under your shower get flooded every time you take a shower? If yes, then it is highly likely that there is a leak in the shower drain that is prohibiting water to flow freely. It is obvious that you hate standing in six inches of water every single day. All you need to do is use a plunger to remove the clog. If you don’t get lucky with the plunger then you need to buy a plumbing snake, which should get the work done. No matter what method you follow, never try to dump a bunch of toxic chemicals down the drain. They can lead to serious damages and might even damage your plumbing pipes over the course of time.
