Shower faucet

About three months ago, I replaced the washers in both hot and cold faucets in my leaky shower. The leak stopped-but alas has returned. Am I overtightening the knobs perhaps or is there something else I should do when replacing the washer again.

 

The faucet seats should be inspected. The washer may be new, but if the seats are chewed up, your fix is short-lived.

The following advice is not universal, but it applies to many many faucets.

Take out the stem and look down in the faucet. Where the washer presses is the seat. Most seats can be removed with a faucet seat wrench. The seat should have a square or hex hole in it. Memorize that shape.

Go the hardware/plumbing store and purchase a seat wrench that looks like it will fit. Take it home and try it. The seat is soft, probably brass, so use plenty of down-pressure and a counter-clockwise motion to remove. If you don't have a good 'touch' when removing nuts and bolts etc. then find someone who does, because a less-than-expert attempt to remove the seat can strip out it's inner shape.


It really shouldn't be such a struggle, but if it is, don't say I didn't warn you.


Steve