i have separate hot and water handles, with a single shower faucet and head. the toilet and sink adjacent to the shower have fine pressure, but the shower faucet and head are just slightly more than a trickle.

do i need to replace the shower handles? if so, can this be done without getting into the wall behind the shower?

the handles each have a screw in the center of them that i removed but still could not get the handles off. do you think there is another set screw or something, or are they just stuck on there? (all the hardware is prob 8-10 yrs old)

please let me know if you have any suggestions!!!
thanks!
bill

 

By single shower faucet and head, do you mean that this is a shower only or a tub/shower with tub spout (head?) and showerhead?
If it is a shower only, remove the showerhead and see how the pressure is. If it's O.K. without the showerhead on, soak the showerhead overnight in vinegar to dissolve any clogging minerals, rinse and clean it out and then try it. Use 2-3 flat wraps of teflon tape on the male threaded end of the shower arm (clockwise only), before tightening the showerhead back on.
If it is a tub/shower, the faucet may be clogged with line debris.
The handles are just corroded on. You can get an inexpensive handle puller at a plumbing supply store and get them off. Or, if they're plastic, you can cover up the drain to prevent debris from clogging it, and crush them with a pair of channel-lock pliers to get them out of the way, and just replace them with a new set.
Turn the water main off, unscrew the valves counter-clockwise, remove them, and turn the water back on briefly to flush the faucet.
If it's a shower only, you may need to get a set of plumber's socket wrenches to reaach the hex part of the valves inside the walls to unscrew them.
Good Luck!
Mike

 

Mike, thanks a lot for the response!
It is a tub/shower combo. So the water pressure is bad at both the tub spout and the shower head (so unfortunately i dont think i will get off so easily with the vinegar soak). So where do you think the clog would most likely be? Would it be behind the handles, or the tub spout? or further up the line (like at one of the cutoffs)?

i have a cutoff for just the bathroom directly benieth it in the basement, and another cutoff for the whole unit (its a 2 unit build) where the water main comes into the building.

thanks again!

 

one more thought, since i have separate hot and cold valves, and the water pressure is bad in both the tub spout and the shower no matter if i use the hot, cold or both valves, there is probably a clog between the valves and the tub spout where the two pipes converge. is this correct? if so, do i need to open up the wall to get in there? (i have that plastic sheet stuff over the wall that has 4 holes in it for the two valves, the spout and the shower head) or is there some way to snake it? or flush it?

please let me know if anyone has any suggestions.

thanks!

 

Then it may be in the faucet body itself.
Please see my first reply.
Turn off the water, remove the hot and cold valve stems, and turn on the water briefly to flush the faucet body.
Good Luck!
Mike

 

problem fixed! i pulled the handles like you said, unscrewed the valves and pulled them all the way out. turned on the water and it blasted out without the valves on there. so then i took a hanger and scraped around from where the handles were and going inward from both sides towards the intersection of the pipe that goes up to the shower head and down to the spout. then i put everything back together and the pressure was excellent!

thanks for the advice!