*** Shower hear dripping water ***

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MichMich

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Joined
Nov 7, 2017
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Location
San Antonio, TX
Hello,
I have an old 2003 Delta shower handle.
And I had just replaced (yesterday) the cartridge (Delta replacement from Lowe's).
I watched Delta youtube video and did exactly what they said to do.

But, my shower head is still dripping water...

Please advise.

Michael
 
Your shower head might just be full of minerals.
So after a shower, some water is trapped up there, and slowly drips out.

Take the whole thing off of the shower arm, and remove any little plastic and rubber parts up by the threads.
Take a picture of how it looks before you take those little parts apart.

Lay them out on a flat surface, in the order they come out.

Clean any crud out of them.

Then soak the whole shower head in straight vinegar overnight.

Put everything back together.

If you still have a drip, you might need a new shower head.

Or, you might have minerals trapped in the valve, in the parts you just replaced.

Or, you made some mistake while changing the springs and seals, like not cleaning out any crud while you had everything apart, or you put one of the old seals back in by accident, or you used that Danco knockoff part and it might be garbage, get a genuine Delta set of springs and seals.

If there is also a pressure balancing unit inside your valve, that might need replacing also.

Also, after cleaning out any minerals or crud inside the valve body, goop a little coating of plumber’s grease on all the surfaces that need to seal.
The valve body interior, and the little plastic boots, and what they seal against, any o rings, etc.
 
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Your shower head might just be full of minerals.
So after a shower, some water is trapped up there, and slowly drips out.

Take the whole thing off of the shower arm, and remove any little plastic and rubber parts up by the threads.
Take a picture of how it looks before you take those little parts apart.

Lay them out on a flat surface, in the order they come out.

Clean any crud out of them.

Then soak the whole shower head in straight vinegar overnight.

Put everything back together.

If you still have a drip, you might need a new shower head.

Or, you might have minerals trapped in the valve, in the parts you just replaced.

Or, you made some mistake while changing the springs and seals, like not cleaning out any crud while you had everything apart, or you put one of the old seals back in by accident, or you used that Danco knockoff part and it might be garbage, get a genuine Delta set of springs and seals.

If there is also a pressure balancing unit inside your valve, that might need replacing also.

Also, after cleaning out any minerals or crud inside the valve body, goop a little coating of plumber’s grease on all the surfaces that need to seal.
The valve body interior, and the little plastic boots, and what they seal against, any o rings, etc.


Great tips! Thank you Jeff!
 
After removing the shower head, wouldn't the drip show up at the open ended pipe, if it was the valve?
I must be missing something here. :oops:
 
You are conflating two or three separate issues.

Yes, if the shower head came off, it would keep dripping at the shower arm, if the valve had a problem.

So that is a good suggestion, to remove the shower head, and watch for a few drops slowly forming on the open end.

Or poke a paper towel or TP into the open end, and see if it eventually gets soaked.

But my original theory, since he seemed to have tuned up the valve, was that the shower head could be clogged and was holding on to some water, being dripped slowly out.

My long-winded (as always!) post then went on to offer other sources of trouble or fixes for the valve guts, if that was still the problem.
 
On most issues here, members all take turns adding a few suggestions, like hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree.

Then finally, someone comes along and puts the star on the top. ⭐
 
You guys are awesome, great suggestions will get to this tomorrow and keep y'all posted. Thanks much!!!
 
if you need to clean the calcium deposits from your shower head

put some vinegar in a gallon zip lock bag
put the bag on the shower head. and either tie or tape it keep it from falling off
go to bed, the next morning, remove the bag. and the head is cleared

a few drips after a shower is normal for a shower head.
but if your shower head is still dripping hours later, then you have a problem inside your valve

remove the cartridge, look inside the body of the brass valve with a flash light
the middle hole is the shower head water hole.
is the brass casting inside smooth where the o-ring meets it?

if the brass casting is rough, you could be getting a little water sneaking by
polish the casting with a dremal tool polish bit

then apply some plumbers grease liberally on the cartridge before inserting

Plumber's grease looks something like Vaseline, It is a waterproof silicone-based grease made by combining silicone oil, usually polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), with a thickener, often silicone grease. It is essentially dielectric grease, but it is much thicker and last a long time.

Plumber's grease is used to lubricate and protect plumbing parts. It is frequently used by a plumber when installing faucets or O-rings. In fact, it is used so regularly to fix faucets that it is also called faucet grease.

local hardware store
 
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Call Delta tech. I had a similar problem with my Delta shower/tub faucet assy and they said I needed another part to fix it. As usual, they sent the other piece required. Good luck with yours.
 

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