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Shower Leak: Tub Spout Diverter

  
  
  

tub spout diverterI got a call from a homeowner that he had a shower leak and that his shower wasn't working. The shower was working fine, but the shower diverter spout was letting all the water spill out at his feet. A very typical handyman job.

His shower is actually a tub/shower combination. So when he takes a bath he just turns the water on and fills the tub. When he wants to take a shower, he pulls up the little knob on the end of the tub spout diverter. This stops the water from flowing out of the tub spout and shoots it up a riser pipe to flow out of the showerhead. The problem was that the internal gate, which is attached to the knob, wasn't stopping much of the water, and so he got very little water out of the showerhead.

Although you can buy the parts to repair the tub spout diverter, you are better off just replacing the entire diverter. It costs about $15.00 and will save you some time. Rather than fiddle around with getting the gate out of the corroded diverter, bending it or breaking it anyway, just replace it. The spout will be attached to the end of the pipe by either a threaded fitting (just unscrew it), or it will be attached to a bare copper pipe with a setscrew.

Comments

We get call for shower leaks. There are three major areas to check your shower for leaks. 
First, have a plumber check shower water lines and drain. On some old shower, the copper tubing sometimes become corroded and cause a very slow leak. 
Check broken grout lines or damaged tiles or the fiberglass. If you have missing grout or caulking, this may cause water to leak into the walls and or shower pan. 
Ensure that the drain system is working properly
Posted @ Sunday, November 28, 2010 8:29 AM by Willy
When turning on the water in the tub to take a tub bath, the shower head leaks. Is this a diverter problem or something different
Posted @ Tuesday, June 28, 2011 8:01 PM by Joe E
I replaced my spout diverter and whenI pull the lever to for the shower water starts to come out of the back of the spout. Why is that happening? When th spout is on just in the bathtub it's fine. Please help
Posted @ Friday, October 12, 2012 12:28 PM by Oscar
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