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Leaking shower faucets are frustrating, but easy to fix if you know how. A simple repair takes only ten minutes and solves leaks in all types of modern shower faucets. Today’s modern shower faucets have a cartridge in the handle that is responsible for controlling the water flow rates and temperatures. This cartridge is designed to be water tight, but when the seal breaks the faucet leaks. Installing a new shower faucet cartridge is the only answer, and it stops just about any leaky shower.

How to Fix a Leaky Shower Faucet – 6 step guide

1. Shut off the water to your shower faucet by closing the water line in your home. This is usually located beside your water heater.

2. Finding the handle screw, a small screw on the underside of the handle’s base area, or underneath a plastic cap on ball-shaped handles. Unscrew this screw with an Allen wrench.

3. Pull the handle off. If the handle sticks, check to see if the set screw is not fully loosened. If it is, use a handle puller to pull the handle off.

4. Remove the bonnet, dome cap or trim sleeve depending on what parts your faucet has. Unscrew the cartridge retaining nut, or remove the cartridge clip (Moen faucets have a cartridge clip and no retaining nut).

5. Take the cartridge out by sliding it backwards and out of the faucet body. Once the retaining nut or clip is off, the cartridge will slide right out.

6. Replace the cartridge, make sure you install one designed just for your make and model faucet. Rebuild the faucet.