Keep a Replacement Showerhead Watertight

Q: DEAR TIM: I need to deal with a leaking showerhead. At first I was just going to fix the leak, but my wife wants a new showerhead. Are they difficult to replace? Are there some tips you can share that will make it appear as if a master plumber did the job?

-- Alan L., Jackson, Tenn.

ADEAR ALAN: I'll never forget my first showerhead. A simple job, I remember thinking to myself. Was I ever wrong! I ended up with two leaks and a ruined showerhead because I used the wrong tool. My parents banned me from doing experimental plumbing in their home.

Showerheads are like so many other home improvement projects. It's not that the job is hard; it's that there are some simple steps you need to take to ensure the job turns out as if a pro did it. In the case of a showerhead, your biggest concern should be to avoid creating a leak behind the wall where the gooseneck pipe connects to the vertical water-supply pipe.

When you unscrew the existing showerhead from the gooseneck pipe, there is a chance you can break the seal where that pipe connects to the water-supply line. The resulting leak can be large, or it can be a slow leak that produces only one or two drops of water with each shower. Either one can cause thousands of dollars of damage over time.

Perhaps the best advice is to take out the gooseneck pipe as part of the job and reinstall it with the new showerhead. Use a small wire brush to clean the pipe threads. If the threads look corroded, buy a new gooseneck pipe.

One mistake I made years ago when I installed my new showerhead and gooseneck pipe was not using a pipe sealant on the gooseneck pipe threads. If you don't use it, water will stream from the connection like an April shower.

There are at least two popular pipe-thread sealants. One is Teflon tape, and another is a thick compound you brush on the male threads of the gooseneck. You need to put this sealant on both ends of the gooseneck pipe. If you fail to do this where you attach the showerhead, water will leak from the connection and spray you and the walls inside the shower.

It pays to use the right tools when replacing a showerhead. Another mistake I have made was using a pipe wrench on the showerhead. I didn't realize the fixture was made of chrome-plated brass. The teeth of the wrench ruined the finish on the showerhead. If you look at most showerheads, you will discover at least two flat areas parallel to one another. These are made for an adjustable wrench that, when tightened correctly, will not mar the finish on the new showerhead.

After you install the gooseneck pipe but before you install the new showerhead, you should turn on the water in the shower. This will flush out any small debris and excess pipe sealant that may have gotten into the pipe. Skipping this important step can clog the small flow-restrictor holes that are inside almost every showerhead. It can be a huge task to clean these out if they get clogged.

Don't over-tighten the new showerhead on the gooseneck pipe. Once it is hand-tight, it should only take one complete turn to complete a leak-free connection. If you can't turn it that far, stop and test the connection. You can damage the showerhead if you tighten it too much.

Tim Carter can be contacted via his Web site, http://www.askthebuilder.com/printer_Submit_Question.shtml.

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