Ordinarily we don't monkey around
with household fixits, if a professional repair can be had at a
reasonable price. But, here's something so cheap and easy that
can be done in
place of what could easily be a very costly and messy job.
The problem:
a shower head that continues to drip long after you've turned off the
valve. If you don't fix it, the constant drip can substantially
add to your water bill. At best you'll have to call a plumber to
replace the cartridge, if the part is still available. At worst
the plumber will have to bust open the tile, remove and replace the
shower control valve.
The solution: go to Home Depot and buy a plastic 1/2 inch valve with two female threaded ends; a 1/2 inch x 1" plastic nipple (2 male threaded ends); and a small spool of teflon pipe tape. That should set you back about $3.00. Find
a wrench or vice-grips or pliers and unscrew the shower head from the
water pipe protruding from the wall (make sure water is turned off at
valve below...don't worry if it continues to drip). Wrap the pipe
with a few turns of teflon tape and screw on the valve. Now, wrap
both ends of the nipple with teflon tape and screw into the plastic
valve. Finally, screw the shower head onto the other end of the
plastic nipple.
And for the finale...turn the newly installed plastic valve handle
perpendicular to the flow. Open the shower valve below full-blast
and observe...not a drop of water comes out of the shower head.
Turn the plastic handle parallel to the flow and voila...the water
gushes forth. One leak - fixed!