# Help--recommend quality shower faucet?



## Lyn Ryan (May 12, 2009)

I have a 3 year old home. It seems like new faucets are crappy.
I turn off the shower as far as possible, and it leaks.  The second one to go bad in this home.  Is there any simple style or brand of shower control (I don't care about aesthetics) that is considered more reliable?
Help is much appreciated........
Lyn


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## Nestor_Kelebay (May 12, 2009)

Lyn:

     I own a small apartment block, and I've noticed that whenever there's a City of Winnipeg truck doing any repairs on the water supply piping in my neighborhood, I often get a spate of leaking faucets, running toilets and plugged spout aerators afterward.

     I think that they're just not careful enough in keeping sand and dirt out of the supply piping, and it's the sand and dirt particles in the water that end up causing damage to the seals (rubber washers and O-rings) and causing leaks in the faucets.

NO faucet will provide trouble free service if there's dirt and sand in the water going through it.  A fine screen water strainer on a house's water supply piping would certainly reduce the problems you'd have with the plumbing fixtures in that house.

Don't buy a more expensive faucet thinking that it'll be more trouble free.  I've noticed that both Moen and Delta use exactly the same cartridges in their cheap faucets as they do in their most expensive faucets, so both would be equally susceptible to problems like leaks.  All you get with the more expensive faucets is "styling".  I expect all faucet manufacturers use the same cartridges in their "budget priced" and "top-of-the-line" faucets.

All that said, there is no concensus of opinion that any particular company's faucets are the most reliable or trouble free.  Not that I've ever heard anyway.


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## Lyn Ryan (May 12, 2009)

Thanks so much for your response. Stress level has dropped significantly with understanding why the problem.  I actually have a toilet that just started leaking also.......
So with this faucet problem, I don't replace the whole thing, i just replace a part? 
I have no plumbing experience, is it too complex for me? I took the handle off, and the trim.....
Thanks again,
Lyn


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## Nestor_Kelebay (May 12, 2009)

You need to shut the water off to the faucet before you take the cartridges out.  Otherwise there'll be water blasting out of the hole the cartridge screws in to.

You need to find the valves that shut the water off to the faucet.

Then, probably the best thing to do if you have very limited plumbing experience would be to just replace the whole cartridge rather than repair the cartridge.

You should be able to find the name of the manufacturer of the faucet somewhere on the faucet.  Then, go to any hardware store and they will sell new cartridges for most faucet manufacturers.  If the faucets are really old and you can't buy replacement cartridges for them in your local hardware store, you can always order parts for old and obsolete faucets from any hardware store that buys from Kissler & Company.  Kissler will tell you who in your area order from them often.  Kissler has a $200 minimum order, so you won't be buying from them directly.  You need to find the place closest to you that deals with them a lot so that you don't have to wait a long time for the store to accumulate $200 worth of merchandise to order from Kissler.

Kissler & Company Inc. - Home

Your very best bet, if you have access to a digital camera, is to take a picture of what you're looking at, and post them in here, and people can tell you step-by-step what to do to fix the leak.  Also, what you need to do to fix a leaking faucet depends on where the faucet is leaking from.  And, even thought there's a lot of similarity between cartridges from different faucet manufacturers, there are enough differences that it's not possible to give you a step-by-step procedure to follow that will apply to every faucet.

We could help so much more if we could see what you're seeing.

So, first step is to find the manufacturer's name somewhere on the faucet.  Next step is to beg, borrow or steal a digital camera.  Then, register at a web site like photobucket or imageshack where you can upload your photos and link to them.


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## Lyn Ryan (May 13, 2009)

Much appreciation for your sharing. I'll head in your suggested direction, and post again as needed. I noticed the dripping has slowed a bit, so I may take it slow.
Lyn


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## Redwood (May 18, 2009)

You would do well to post a pic of this valve. We may be able to tell you what you have and get you a parts illustration to show how it comes apart and the part #'s that you will need. Along with some repair hints. Some valves can be badly damaged by very little effort in the wrong direction. usually there is no isolation valves available on tubs and showers so the whole house is shut down until repairs are finished.


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