At a glance
A dripping shower is one of those household problems that is easy to ignore because the drip seems minor – but a shower that loses just one drop per second wastes over 30 litres of water a day, and if that water is heated, the cost adds up quickly. The good news is that the vast majority of dripping showers in UK homes are caused by a worn washer, a failed cartridge or a faulty solenoid valve – all of which are straightforwardly replaceable with basic tools and parts costing £5-40 depending on the shower type.
The approach to fixing a dripping shower depends entirely on the type of shower you have. Electric showers, mixer showers and thermostatic bar showers all work differently and the internal components that fail are specific to each type. Identifying which type you have before starting any work takes two minutes and determines both the fix and the parts needed. This guide covers all three types and the most common drip causes for each, along with the shower head drip that affects all types regardless of the valve or unit behind it.
What you’ll need
Identifying your shower type
The three main types of shower found in UK homes each work on different principles and fail in different ways. An electric shower heats water on demand using an internal heating element – it is connected to the mains water supply and the electricity supply, and has no separate hot water cylinder. A mixer shower blends hot and cold water from the household supply at a single valve and may be operated by a lever, a knob or a pair of separate controls. A thermostatic bar shower is a variation of the mixer type that maintains a preset temperature automatically using a thermostatic cartridge, and is commonly found as a fixed bar unit on a wall or ceiling.
Isolate the water supply before working on any shower. Locate the isolation valve on the supply pipe to the shower – usually a slotted screw that turns 90 degrees to close – and turn it off before removing any fitting. If there is no isolation valve, turn off the water at the mains stopcock. For electric showers, also turn off the dedicated circuit breaker at the consumer unit before opening the unit casing.
Electric shower drips
An electric shower that continues to drip from the head after being turned off has most commonly suffered a solenoid valve failure. The solenoid valve is an electrically operated valve inside the unit that opens when the shower is switched on and closes when it is switched off. When the solenoid valve wears or its seal degrades, water continues to pass through after shutdown. This presents as a slow drip or trickle from the shower head that may continue for several minutes after turning off, or in worse cases, drips continuously.
Replacing an electric shower solenoid valve is a model-specific repair. The solenoid is a small cylindrical component inside the unit body, held in place by a retaining clip or screw. With the circuit breaker off and the supply isolated, open the shower casing (usually two or four screws under a front cover), locate the solenoid on the inlet side of the unit and remove it. Take the solenoid to a plumbers merchant or search the model number online to find the correct replacement – the model number is usually on a label inside the casing or on the front panel. Refit with a new seal, reassemble and test. If the solenoid is not available or the unit is old enough that the repair cost approaches the price of a replacement shower, replacing the whole unit is often the more cost-effective choice. Electric showers typically last 8-12 years in UK homes, and a failing solenoid in a unit over 10 years old is often a sign that other components are approaching the end of their service life too.
Mixer and thermostatic shower drips
A mixer shower that drips after being turned off has almost certainly suffered a worn cartridge. The cartridge is the heart of the mixer valve – a ceramic or brass component that controls water flow and temperature by rotating or compressing. Over time the ceramic discs or seals inside the cartridge wear, allowing water to pass through even when the valve is in the closed position. Cartridges are the consumable component of a mixer shower and on a well-used shower in a typical UK home can be expected to need replacement every 5-10 years.
To replace a mixer cartridge, isolate the water supply and remove the shower handle – typically held by a small grub screw under a decorative cap or behind the handle itself. With the handle removed, the cartridge retaining nut or clip is exposed. Note the orientation of the old cartridge before removing it – cartridges must be refitted in the correct orientation or the hot and cold supplies will be reversed. Take the old cartridge to a plumbers merchant or photograph the model number on the cartridge body before ordering a replacement online. The make and model of the shower valve – usually printed on the handle rose or on a label inside the cover panel – narrows the search considerably. Fit the new cartridge with a thin application of silicone grease on the O-ring seals, reassemble in reverse order and test. For a thermostatic shower bar, the thermostatic cartridge and the flow cartridge are separate components – the thermostatic cartridge controls temperature and the flow cartridge controls volume, and either or both may be the source of a drip. The replacement process is the same but you may need to identify which cartridge is failing before ordering parts. A useful test: if the shower drips at all temperatures equally, the flow cartridge is the more likely culprit. If the drip only occurs at specific temperatures, the thermostatic cartridge may be the cause.
Dripping shower head – all types
A drip that comes specifically from the shower head rather than the hose connection or the valve is usually caused by residual water in the hose and head draining out after the shower is switched off – this is entirely normal and is not a fault. If the drip continues for more than a minute or so after switching off, or if the volume is more than a few drops, then the issue is in the valve or unit rather than the head itself.
A leaking hose connection – where the flexible hose joins the shower head or the wall outlet – is one of the simplest plumbing repairs in the home. Unscrew the connection, remove the old rubber washer from inside the fitting and replace it with a new washer of the same diameter. Refit hand tight then a quarter turn with a spanner and the leak will be resolved. A shower head with partially blocked nozzles causing uneven spray is easily cleared by soaking the head in white vinegar for an hour – the acid dissolves limescale deposits and restores full flow. For persistent shower issues that extend beyond the shower unit itself – a leaking shower tray, screen seal or waste fitting – our guide covers those separate repairs in full.
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