Suspicion of shower leaking

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Dio

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Hi there, first post in the forum :)

I have a combined shower and bath unit which uses a 3-war diverter valve. Recently I noticed the the spout knob no longer pop down automatically after I turn off the water (It used to like 1 min after I turned off the water). And also starting the past week or so I can hear some kind off water dripping sound inside the wall after the shower. I'm kinda an easily stressed out guy, so now I'm trying real hard to figure out whether my unit is leaking somewhere behind the wall. (And if so it would be nasty because this side there is tile and tub while the other side there is a cabinet, so not too much space to perform any work)

I tried to pour good amount of water into the tub, no sound at all, so basically ruled out the possibility of drain line.

I tried to push down the knob (so water goes through the tub spout) and turn on the water, no sound after that.

The sound only happens after the water goes through the upper shower faucet. But if I then push down the knob and let all water drain through the spout, the sound goes away.

Does this sound like a leakage issue at all? (It's only been a week or so, so I didn't notice any kind of leakage sign in the room below the shower tub)

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! :)
 

hj

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My first guess, and it is only a guess, is that the shower arm has cracked where it goes into the elbow in the wall. One way to find out is to remove the shower arm. If it is cracked it will probably break off when you do so.
 

Reach4

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I have a combined shower and bath unit which uses a 3-war diverter valve. Recently I noticed the the spout knob no longer pop down automatically after I turn off the water
I was thinking a 3-way diverter doesn't usually have a spout knob.
 

Jadnashua

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Tub spout diverters aren't forever devices...they wear out. It seems that the first sign they are going is they stick a little, then they start to either make some noises and then leak, sometimes, the last two in concert. But, if that sound of water isn't accompanied by the water trapped in the shower arm leaking out the spout (slowly), then it's leaking somewhere.

Sometimes, you can take the trim off of the shower valve, or arm, or diverter valve, and get a look behind the wall.
 

Dio

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Tub spout diverters aren't forever devices...they wear out. It seems that the first sign they are going is they stick a little, then they start to either make some noises and then leak, sometimes, the last two in concert. But, if that sound of water isn't accompanied by the water trapped in the shower arm leaking out the spout (slowly), then it's leaking somewhere.

Sometimes, you can take the trim off of the shower valve, or arm, or diverter valve, and get a look behind the wall.


Thanks for the response jadnashua. This diverter actually was replaced less than a year ago. :(

I just did some test again. The sound of water does seem to be accompanied by the slow leaking out the spout. It gradually goes less frequent. Now I tend to think the sound might just be water slowly draining throw through the spout and make that sound together with pressure.
 

Dio

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My first guess, and it is only a guess, is that the shower arm has cracked where it goes into the elbow in the wall. One way to find out is to remove the shower arm. If it is cracked it will probably break off when you do so.
Thanks hj, I will try take a look this weekend :)
 

hj

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You are still confusing us. You say a "three valve diverter two way", but you also claim to have a "pull up diverter button". Usually you have one OR the other, not both.
 
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