Pro Handyman Blog

A shower cartridge installation can make a beginner a little nervous. There is the whole issue of turning off the water to the house and then removing parts from the valve in the wall. When you get the job done and turn the water back on…and it drips?

As you might imagine, there are some problems that might occur.

If you install a new cartridge and it leaks, you will have to remove the cartridge again (yes like you are starting over) after you turn the water off. The cartridge fits into an opening that is a tight fit. The O-rings are the only part of the cartridge that touch the cylindrical opening and it sometimes occurs that the O-rings will twist and cause a leak. You can’t just horse a cartridge into the opening without a little finesse. You need to lubricate the exterior of the cartridge so that when you push it into the hole the rings don’t twist and leak.

Use liquid soap for lubricating the O-rings. It makes the cartridge very slippery and it should push into the hole without any trouble. Once the cartridge is in place, secure the pin to hold it in place. Re-assemble the handle and test to make sure that the hot side dispenses hot water and the cold side is actually cold. If not, you need to rotate the cartridge stem by 180-degrees.