dripping tub spout due to shower diverter?

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wampus

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My tub spout has a slow drip, apparently due to something either with the shower diverter/spout, or the way the pipes are configured. I first had the hot/cold faucets worked on, assuming that was the problem, and although they shut off completely, that didn't fix the drip.

The slow drip goes on for hours and hours -- if you shower in the morning, it's often still dripping in the evening.

***I am having my tub reglazed soon, and although they will cover the spout, it's critical that no water drip on the finish the first 24 hours.

Would installing a new type of spout/shower diverter fix this problem, or is it more complicated than that? Don't know the make of the current spout/diverter, but it has sort of a "belly" on the bottom, which contributes to water collecting there and continuing to drip out.

Thanks for any help/suggestions!
 

Jimbo

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A continuous drip is caused by a leaking hot and/or cold shut off or the cartridge on a single handle. It has nothing to do with the tub spout or the diverter. There can be a drip for some time just due to water from the shower head line coming back out by gravity. If you select "shower" after turning off the water, this should accelerat this process.

But again, if the drip is continuous, it is the valves.
 

Plumber1

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drip

Your faucet never was fixed.
Water will drip for a few minutes, but you are saying it never stops.
Resolve that problem first before you paint your bath tub.
If they paint it, don't use it and it will look ok for a while.
Never have seen a re-glazing that I would want in my home.
It's like epoxy paint.........
 

wampus

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My tub fixtures are the old-fashioned separate hot and cold, and spout with diverter. I had a plumber replace the hot and cold valves a month or so ago -- he used ceramic replacements (I'm not an expert, but apparently those are supposed to be more durable????).

***The plumber tried to explain to me the drip was something to do with the configuration of the tub pipe connections in the wall, and I would have to replace this older design if I wanted the drip to stop. Does this make any sense to anyone else?

The drip does eventually stop, but it can take 12 hours or better.

Do I need to call someone else in to consult on this? Is there a way I can flush all the water out of the shower pipe so there's no dripping? Would it be a waste of time and $ to replace the spout and diverter? Seems like the drip has been the last few years - I don't recall it dripping like this all the time we've lived in the house.

I'm reglazing only because we are selling the house, I have old 1959 peachy-pink fixtures, and can't afford to gut the bathroom at this point. The company we are using has some good references -- this is an acrylic refinishing process, and carries a 6-year or 12-year guarantee, depending on what you choose.
 

wampus

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p.s. to tub spout/shower diverter drip

Looked around the forum after my last post -- someone who'd installed a new shower head posted about what seems to be the same problem -- described it as sort of a "gulp/drip, gulp/drip" noise. That's what is happening here - it's not just the routine spout drip, but it's the gulp/drip thing. Occasionally a larger trickle will run out of the tub spout along the way -- but the gulp/drip thing goes on for hours.

Thanks for any further insights on the best way to fix this.
 

Jadnashua

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After the shower, there is a column of water still there. If the diverter was perfect seal, it would all stay in that column and you'd get a dose of cold water spraying out until the hot water from your next shower got to the showerhead. If you turn the diverter to the tub spout side quick enough, that water is still there in the pipe up to the showerhead and is leaking down and dripping out of the tub spout. Try turning the handle part way to let all of that water out after you shut off the shower. Then, once it all runs out (a few seconds with the valve open), turn it to the tub position so the next person doesn't get sprayed when he turns the water on. IF that doesn't solve the situation, you have another problem - the supply valves are leaking. This shouldn't be the problem if they were just replaced and are not defective. My unprofessional opinion.
 

wampus

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Thanks for suggestion -- maybe I'm not understanding correctly re: handle instructions. The diverter is one of those pop-up type located on top of the tub spout. We don't have a single-handle control -- just hot and cold water knobs, tub spout with pop-up diverter, and the showerhead.

Is it possible the diverter isn't sealing completely due to age, and thus allows water to seep out of the shower column? Do these things wear out after a while - are they supposed to seal completely? And if they do wear out, do you have to replace the entire tub spout/diverter? Thanks.
 

Jimbo

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The pop up on the spout will never seal complely...it really is not designed to do that. The design of the new shower head contributes to the problem, but it you lift the pop up after turning the water off, that should drain most of the water out.
 
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