Tub Faucet Hot/Cold Handles Don't Stop

[jprestin]

I am a plumbing novice.........

I have a three handle compression stem tub faucet. The hot and cold handles do NOT stop. You have to position the handles just right to get the water to stop dripping - this is quite painful and inconvenient. What would be missing from my faucets setup that prevents each handle from 'stopping' - similar to a sink faucet.

Is this something I can fix fairly easily. I'm hoping it is a fix I can do w/o having to remove any of the tub tile to get to the actual pipes.

Thanks for your time.

[hj]

We would have to know the make and model to give a proper diagnosis, but on the surface it sounds like something that happens with Delta and Moen faucets when either the stop in the handle or the one on the stem breaks off. I do not believe either of these companies ever made a three handle faucet, however, so it is probably a different brand but the same problem. The other possibility, but it would be rare to happen to both hot and cold at the same time, would be if you have screw type stems and they were stripped so that when you exerted extra pressure on them after they were closed they "popped" back out and turned on again.

[jimbo]

Probably related to the stops either on the stem or on the handle. Ceramic stems such as PP rotate 360º and only the stop arrangement makes it "stop" at the fully off position.