Strange showerhead behavior...

Hi everyone! I have a showerhead and a separate handheld (each has its own handle and they can be operated separately or at the same time). About 5 minutes after I use the shower and turn it off, water starts dripping out of the handheld. It continues to drip for about 5-10 minutes.

Is this normal? I've never had this configuration before, but this seems strange to me.

Thanks!

It depends on HOW you change the flow from the handheld to the shower. It appears to be water draining from the shower riser, possibly along with "siphoning" from the handheld's hose.

Thanks. There should be no flow changing - these are two separate fixtures on two separate walls of the shower, each with its own on/off single handle.

The handheld's hose can allow water to dribble out intermittently for awhile after you turn the supply off. It is not uncommon for any showerhead to dribble some water out for awhile after it is turned off.

Jim, I think what has me puzzled is that water is dribbling out of a showerhead (the handheld) that isn't being used. I'm using the main showerhead, and then a few minutes later, water dribbles out of the handheld, which isn't being used. Is that normal?

Probably. As long as it stops. The hose acts sort of like a straw with your finger over the top. The diverter isn't perfect, and will let a little air in. You knock the hose a little, you let a little air in. Eventually, there's no water left that can dribble out. this can take 10's of minutes. Now, if it was a constant drip-drip-drip, that would be a problem, as then the supply valve was leaking. Otherwise, it's one of those things. A handheld should also have a vacuum breaker on the hose to prevent backflow if it is sitting in a pool of water and there's some hiccup in the supply. Those can also let a little air in and drain.

I think maybe I'm not being clear - there's no diverter. These are literally two different fixtures. It's like if I used the shower in another bathroom, and suddenly this one starts leaking afterwards...

Is the hand held shower supply line that comes out of the wall lower than your standard shower head? It sounds like hot water expansion in the pipes is causing the hand held shower valve and piping to get hot and that in turn would cause the water that's sitting in the hand held line to expand ever so slighty that it has no where to go but out of the hand held head. My guess is that the plumber ran the hot water branch to the hand held valve first then over to the standard shower valve which is why your standard shower doesn't drip because it's cooling off faster than the hand held valve.

Is the valve a delta style using rubber seats and springs?

Oh you had to go and bring Delta into it! LOL, if I had a nickel for every delta ball I've had to fix................uffda! Reminds me of my friend at work. He's always talking about his new truck, big blue diesel Chevy. It's nice looking but every so often he comes in with a complaint "My truck's got some problems, it's not running right, I dont' know what it is" I tell him "I know what what's wrong with your truck" he gets this big eyed look on his face and says "Really? You do? What's wrong with it?" and I simply say "It's a Chevy". Strange, he didn't find it as funny as I did.

Thanks everyone. Inspektor, yes, the handheld supply is lower than the main showerhead. The handheld is now leaking all the time, not just after a shower. Sometimes, it really gets going in to a full on stream of water coming out. I can't seem to pin down when or why it happens, but I do know that turning on hot water at one of the master bath sinks will slow the stream down to a drip again.

It's not a Delta, it's a Price Pfister (not sure that's any better).

Hi BusterGordon,

Sorry to hear about any problems you're having with your Price Pfister showerhead and we would like to help if possible. To do so, we'll need to have one of our Consumer Agents contact you. Given this, please let us know:

A method to contact you (ex. email, phone, etc.)
And what time is best for contact (ex. mornings, evenings, etc.)

You may send this information to us at: pfistersocial@bdhhi.com

Again, sorry to hear about any issues you may be having with our product.

Best Regards,

The Price Pfister Team

Nice to have the PP team on board. Thanks for the feedback to our poster.

Can I ask a question...which you may not want to answer: The seats and springs used in the newer two handle washerless faucets, and on top of the OX8 balancing spool.... are those "universal" i.e. there are many generics out there, including Delta brand, Danco 'for Delta', EZ Flo, Seasons, GB, etc. They all APPEAR to be interchangeable. I am always partial to OEM parts, but the PP seats are not widely stocked by suppliers.


I am sure you are well aware that opinions vary widely about "which faucet" to use. We have some folks on here that swear by Kohler, because they are in the upper midwest. Myself and hj on here are usually staunch supporters of PP. We can fix a lav or shower in our sleep! I have the three handle Windsor shower in my house, and you would have to put a gun to me to get me to change that out!

Thanks everyone! My plumber contacted the PP support team, and they are sending out new one piece cartridge/seats (we had genuine PP parts installed, but they were 2 part type cartridges & seats). PP support (and my plumber) suspect that that will solve the problem.