Diverter or Spout

I have an every second drip coming out of the spouts on each of my two showers which are about 10 years old. I have been told by a plumber that its a $1700 job(Yeah Ok!!!! ) or a simple project i can do for less then $20. From what was explained to be i have the lever that turns on the water that curves up for hot and down for cold and that is where the leak is from(the diverter). I was told to shut off the water, remove the part(what part??) and bring it to a plumbing supply store and they will give the part. This advice was from several differnet people so i wanted to get your take on it. any assistance would be very helpful. Thank you

Are sure its a leak or does it take a long time for the accumulated water in the shower riser and shower head to totally drain out? Think about it.

24 hours a day whether we used the shower or not

If it's not water accumulated in the riser pipe between the tub spout and the shower head. then you have to replace either the valve seats or cartridge, depending on what model you have. I'd do it for under $100, but I'm not a licensed plumber. It sure as hell shouldn't cost $1700, unless he's throwing in the Brooklyn Bridge.

I would not imagine that it would happen to both showers at the same time. I would imagine that its the washer and corrison build up because of 10 years of hard water. I will look at it this weekend and hopefully be able to figure out how to take it apart. If anybody has any ideas on this please share

What brand of faucets do you have?
You should be able to remove the handle, and then get to the part(s) that need to be replaced.
Mike

onedayatatime said:

I would not imagine that it would happen to both showers at the same time. I would imagine that its the washer and corrison build up because of 10 years of hard water. I will look at it this weekend and hopefully be able to figure out how to take it apart. If anybody has any ideas on this please share

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It's not as much of a coincidence as you might think. Maybe both showers were used equally, and their seats wore out at the same time. Regardless of whether it's a coincidence or not, you have to do the following:

Turn off the water to each shower
Remove the handle and backer plate
Remove the cartridge or stem
Replace rubber seats and springs if it's a Delta.

If you could tell us the brand and model of the shower and maybe post a photo, it would be easier to guide you.

drip

They probably did not both happen at the same time. One was probably dripping already but you did not pay any attention to it untill the other one also started dripping. Unless you also have a tub spout, you do not have a diverter. I am not sure which valve moves up and down to change the temperature, and you don't say how you move it to adjust the volume, but you do have to repair the valve. We just can't tell you how to do it, or if you should even try it on your own, without knowing the make and model. A picture would help.