What causes leaking showers? There are a few reasons why your shower may be leaking. Here are the common problems and how they are detected.
A common problem in older houses is leaking showers. If your bathroom is over 15 years old, you may come across a leaking shower in your own house. Unfortunately, sometimes a leaking shower can occur sooner than expected.
What causes leaking showers?
There are a few reasons why your shower may be leaking. Here are the most common shower leaks.
- Waterproof membrane failure. The disintegration of the waterproof membrane in the shower allows water to run under the shower floor and walls.
- Faulty shower glass cubicle. If your shower cubicle has a glass wall and door, faulty installation can cause water to seep under the walls and door.
- Shower breech tee piece or the pipe combination in the wall, leaking on a soldered joint.
- Deteriorated plumb dinger or puddle flange – where the waste pipe has worn out and needs to be replaced.
- Water leaking behind tap spindles into the stud work cavity of the shower.
- Poor external sealants like grout and silicone deteriorating allowing water to track through the shower floors and walls.
- Leaking shower rose as the thread seal has deteriorated or the shower rose has calcium buildup causing it to leak.
How can you test a leaking shower to find the cause?
There are a number of tests that can be done to work out what could be causing the shower to leak. It is a process of elimination and cancelling out possibilities.
The tests are best completed by a licensed plumber who can pinpoint the exact cause of the leaking shower.
Testing the water pipes in the wall
If the shower is leaking all the time – even when the shower is in use, this indicates a leak is coming from the hot or cold-water pipes. The most common leak is on the pipe combination in the wall. A pressure test done by a licensed plumber can detect a loss in pressure in the pipe, indicating a hole in the pipe.
Sometimes a pressure test may not find the leak and an acoustic or sound leak detection test is done.
A plumber will locate the leak using specialist electronic sound equipment. This test can provide the general location of the sound caused by the leak.
The water pipes in the shower wall are always under water pressure and water is only released through to the shower rose when the taps are turned on. If water is found leaking when the shower is not used, this water pipe leak will be on either the hot or cold-water lines that meet at the breech.
If the leak appears to be sporadic, your plumber will test the shower tray and walls.
Spray and Thermal testing the walls and floors
A spray test to the walls is using a handheld shower to spray directly to the walls and floor. Your plumber will check if water leaks through these areas using a visual inspection or a thermal camera when hot water is used.
Thermal testing is also another way to confirm if water is leaking through the floor or walls of the shower cubicle. Thermal testing uses hot water to spray on the floor and walls and the use of a thermal imaging device can show in red where there is moisture.
Shower tray testing
To test if a shower tray is leaking, the shower waste will be sealed. The shower tray will be filled with water and left to sit for an hour or so. Some plumbers will add tracer dye to visually see where the water is leaking. If the water has started to leak onto the bathroom floor or behind the wall into a hall, you know that the shower base needs to be replaced.
How to fix a leaking shower
Once the plumber is able to locate the cause of the leaking shower, they will put forward a quote to repair.
If the leak is on the shower combination, the pipework can sometimes be accessed through the other side of the shower wall. This prevents having to penetrate through the tiled wall and waterproof membrane which instantly means the redo of the bathroom.
Leaking shower floors and walls will have no other choice than to rip up the bathroom and start again. While there are epoxy seals that can be installed over shower floors and bathroom tiled floors, this is a temporary solution. It can make the floor water resistant, not waterproof.
Can I claim my leaking shower on insurance?
Leaking showers are usually an exclusion under home insurance. It’s one of the common leaks in bathrooms and usually due to the deterioration of the materials in the wet space.
It’s best to read your insurance Product Disclosure Statement to see how your insurance policy will respond to your leaking shower.
This post was one of the first blog posts I wrote in 2012. It has been updated with new information. Always talk to your licensed plumber on how to best locate the leak on your shower and the right approach to repair it.
