How To Fix A Leaking Shower Head — UK Guide | Elani
Dripping after you switch off, leaking at the joint, or spraying sideways are three different faults. How to tell which, and fix each.
September 21, 2026
5 minutes
Dripping after you switch off, leaking at the joint, or spraying sideways are three different faults. How to tell which, and fix each.
September 21, 2026
A leaking shower head is three or four unrelated faults wearing the same description, and the fix depends entirely on which one you have. Working that out takes about a minute and saves buying a part you did not need.
Start by watching it carefully, because where the water appears is the whole diagnosis.
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Last updated 21 September 2026 · Elani Journal
Worth ruling out first, because it is not a fault.
A shower head holds water. A rainfall head with a large face holds quite a lot of it. When you turn the shower off, that water drains out under gravity over the following thirty seconds to a couple of minutes, particularly on a ceiling-mounted or well-angled head.
If the dripping stops on its own and does not come back, nothing is broken.
This is the one people misdiagnose most often.
If water keeps arriving indefinitely, the head is not failing to hold water — water is still being supplied to it. The fault is in the valve or the cartridge that is meant to have shut off, upstream of the head entirely.
Replacing the shower head will not fix it. On a mixer or thermostatic valve, the cartridge is the usual culprit, and the principle is the same as on a tap — see How To Replace A Tap Cartridge. On a concealed valve, access is behind the plate, and it is worth getting a plumber if the plate is tiled in.
Water appearing where the head screws onto the arm or the hose, rather than out of the face.
Nine times out of ten this is the small rubber washer inside the connector, which has perished or was never seated properly. They cost almost nothing and come in packs.
Unscrew the head — hand tight is usually enough, but hold the arm still if you need a spanner, and pad the jaws with a cloth so you do not mark the finish. Pull the old washer out, check the seat is clean, and fit the new one flat.
If it still weeps, wrap the thread with two or three turns of PTFE tape in the direction of tightening, then refit. Do not over-tighten; on a plated fitting that is how you crack the collar.
Jets firing at odd angles, a patchy spray, or a head that has quietly lost pressure over a year or two is nearly always scale in the nozzles, not a fault in the head.
On most heads the nozzles are flexible rubber nubs, and rubbing a thumb firmly across them while the shower runs clears a surprising amount. Do that first.
If that is not enough, descale properly. Unscrew the head, submerge the face in a bowl of white vinegar or a proprietary descaler for an hour or two — not overnight, and not on a brushed or coated finish without checking the manufacturer's guidance first, because acid will dull some finishes. Rinse thoroughly and refit.
If the head will not come off, a bag of descaler tied over the face with an elastic band does the same job in place.
A point worth its own paragraph. Vinegar and descaler are acidic, and while they are fine on chrome, they can dull, streak or stain brushed brass, matt black and gunmetal.
Descale the face, keep it off the body, and rinse immediately. The related guidance is in How To Prevent Limescale Marking Brushed Brass and How To Clean And Care For A Matte Black Tap.
Some heads are not worth saving.
If the nozzles have hardened so they no longer flex, if the plating is lifting, or if scale has built inside the body where you cannot reach it, descaling buys weeks rather than years. Cheap heads with fixed plastic nozzles rather than rubber ones scale up permanently and quite quickly.
Replacing the head alone is usually straightforward, since most fit a standard thread. Replacing the valve as well is a bigger job but the right moment to reconsider the shower properly — Rainfall vs Standard Shower Heads covers what actually changes the experience, and How To Choose A Concealed Shower System covers the valve side.
The Elani shower systems are Cadence, Averse, Pluvia and Forge.
Because the head is emptying. Any head holds water, and a large rainfall face holds a lot, which drains out under gravity over the next thirty seconds or so. If it stops on its own it is not a fault. If it continues indefinitely, the valve upstream is not shutting off.
If it stops within a couple of minutes, the head. If it keeps going, the valve or its cartridge — water is still being supplied. Replacing the head in that case changes nothing, which is the commonest wasted purchase on this fault.
Unscrew it and soak the face in white vinegar or a proprietary descaler for an hour or two, then rinse thoroughly. If it will not unscrew, tie a bag of descaler over the face. Rubbing a thumb across rubber nozzles while the water runs clears light scale without any of this.
With care. Vinegar is acidic and can dull or streak brushed and matt finishes. Keep it on the nozzle face rather than the body, limit the soak, rinse immediately and check the manufacturer's guidance first. On chrome it is far less of a concern.
Blocked nozzles, almost always. Scale builds unevenly and deflects the jets. Rub across the nozzles first, then descale if that is not enough. If the nozzles have gone hard and no longer flex, the head is past saving.
Unscrew it and replace the small rubber washer inside the connector, which perishes over time. If it still weeps, add two or three turns of PTFE tape around the thread in the direction of tightening. Do not overtighten — that cracks plated collars.
Next: Rainfall vs Standard Shower Heads, or if the tap is dripping too, How To Fix A Dripping Tap.
