Shower repair
It would appear that if I want to use Safari to write on this blog I will have to disable certain plugins. I’m somewhat weary, and would rather not write this post again, since the first attempt was eaten, but I won’t get anywhere with that attitude 
I fixed the knob in the shower today. It was quite the task, but I succeeded despite the best efforts of Big Plumbing. It’s a Pfister single-knob shower control, and it had started leaking around the knob. This had gone on for some time, and it was only getting worse, so I gritted my lips and set myself to the task.
I went down to the local hardware store and procured a replacement cartridge, but when I got home I couldn’t get the old one out. I tried everything I could think of, and wasn’t encouraged when the hardware man suggested that sometimes it just required breaking the old fitting to get it out.
I was also concerned that I might break the copper pipes feeding the thing. That would be an expense at a time like this. So, I figured out a nice little device to remove the cartridge. In Africa we call it a fiasco - jumbling together a bunch of things that don’t belong together in order to solve a problem.
My fiasco involved a 2″ diameter threaded pipe, a 3″ screw, a couple of washers and a nut driver.
Did I mention that my first rendition of this story was very witty, but that I don’t feel up to repeating it all?
Suffice it to say that it was incredibly rewarding to hear the CRACK as the rear ‘O’ ring snapped and the whole cartridge came sliding out, leaving the fitting in perfect condition.
The most amusing thing was that when I took it apart again to take pictures (for possible inclusion in this blog) I forgot to put the retaining nut back on. So, tonight, when my son gets in the shower, I suggest that he turn it on himself, thinking how surprised he will be at how easily the knob slides out. We were both terrifically surprised when the knob and cartridge both came all the way out, and the water gushed from the fitting into the shower! Oops.
Anyway, if you have water leaking/dripping/gushing from the knob/handle of a Pfister single-knob shower faucet, it’s not all that difficult to remove the old cartridge, but if it’s hung up on the old ‘O’ ring it might just take a little ingenuity. Or, you could follow my instructions.
