Shower Valve Repair in Lanham, MD

Lanham conditions

Lanham is a fully built-out inner suburb along the Capital Beltway, next to New Carrollton's Metro and Amtrak station, and much of its housing dates from the 1950s through the 1970s. Valves from those years often use separate hot and cold stems with washers, and they rarely include the pressure-balancing feature that keeps a shower steady when a toilet flushes. Some homes have since been remodeled with single-lever valves, while others still have their originals.

WSSC Water supplies Lanham from the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, treated with chlorine and a corrosion inhibitor. WSSC owns the service line from the main to the property line and is also the permit and inspection agency for plumbing in Prince George's County; DPIE handles building permits for the area. Replacing existing fixtures generally needs no permit, though new piping can.

Repair, rebuild or replace

Signs of a failing valve

• Constant drip from the showerhead
• Squeal or chatter when the handle is turned
• Hot or cold shocks when other fixtures run
• Handle that no longer lines up with its markings
• Stains on the wall or ceiling near the bath

Timing

A dripping shower wastes water every hour and slowly erodes the seat it presses against, so a repair now is usually simpler than one later. Plan valve upgrades around any bathroom work you already have in mind; once tile is coming off anyway, replacing an old two-handle valve with a modern one adds little extra disruption. In winter, colder supply water makes temperature problems more noticeable, which is often when people finally call.

If the house still has its original bathroom, ask the plumber to look at the pipe feeding the valve while the trim is off. Older supply connections that are corroded at the threads are easier to deal with on a planned visit than after one gives way inside the wall.