Dripping Hot Water Handle in shower?

Question

I have a house that is 35 years old. In the bathroom in the master bath there is a shower stall. the hot water handle has a drip. i removed the handle and the water drips from the end of the iron/metal thing. is this a big deal that i would have to call a plumber for or can i try to do it. i'm pretty handy once i have instructions on how to do something.

Also- the cold water valve under my kitchen sink drips. i turned the valve off for now so it stopped leaking. are the valves easy to replace? i haven't tried to do it because i don't want to start something i can't finish- especially where the water is concerned.

Answer 1

The packing around the valve stem is leaking.  I do believe that you're going to need to do more than the first guy told you to do.  How knowledgeable are you about plumbing fixtures? I believe that you (or someone) will have to remove the handle from the end of the stem and back off the housing from between the stem and the shower wall to reach the packing nut that needs to be tightened to stop the leakage.  If this can't be done with just a quarter of a turn (clockwise) or so (check before putting the housing back on) on the packing nut, you may be faced with having to cut off the water supply to the shower, and back the packing nut completely off to renew the packing and replace the assembly.

On second reading of this problem you presented and the answer I first posted; if these drippings are taking place when you feel that you have the valves tightly shut OFF, then the problem is bad washers in the faucet valves themselves. That, DEFINITELY, requires turning of the water supply to each faulty faucet and opening up the faucet to replace the washer inside.  Job for a good, reliable plumber, I would say.

Answer 2

all you have to do is get plumber tape and wrap it around each end of the joint and tighten the fixture, a drip like that adds up to 3000 gallons a year

Answer 3

remove hot water fawcet most likley the little washer is no good check first cheapest thing to try first dont forget teflon tape when installing