How do I access shower valve?

[ahlondon]

The upper valve (controls handheld/rainfall) in the photo is leaking and I want to remove the chrome cover to see if something can be tightened. I unscrewed the pull and grub screw but it won't come off unlike the valve below it (water temp) that comes right off. There is no access panel on the other side of wall and I also have no idea how to take the whole thing off if I ever had to change the whole unit.

Any ideas please?

 

[blup]

Could be Limescale, try long handled grips for extra leverage and protect the surface with a cloth

 

[ahlondon]

Could be Limescale, try long handled grips for extra leverage and protect the surface with a cloth

I did think that and gave it a good pull and wiggle (and it does move a bit) but don't want to do it too hard incase the cartridge gets damaged. Shall i spray some Viakal or white vinegar around it perhaps?

 

[blup]

You could try, but brute strength is more likely to work. If it wont come off you will have to cut through the casing, multi tools are better, more efficient alternatives to hacksaws.

 

[ahlondon]

You could try, but brute strength is more likely to work. If it wont come off you will have to cut through the casing, multi tools are better, more efficient alternatives to hacksaws.

Oh no! I really don't want to be doing that to fix the drip :/

 

[Florine]

I did think that and gave it a good pull and wiggle (and it does move a bit) but don't want to do it too hard incase the cartridge gets damaged. Shall i spray some Viakal or white vinegar around it perhaps?

You can try, but it didn't work when I tried it in a similar situation recently. The plumber using grips did work.

 

[ahlondon]

You can try, but it didn't work when I tried it in a similar situation recently. The plumber using grips did work.

ok, i'll try pulling outward with some grips that will allow me to really pull, but is there any risk of damaging the cartridge? i think it's dripping even faster now since my fiddling around...

 

[ahlondon]

SOLVED! (At least for now): I encased the knob with a condom then made a hole which I filled with bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar. Lots of fizzing and a few hours later of soaking it does not drip. Limescale was likely interfering with normal operation of cartridge. Would still like to get the knob off though.