Repairing a shower valve is one of those home repairs that most homeowners find they need to do every few years, depending on a number of factors including how many people use the shower, your faucet brand and even what type of water you have in your home. Whether you have a single handle “cartridge” type of faucet or a two handle “valve and washer” type of faucet in your shower, the repair for each type is actually pretty similar. …

Like a lot of people right now, I have a live (but cut) Christmas tree in my living room right now. It’s decorated and covered with lights and I have a nice little tree skirt and the whole things looks green and great for the moment, though I know that if I don’t water it for a day or two then I’ll quickly have a pile of brown needles around the base and the tree will start looking a little less green and little more like something from a Charlie Brown special….

Over the past couple years I’ve removed and replaced every shower knob and bathroom and kitchen faucet in my 50 year old home. I’m not a plumber but I’ve watched and learned from some professional plumbers and I’ve done just enough basic plumbing work around my house that I’m beginning to get a feel for some of tricks of the trade.

Here’s a shower wrench seated on a shower valve that’s sunk …

If you want to help the environment by saving water and save yourself some money then you should consider checking all your bathroom fixtures for leaks. If they do leak then you’ll want to repair those leaks as quickly as possible. This is one home improvement project that just about anyone can get a start on. Fortunately, many minor repairs around the bathroom are relatively easy to tackle if you have a little patience and a few very basic tools.

The bathroom is the most likely room to find a majority …