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Diagnose shower leak I can't find

Yeah, I left a note for my doctor and he ordered me some.

Didn't ask me to come in for an exam, dunno why. <smiley>

Reply to
TimR
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I've discussed that a few times with people here, what happens if you think you have Covid, what do you do. You confirmed what I expected, which is get tested and if positive your doctor will prescribe Paxlovid, maybe. Problem there is I have seen no guidelines, no messaging from CDC about exactly what you're supposed to do, who should get P, etc. Clearly if you're elderly, have underlying conditions, you would get it. But I wonder what the actual policy recommended is for say someone who is 20? 45? with normal health? Me, I'm gonna find it somewhere.

I just ordered 8 free Covid instant test kits that you can get. Each household can do that 3 times. I have a test kit here from winter, but it's the kind you have to mail back and I also don't know how long that's good for. Let us know how you're doing.

Reply to
trader_4

I'm surprised the crazy Republicans haven't started a conspiracy theory about how evil and dangerous Paxlovid is.

Reply to
trader_4

Check the expiration date on your tests. When I got my set earlier this month, the expiration date on all eight tests was less than

30 days away (mid august). A bit of online research found that they've extended the expiration date by up to 90 days (the iHealth kits are extended 90 days, others 45 to 60).
Reply to
Scott Lurndal

FYI...

In addition to all the free test kits that you can order through the USPS, etc. some (most?) insurance companies cover them too. My local pharmacy put in the request for me and a couple of hours later I picked up 8 (7? I forget) with each one labeled like it was a prescription.

All of the kits I have received from various sources all expire in the December 2022 range.

Funny story...I went to a county site for my booster shot. There was a rent-a-cop greeting people. After I got my shot, the rent-a-cop handed me a test kit on the way out. "Here you go, have a nice day."

A few days that, I had a question, so I went back. A different rent-a-cop greeted me and I went and got my question answered. On the way out, after I had passed the rent-a-cop's table, I heard someone calling "Sir! Sir!" I turned to see the rent-a-cop walking towards me with *two* test kits. It was like he was going to get fired if he didn't make sure everyone walked out with a test kit or two. ;-)

Reply to
Marilyn Manson

See:

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Reply to
Retirednoguilt

FDA will always err on the side of safety. Not necessarily a bad thing. My attitude towards expiration of the 15 minute test at home kits is that regardless of the expiration date, when the testing liquid is applied to the test strip, does the control line appear relatively soon (within about 1-2 minutes and is it a strong blue color? If so, that test kit is more likely to be useful than not. However, if the control line takes more than about 3 minutes to emerge and is pale purple, I'd discard that kit as no longer useful.

Reply to
Retirednoguilt

Covid test: I set a timer for 15 minutes. My daughter walked by in 3 and said, "Daddy, you're positive." Nice bright blue almost right away. But I also had all the symptoms.

Shower Leak!!! Progress! I finally got one of my kids to take a bath. (They're grown now with their own jobs, it's not like when they were little.) It leaked immediately and I could see where it seemed to be dripping from, also why it never leaked without someone in the tub. It dripped from where the overflow inserts into the tub. Hard to see from below, but there must be a washer or gasket or something at that connection. There is an access panel in the closet above, and I guess I could see if this is a DIY job, but I feel like trash, and these are 2 inch galvanized pipes, I'm going to let a pro tackle this one. He comes next week.

Reply to
TimR

I watched several youtube videos. I could probably do it myself, but things don't always go as perfectly as hoped.

I'm still a little concerned about grout and those hairline cracks. When my shower pan went bad the contractor said we could try one of those sealers over the tile, but I wanted the problem solved permanently ( and expensively, it turned out.) Is there something you all would recommend for the tile?

Reply to
TimR

I replaced my cast iron tub and tiled walls with a fiberglass tub and 3 piece surround.

Integral shelves and a grab bar. I have no doubt that it'll outlive me.

Or there's always "Bath Fitter" They'll fit a tub right over your old one and hang walls right over the tile. "In as little as 1 day."

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However, once they put a new tub over your old one, 2 things will happen:

1 - You'll have a smaller tub. (You can't put one inside the other without losing space.) 2 - The floor of the tub will be higher than the current one, and probably higher than the rest of the bathroom floor. That could be an issue for the elderly. It's weird "step down" when you get out of the tub.
Reply to
Marilyn Manson

The plumber came today.

He agreed with the overflow gasket being the cause, wasn't real thrilled with the mess left by the first guy who tried to caulk it with silicone rather than changing it. The old one had a big split in it.

Youtube made it look easy but it was not, I am so glad I did not attempt to DIY this one. Like Winston Churchill said, "a man's got to know his limitations."

So we fixed "a" leak, that doesn't mean we fixed "all" leaks, but hopefully this is progress.

Reply to
TimR

That was Dirty Harry...

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Reply to
Marilyn Manson

Yeah, I always get those two mixed up.

Reply to
TimR

I took a shower.

It still dripped below. It dripped less, the overflow was clearly a big part of the problem, but not the whole problem.

So I had one of my kids take a shower while I watched the pipes, switching between the access panel and the hole in the ceiling. No drips.

So I took the advice someone gave earlier in this thread and sprayed the wall with the hand sprayer. Found it! Water came through the wall where the pipes go through the expanded perf metal lath and plaster. I tried different areas - the caulk interface, spout, overflow, faucets, etc. It drips when I spray above the central faucet handle, which diverts water from the tub spout to the overhead shower spout.

Reply to
TimR

It sounds like you are talking about the trim plate around a single handle shower valve but I'm pretty sure that TimR is talking about the center stem of a 3 stem shower valve - hot, cold, diverter.

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I don't think that they use foam gasket. Caulk is often used, especially if the trim (escutcheon) bridges a grout line.

Reply to
Marilyn Manson

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