Installed a simple pet sprayer in the upstairs master bathtub. It has a long hose with a release valve/button on the very end of it. About 6 hours after installation (and without officially using it for anything worthwhile), we woke up to a large leak downstairs in our kitchen directly below the tub. Turns out I had left the tub faucets on while the pet sprayer valve was turned off. After turning off the tub faucets, the leak immediately started to recede, but now we have a giant awesome looking ceiling bubble.

Is the most likely reason for the leak a burst faucet pipe that needs to be replaced (in order to use the tub again) or does it sound like something that we only need to worry about when there is forced back-flow from something like this sprayer?

I plan on calling a plumber in the morning, but I'd like some insight.

  • Did you remove the shower arm, or inadvertently loosen it while you installed the new sprayer? – Tester101 May 1 '12 at 11:58

It sounds like it could either be a cracked breaching piece (between the to taps where the spout screws on) or it could be the spindles leaking.

Breaching Piece

There is a o-ring in the spindles that stops water from coming out of the tap casing when the water is on. to check the o-ring take of the handles and cover flange turn the taps on with the sprayer turned off, is water coming out of the taps?

Top Assembly

If not you can either cap off the fitting where the spout is connected and turn the water on and try and here/see water leaking or hook a pressure gauge up to the spout connection turn the water on then back off and see if the pressure drops when the water is off showing a leak in the breaching piece. How to pressure test

  • Thanks. Turns out it was an o-ring issue, but it was the o-ring in the faucet head itself. Apparently, when the pet sprayer was installed, the built up pressure blew out the o-ring. It's also possible that the issue pre-dated the sprayer but didn't show itself because the bath wasn't in an on state long enough. Thanks for the insight! – Matt Beckman May 1 '12 at 22:13

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