Picture this. You’ve got plans to meet up with friends for a party, and you need to take a quick shower before you leave the house. You try to turn on the water only to realize a problem with your Delta shower handle knob. You decide to skip the shower and leave, but you know that you need to remove the knob when you come home later.
In this article, we will show you several ways to remove the Delta shower handle knob. If you’ve never removed a knob before, don’t worry! We’ll walk you through each step of every method, so you don’t get confused. At the end of the article, we will show you how to replace a shower handle.
Let’s get right to it.
Types of Delta Shower Handle Knob
Delta manufactures several shower handle knobs. Some of them are as follows:
1. Delta Faucet H71PB, Polished Brass
This shower handle knob is made of polished brass. Its style is labeled classic or traditional and is sold individually. One of the best features of this knob is that it fits comfortably on an oblong shaft.
2. Delta Faucet RP17451 Single Clear Knob Handle Kit
The Delta Faucet RP17451 Single Clear Knob Handle Kit is made of chrome. It goes well with nickel, white, and chrome shower and tub faucets. Please note that this product is sold individually.
3. Delta Faucet RP2389 Single Clear Knob Handle Kit with Button and Set Screw
This Delta knob comes as a single clear knob handle kit that includes a set screw and button. It comes in the color chrome.
4. Delta Faucet RP2391 Single Clear Knob Handle Kit with Button and Set Screw
This shower knob is to be used with the 600 series of tub and shower faucets. Please note that it does not work with the Scald-Guard, Monitor, and Delta Mix products. However, you can use this knob on all other Delta products. This knob’s finish is clear.
Why Should I Remove Them?
One of the main reasons you should remove your shower handle knobs is that there might be some leaks in your shower valves. As a result, when you turn the shower handle knob, you could find that water drips from the valves instead of only coming out of the tap. Water leakages cause mold and mildew to grow behind your shower wall. Additionally, you don’t want to waste any water or deal with rot behind the shower wall.
Also, Read – How to stop water from running out of shower
You should remove a shower handle knob when you start to find mineral or calcium deposits that prevent the knob from turning correctly.
How to Remove Delta Shower Handle?
Below is a list of methods that will help you easily remove your Delta shower handle knob.
The removal methods for this knob depend on the type of Delta shower handle knob that you have. As a result, we have made sure to include as many methods as possible so that you will not face any trouble when trying to remove your shower handle.
Before you remove the shower handle, please make sure that you’ve turned your water supply off. Additionally, to ensure that your plumbing process goes smoothly, make sure that you have laid out all your tools and equipment in the order that you will need them. You can finish the handle removal process quickly and move on to other things by doing this! If you are going to be replacing the shower handle knob with a new one after removing the old one, please make sure that you’ve purchased, unwrapped, and laid out the new knob before you get started.
Handle Screws Behind Face Plate
The first removal method that we’re sharing with you is to remove the screws behind the faceplate. When you look at the shower handle, you will notice that you cannot see the screws securing the handle to the wall. Therefore, you must find the screws first and then take the faceplate off. The faceplate is usually installed for aesthetic purposes. It hides the screws and other implements holding the shower curtain to the wall. Therefore, you need to pay close attention to the faceplate structure before you start to tinker with it.
You will need:
Two screwdrivers
One of the best features of this removal method is that you only need two screwdrivers and nothing else!
Here’s how to handle the screws behind the faceplate.
- First, use your screwdriver to remove the faceplate from the wall. The reason for doing this is that the screws holding the handle to the wall are often hidden behind the faceplate.
- Look closely at the wall behind the removed faceplate and figure out the location of the screws.
- Once you have managed to find the screws, use one of the screwdrivers to take off the screws and set them aside carefully.
- After removing the screws, you can easily take the shower handle knob off the wall.
Just like that, you’ve successfully removed the shower handle knob from your bathroom wall! We love this method because it is almost deceptively easy and takes very little time to do. As we mentioned at the beginning of this section, it would be best to turn your water off before you start any plumbing work. Switching the water off prevents you from accidentally turning a knob and getting wet while you’re trying to get some work done!
With Exposed Screws
This second method helps you remove the shower handle knob quite easily because the screws holding it in place are exposed. Therefore, the process will not take very long. You need not worry about finding several tools to help you ease this removal process. Please note that when removing a shower handle knob with exposed screws, you must unscrew the various parts of the handle with care. This is because you don’t want to lose any of the separate parts.
Also, Read – How to remove the shower drain cover?
To try out this method, you are going to need:
A screwdriver
Here’s how to remove a Delta shower handle knob that has exposed screws:
- First, you need to remove the handle screw carefully. You can do this by unscrewing it using the screwdriver to help you.
- Now that you’ve removed the handle screw, remove the handle and set it aside.
- After that, carefully unscrew the sleeve and bonnet. These two will be attached to the stem of the valve.
- Set the sleeve and bonnet aside. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to move on to the next step.
- At this stage, you have now reached the faceplate. You need to unscrew the exposed screws on the faceplate and set them aside.
- You should be able to see the faceplate and escutcheon now. Since you’ve unscrewed the screws holding the faceplate, you can easily lift the faceplate and escutcheon and set them aside.
Voila! You’ve successfully removed the Delta shower handle knob from your bathroom. Make sure that you follow the instructions above carefully and slowly to avoid any issues when trying to remove the knob.
With Plug Buttons
This third removal method is easy to do! Just make sure that you are patient and work slowly.
For this method, you are going to need:
- A flat-blade screwdriver.
- A regular screwdriver
Since a plug-button shower handle knob might seem intimidating, we’d recommend that you familiarize yourself with its shape and form before working to remove it.
Also, Read – Linear shower drain pros and cons
Here’s how you remove a shower handle knob with a plug button:
- Take the screwdriver and use the flat edge of its blade to separate the plug button from the valve trim.
- Once you have carefully separated the two, use an ordinary screwdriver to remove the screw attaching the handle to the valve stem. In this step, you must also remove the screw holding the adaptor to the valve stem. Depending on the type of handle you are working with, you might need to turn the handle in a counterclockwise motion to ensure that you’ve removed it.
- Set the screws, handle, and adaptor aside.
- Remove the valve’s sleeve.
- Next, you need to remove the screws that are holding the faceplate to the wall. Unscrew them, and the faceplate should be easy to take off the wall.
Just like that, you have successfully removed a shower handle knob that has a plug button!
Trim With Setscrews
The next method to remove a shower handle knob involves removing the handle and adaptor from the valve. Let’s take a closer look.
You are going to need:
- A screwdriver
- A flat-blade screwdriver
To try out this method, you will need to do the following:
- First, using your screwdriver, detach the set screw and set it aside.
- Then, you need to remove the adaptor and handle from the valve. This should be easy to remove since you’ve detached the setscrew.
- There will be two or three screws fastened to the faceplate. Unscrew those and set them aside, then remove the faceplate.
- If your Delta shower handle knob has a pin in the adapter, you will need to use the flat-blade screwdriver to take the pin out of the adapter. The flat-blade screwdriver will help you separate the valve and the adapter as well.
You’ve successfully worked your way through another handle removal method.
With Threaded Bonnets
The final method on our list requires you to use a Philips screwdriver and a small amount of force!
For this method, you will need:
- A Philps screwdriver
You will need to do the following:
- Hold the shower handle firmly and rotate it anticlockwise using your dominant hand. After turning it once or twice, the handle should come apart from the valve. Rotating it anticlockwise will also release the bonnet.
- Next, you must take off the pivot ring.
- After taking the pivot ring off, you can quickly remove the faceplate by separating it from the valve.
- In this next step, you will need the Philips screwdriver to unscrew any screws that are attached to the retainer.
- Please note that if your retainer doesn’t have any screws, you can twist it yourself and remove it from the wall.
The five methods mentioned above involve the use of a screwdriver and no other tools! We would recommend that you read through the instructions under each provided method to familiarize yourself with their steps. When it comes down to it, removing a shower handle knob isn’t that difficult!
How to Replace the Shower Handle?
To replace a shower handle, please follow the instructions given below:
- Turn your water supply off!
- Remove the screw fastening the handle to the valve.
- Once you’ve removed the screw, you can easily remove the handle that is attached to the valve.
- Now that you’ve taken the handle off, you must then take off the escutcheon plate off.
- Next, take a roll of Teflon tape and use a long piece of tape to attach the handle on the base of the stem of the faucet.
- You will also get a new set of screws with the new handle. Using the screws, fasten the handle in place by using whatever screws you have got.
- After you’re sure that the handle is firmly in place, attached the new escutcheon plate.
- You can now turn your water back on and use your new shower handle!
Wrapping Up
In this article, we walked you through several methods to remove a Delta shower handle knob. Even though doing some minor plumbing work on your own can seem intimidating, you must remember that it is often easy and quick to do! Fight your fear of plumbing, and you can solve minor problems all by yourself!
