How to fix a leaking shower

/01Confirm the leak is the enclosure, not the plumbing

Before anything is removed, work out whether water is escaping through the tiled surface or from a pipe. A simple check: run the taps into a bucket instead of the shower rose. If no moisture appears, the plumbing is likely fine and the enclosure — grout, silicone, junctions — is the entry point.

Note when the damage appears. Staining that shows up only after showering points to the enclosure. Constant dampness, even when the shower hasn't been used, can indicate a plumbing leak that needs a licensed plumber first.

/02Remove what has failed — all of it

A lasting fix starts with removal, not cover-up. Cracked or powdery grout is ground out of the affected joints, and old silicone is cut away completely from corners, wall-to-floor junctions and around the shower screen. Fresh product applied over loose or mouldy material fails within months.

/03Regrout and reseal with the right materials

New grout is applied between stable tiles, and flexible sanitary-grade silicone goes into every movement joint — the places a building naturally flexes. Rigid grout in a corner will simply crack again. Most leaking shower repairs without removing tiles are completed in a day, with curing time before the shower is used again.

/04Know when the problem runs deeper

If tiles are loose or drummy across a wide area, the substrate feels soft, or water damage is active beyond the enclosure, the waterproof membrane may be compromised. That's a bigger scope than regrouting. A specialist assessment tells you honestly which situation you're in — our shower leak repair inspections across Melbourne are free and come with a fixed written quote.