Why is water leaking from a valve or control lever on my tub?

Water showing at a valve or control lever on an Ella walk-in tub almost always comes from one connection or one seal at that part, not from the tub shell, and the time it appears tells you which part. Water that shows while the tub fills with the pumps off points to the faucet valves, the diverter, the supply lines or a drain stopper. Water that shows only while a pump runs points to a union or a jet fitting, and water only while draining points to the drain elbow. Why Is Water Leaking Underneath My Walk-In Tub? maps every connection under the tub. This page narrows it to the valves and levers you can see, what each symptom means, and how to stop the water safely while you wait for parts.

Which Valve or Lever You Are Looking at

Owners use the words valve and lever for several different parts, and the fix is different for each, so start by naming the part.

• The hot and cold faucet valves. On the Ella 5-piece fast-fill faucet these are simple pass-through valves with a handle, collar and cap on top. Open one and whatever is in the supply line comes through; close it and the flow should stop completely.
• The diverter. On the 5-piece set it is the middle lever between the hot and cold handles and sends water to the spout or the hand shower. On the older 2-piece set the diverter is a button under the spout. Can I Switch My Walk-In Tub From a 2-Piece to a 5-Piece Faucet? shows the two sets side by side, which helps you name yours in a ticket.
• The push controls and dials on the deck. The air and hydro systems start with a push button, and hydro tubs have an intensity control dial. Water that follows a push button down into the cavity is a gasket issue at that button, not a plumbing leak.
• The drain stoppers and overflow. Water at a drain stopper while filling, or at the drain elbow below while draining, belongs to the drain side of the map.
• The supply shut-off valves. These sit on the hot and cold lines behind the access panel. The faucet ships with two 3/4 inch by 5 foot braided supply lines, and shut-off valves are not included with it, so yours were added by the installer.

Read the Leak by When It Happens

The support team isolates a leak with dry paper towels and a fixed order of tests. Open the access panel, dry the whole cavity, and lay towels under the pump, the heater, the drain fittings and the faucet connections above. Then work through the list and stop at the first wet towel.

1. Fill the tub with the pumps off and wait. Water now comes from the faucet base, a supply line, a drain stopper or the door, not from a pump connection.
2. Run the hydro pump alone for several minutes and check the unions at the pump and the in-line heater. A union that keeps weeping after tightening has an over-tightened or displaced O-ring. A leak from the seam of the motor housing is a pump part question, so photograph it.
3. Run the air pump alone and check its connections. A drip where an air tube meets the underside of the tub is fixed at that fitting's gasket, and a thin bead of silicone around a push button gasket stops water following the button.
4. Run the hand shower with the diverter switched to each position and check the connections under each faucet piece and along the full loop of the braided supply lines. Some fittings only see pressure in one diverter position, so a leak near the diverter lever may only appear with the hand shower selected.
5. Drain the tub and watch the drain elbow and drain fittings while the water is moving. An elbow cracked by over-tightening at installation, or a drain gasket seated the wrong way, leaks only during this step.

A small drip after every bath is normally water leaving the jet lines. It only matters if it keeps going or pools. Water that keeps coming with the tub empty and nothing running points to the pressurized side, the supply lines and the faucet valves, which is where the leaking-through symptom covered below lives.

Stopping the Water While You Wait

Close the shut-off valves on the hot and cold supply lines. They should be reachable through an access panel, and closing them takes the pressure off the faucet valves, the diverter and the supply lines. Always shut them before anyone removes a supply line or a faucet piece. If the leak is at a pump union, a jet fitting or the drain, leave the pumps off and leave the tub empty until the part is sorted, since those connections only see water when the tub is filled or a pump runs.

Do not keep tightening. A union that leaks after tightening has a displaced O-ring, and more force makes it worse. The fix is to take the union apart, re-seat the O-ring and reassemble it by hand, as How Do I Fix a Leaking Union Gasket at the Pump or Heater? explains step by step. The same patience applies to a plugged hole on the hydro return elbow. It is resealed with 100 percent silicone and left to cure for a full 24 hours before the tub is filled, covered in Fixing a Leak at the Plug on the Hydro Return Elbow.

Faucet Valve and Diverter Leaks

If water keeps flowing from the tub filler with the hot or cold handle turned off, the valve is not sealing. Take a photo of the handle in the off position with water visibly coming out of the tub filler, and send it with your serial number and shipping address through ellasbubbles.com/support. When the valve is covered under the parts warranty the team packs a replacement valve. You can then swap only the cartridge from the new valve into your existing valve body, or replace the valve entirely. The handle, collar and cap go back on the same way. 5-Piece Faucet: Water Keeps Flowing With the Valve Off, Low Pressure, Handle Replacements and Finish Options covers that swap along with handle and finish replacements.

A leak at the base of a valve or at the diverter lever that shows while filling, rather than water running from the spout, is usually a connection under the deck. Check the braided supply lines along their full loop and the connections under each faucet piece in both diverter positions, since a fitting that only sees pressure with the hand shower selected will be dry the rest of the time.

When the Same Lever Leaks a Second Time

If water has shown at the same lever twice, the next step is to have the part identified rather than tightening it again.

1. Dry the area completely.
2. Run the water, or the pump, so you can see exactly where the first bead forms.
3. Photograph that spot with the water visible.
4. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your model and serial number, say which lever it is, and tell the team what was replaced or adjusted the first time.

Those photos are what let the team pin down the correct part numbers. Parts ship after the fault is verified, and the warranty covers replacement parts only, so the labor to fit them is arranged with your installer or a local licensed plumber. Ella does not send technicians, but the team guides your plumber through the repair so that this one is the last.

Related Guides

• Faucet drips or the handle feels stiff: replacing your faucet cartridge step by step
• Why Does My Tub Faucet Drip Constantly and How Do I Fix It?
• Tub Fills Only Scalding or Only Cold and Will Not Mix to Warm

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