Why Is Water Pooling Behind My Walk-In Tub Near the Hand Shower?

Water pooling behind a walk-in tub near the hand shower almost always means the pull-out hand shower has been lifted to a wall mount without the leak elimination kit, so water runs down the hose, collects in the hand shower base and drops through the deck insert hole into the space behind the tub. The fix is the 5 foot extension hose with a stainless steel barrel connector described in What Is a Barrel Extension Hose (Leak Elimination Kit) on a Walk-In Tub?. If your hand shower still rests in its deck base, the next suspects are a split hose, a worn washer at a fitting, or a tub that is not resting on every one of its leveling legs.

Why a Hand Shower Can Leak Where You Cannot See It

On an Ella tub with a deck-mounted pull-out hand shower, the handset normally rests in a base on the tub deck, and its hose drops through a deck insert hole to the faucet below. That hole is there to pass the hose, not to hold water. When the handset is lifted to a wall mount or a slider bar without the kit, water left in the hose and on the handset drips back down into the hand shower base, and from there it travels through the deck hole to the space behind the tub, where it pools out of sight until it shows at the floor or inside the access panel.

Ella's printed instructions put it plainly: do not attach the hand held shower to the wall unless you have an extension hose with a barrel protection, because this may cause water to leak behind your walk-in tub. Water under or behind the tub near the deck-mounted hand shower is the classic sign that a hand shower was wall-mounted without the kit, and it is a common fix that avoids a service call.

Confirm the Cause Before You Order Anything

1. Look at where the handset lives. If it hangs on a wall hook or slider bar and there is no stainless barrel seated in the deck base, the kit is the fix. Skip to the next section.
2. Check the compartment behind the access panel. That space holds the GFCI receptacle, the control boxes and the pump cords, and water pooling in it is never acceptable, so find the source before the next bath.
3. Unscrew the hose at the handset and inspect the washer. A drip at the head is often a worn washer or a missing check valve rather than the hose itself, and a washer is replaced on its own.
4. Pull the hose out of the deck and look for a split, a bulge or a crack near either connector. Any of these means a new hose, matched to your faucet set. If the base fitting cannot be reached from above, the hose can be changed from the access panel.
5. Rule out the door and the legs. Ella tubs have at least six leveling legs, and each must rest solidly on the floor with no gap beneath it. A leg that hangs free lets the shell bow, so the gasket may not touch on the lower handle side, and water from a door leak can end up in the same place behind the tub.
6. Do not confuse the shower hose with the air button hose. The small hose running from a button on the deck to the pump is the air button hose. If it is split, the button stops working, and the team sends an air button hose for it, not a shower hose.

The Fix for a Wall-Mounted Hand Shower

The leak elimination kit, which Ella also calls the wall attachment and water leak elimination kit, is a 5 foot extension hose with a stainless steel barrel connector. The barrel seats in the shower base and plugs the deck insert hole, and the extension hose gives the handset the reach to the wall. Installing it takes five steps:

1. Unscrew the shower head mixer from the hose.
2. Screw the stainless barrel onto the hose end.
3. Screw the extension hose onto the other side of the barrel.
4. Seat the barrel in the shower base so it plugs the hole.
5. Screw the mixer onto the end of the extension hose.

The kit applies to any Ella tub with a deck-mounted pull-out hand shower, whichever Ella faucet set it shipped with, whenever the handset is going to live on the wall. Plan for it before a slider bar is mounted rather than after the first puddle. On the LayDown family the warning applies only to the 32 by 72 tub with the hand-mixer option, because the LayDown60 has no deck faucet. If you are unsure whether your configuration needs it, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850.

When the Hose or a Washer Is the Leak

If the hand shower has never left its deck base and water is still collecting behind the tub, the hose is the likely path. How Do I Replace a Cracked, Leaking Hand Shower Hose? walks through the inspection, and the swap itself is a hand tight job with no special tools, as described in Hand Shower Hose and Sprayer Head Replacement, and Water Behind the Tub Near the Hand Shower. A few points keep the replacement from turning into a second leak:

• Hoses are matched to the faucet set. The 5-piece hose does not fit the 2-piece faucet, and some single lever fast fill faucets use a quick connect fitting at the faucet end rather than a threaded one, so photograph the fitting before ordering.
• Replacement hoses ship with new washers. Fit the new hose hand tight, conical connector to the handset and hex nut to the deck mount.
• If the old hose end will not pass back through the deck fitting, or the openings look too small for the new ends, do not force it. Photograph the deck fitting so the team can send the hose with the deck fitting pre-installed.
• The team tests the replacement before it ships and sends it by UPS to the address on your warranty form. Parts are covered for the original owner at the original installation address once the failure is verified from your photos. Labor is never covered, and Ella does not send technicians.

Why the Space Behind the Tub Matters More Than a Wet Floor

Splash and humidity on the outside of the acrylic panels are not a concern. What must stay dry is the compartment behind the access panels, because it holds the electrical equipment. Installing a Walk-In Tub in a Wet Room: Keeping the Electrical Compartment Dry explains why water running down behind the panel and pooling in the compartment is a different problem from a wet apron, and that applies just as much to a hand shower drip as to shower spray. A level, correctly installed Ella tub does not leak, and Do Walk-In Tubs Leak and How Is the Door Sealed? makes the point that water under or behind the tub often has nothing to do with the door at all. Once the hand shower drip is stopped, dry the compartment and watch it through one more fill and bath before closing the panel.

What to Have Ready for a Ticket

Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your tub model, your serial number or invoice number, a photo of the faucet set and a photo of the hand shower base, and say whether the handset is on the wall or in the deck base. If a hose is involved, add a photo of the damaged hose end and note whether the fitting is threaded or quick connect. The team also asks whether the tub is newly purchased or already installed, and whether you are the original owner, because the failure is documented for the warranty.

Related Guides

• Hand Shower Leaks at the Head or Deck: Hose Orientation, the Blue Check Valve, Washers and a Loose Mount Base
• Installing the Wall-Mounted Hand Shower Slider Bar and the Extension Coupler So Nothing Leaks Behind the Tub
• Where Does the Pull-Out Hand Shower Hose Connect Under the Deck?

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