Is it normal for a shower parts to need replacing after 4 years?

[Jane M]

We've recently had to replace a tap which had a persistent drip and now need to replace a shower as it has water coming out the fittings and is very hard to turn off. We know that these fittings are only 4 years old, is it normal for these issues to arise after this time period or could this be a water pressure/hard water issue?

 

[PETE 123]

Hard water acts like sandpaper on things that move.

 

[Timmy D]

It’s obviously hard to say without seeing the items but typically you’d be able to just replace the cartridges, not the whole tap/shower valve.
However, if you fitted “no established brand” items (Victorian plumb etc), you likely have no choice but to replace because they suck at keeping spares for longer than a year.

 

[SimonG]

depends on water pressure, water hardness, quality of brassware and usage.

 

[colmar]

In my experience shower parts can fail much quicker than that and prices for parts tend to be prohibitive. It often makes more sense just to install a brand new higher quality shower.