[VCaibaiosai]

Hi, I can't get the brass head screw off because the brass is so soft that the screwdriver twists inside the head. The screwdriver is a flat head one. I got one side off but the other just keeps slipping off. Any ideas on how to deal with this particular problem? I sprayed WD 40 on there but that brass screw seems pretty rusted. How am I going to get this off?

Violet

[EPMiller]

Brass never rusts, only iron. If it is permanently corroded in, the only way is to drill it out and then tap the hole for a larger diameter screw. I occasionally have had luck with broken screw extractors, but the exact problem and location dictate what type you have to use. I am not going to go into a long treatise on how to do all this as it is not the simplest job. If you don't have the tools or the know-how, you are going to have to call a professional.

If this is actually on a bathtub spout, you may just want to grab the spout with a pipe wrench or channelock pliers, turn the whole spout and tube out of the elbow in the wall and start from there. Of course if that spout tube is sweated in, you are completely out of luck. Someone who knows a little about plumbing maybe can look in through the access panel on the other side of the wall and see what type of spout you have and if that is possible.

[hkstroud]

Flat head slotted screw on a tub spout??

Most tub spouts are either screwed on to the stub out or are put on with a slip fit.

Show us a picture.

Is it possible that you mean a screw in the tub overflow cover plate?

Show us a picture.