Showers can be a complicated thing all together and you may not realize the reason you are not getting hot water going properly through them. In this article we will try and help you understand why you are not getting hot water through your shower in particular. This will aid you in not having to take freezing cold showers, unless you so want to go through that suffering by your own choice.
Hot water heaters are generally the issue when it comes to not having hot water throughout your home and that would include your shower. However, sometimes it seems that you are getting hot water everywhere else, but it seems to be skipping over the shower for some strange reason. There are 2 general issues that result in this kind of problem for your shower and they are usually pretty simple to fix. If these don’t solve your problem be sure to give us a call here at Hurry Curry Plumbing. The first issue pertains to too high of a setting for your anti-scald device (this is what prevents your shower from giving you third degree burns, but it may be working too hard. The second common problem is a valve has gone bad in your shower mixer. Stick with us and we’ll lay out how specifically you can solve this frustrating and cold issue with your shower.
Most faucets according to guidelines set up for people’s safety come with an anti-scald device that usually has a rotational limit stop or a hot limit stop. It in simplest terms is able to limit the rotation a shower handle can turn in the hot water direction. This will prevent the shower from going to hot with devastating consequences. By doing this stop limit the showers take back the maximum heat that a hot water heater is providing. Looking to see if your anti-scald device is preventing you from getting hot water into your shower? You can easily recalibrate your anti-scald device and see if you are able to receive the appropriate amount of hot water. The first step to doing this is taking off the cover for your shower handle by turning it all the way or with a wrench or screwdriver. Your anti-scald device will likely look like a piece of plastic surrounding the metal connection piece to your handle. If there is no plastic device, you likely do not have an anti-scald device installed on your shower and can skip to the later paragraphs of this article.
Your next step is to try and turn your ani-scald device to the right and push it back into place. You will then test the water to see if you are able to get any hotter water to flow through your faucet. If it gets hotter than congratulations your problem is solved. Not quite hot enough? Keep repeating the process until you’ve gotten it right. Move onto the next paragraph if the problem is not your anti-scald device.
If your anti-scald device is ok, then it may certainly be your mixing valve has gone bad. The mixing valve is a device that combines hot and cold water together. Having a broken valve is something you should leave to the professionals like us at Hurry Curry Plumbing. Need any more info on this issue check out “Why Am I Getting Hot Water Everywhere But the Shower?” with Plumbing Today.
Plumbing in Saginaw, MI (989)623-4551 Residential and Commercial Plumber 