Have you ever experienced the frustrating scenario of stepping into your shower only to be greeted by icy cold water while the water flowing from your sink tap remains pleasantly warm?
If you’ve found yourself pondering over this temperature discrepancy, you’re not alone. Understanding the reasons behind such a phenomenon can help you troubleshoot and resolve the issue effectively.
The most likely culprit behind the disparity in water temperature between your shower and sink lies in the workings of your home’s plumbing system.
Specifically, it can be attributed to a problem with the shower’s mixing valve. The mixing valve regulates the flow of hot and cold water to achieve the desired temperature.
When the valve malfunctions or becomes worn out, it may fail to properly mix the hot and cold water, resulting in either excessively cold or scorching hot water coming out of the showerhead.
This issue is common in older showers or those with outdated or faulty mixing valve mechanisms.
In this blog post, we will delve into the possible causes of why your shower water may be cold while your sink water remains hot, providing you with valuable insights to address this perplexing problem.
Unveiling the Issue: Why Your Shower Water is Cold While the Sink is Hot
It is common for people to associate a loss of hot water in the shower with a loss of hot water throughout the house.
The first thing you might think of when the shower doesn’t warm up or warm up at all is that the household water heater is defective.
Most of the time, this is the issue, and you’ll need to call a technician to fix it. Is it possible to replace only one shower if the hot water has gone out? What would cause a shower to run without hot water if you still get hot water at other taps?
Several possibilities exist, and you will almost certainly need professional plumbing assistance not for the water heater but for the shower.
What Should I Check First
If you ever find that the shower water is cold and the sink water is hot, you have a few options to consider. To find out if the lack of hot water results from a problem with the whole water supply, first, check all the places outside the shower in the house.
When there is hot water in the sinks and cold water in the shower, you can eliminate the problem with the water heater.
In case you do not have experience with plumbing situations, it is best to hire a professionally licensed master plumber to fix your pipes.
Why Is This Happening
You can now move on to the next possible scenario you have identified, not the water heater. If hot water is available in all faucets but the shower head, there are two possible problems with a shower. There are several issues to be addressed:
- Too high a setting is used for the anti-scald device.
- Shower mixer valves in temperature handles are defective.
1. Failed Anti-Scald Device
In your showerhead, a device may prevent scalding from occurring when there is a surge of extremely hot water.
Known as a “hot limit stop” or “rotational limit stop,” this anti-scald device is often found in modern faucets. This can interrupt any hot water flow depending on how high it is set or if it breaks.
The showerhead must be disassembled if it needs to be repaired or reset. A plumber should do this because making a mistake with this device can create a scalding hazard, and not all showerheads include it.
How Can I Fix These Issues
The problem of a damaged anti-scald unit or shower mixing valve will likely require professional assistance. The following are some possible steps they might take to repair these items.
Anti-scald unit Fix:
1. You will need an Allen wrench or screwdriver to unscrew the small bolt from the faucet handle or head.
2. If the unit is installed, it should be found directly under the head of the shower faucet.
3. Place the anti-scald unit back in place after adjusting the temperature. Remove the anti-scald unit, adjust the temperature and place it back in place.
4. Test the water before you jump in – always check the water before you jump in. To avoid scalding, make sure the anti-scald unit is set to stop by hot.
5. Make sure you troubleshoot – you might need to adjust the rotational limit stop on the anti-scald unit a few times to achieve the desired temperature. Your unit may need to be replaced if this doesn’t work.
Further, not every shower faucet is equipped with an anti-scald device. It is unlikely that your faucet has this mechanism if no plastic unit is located beneath the handles.
Thus, repairing or adjusting it will not be necessary. A faulty mixing valve has also become the most common cause for concern.
2. The Broken/Worn Down Mixing Valve
You most likely have an issue with the mixing valve in your shower. It creates balance in the flow of water from the hot and cold water lines so that the water temperature in your shower is exactly what you want it to be.
With time, this valve can wear down or even break, and messing around with the handles won’t help you get the right hot-cold mix. Mixing valves are behind the shower wall, behind pipes, so you can’t see them.
If you attempt to access it by disassembling the faucet’s handle or by removing tools and wrenches, we warn you not to do so. A professional may need to replace the entire mixing valve for this repair.
Shower mixing valve fix:
If the water does not mix properly in your shower, there are a few reasons why. Here are some of the main reasons why there is no hot water:
- Worn out valves.
- Broken valves.
- Plastic parts have broken down.
- Improper valve positioning.
When trying to replace a mixing valve on your own, you can cause more damage than expected. A professionally licensed master plumber should be contacted to solve this problem.
How Much Does It Cost?
It can be fairly expensive to hire a licensed master plumber. Homeowners often lack the skills or technical tools to replace a shower mixing valve or other shower or water heater parts.
A shower mixing valve typically costs between $230 and 600 to replace. In addition to the labor, this includes the valve assembly unit. Spend anywhere between $100 and $350 if the cartridge needs replacing.
Having to replace the whole shower valve increases the cost. New shower valves are, on average, $550 in price nationwide.
When Do I Call A Professional?
If your home is experiencing a plumbing emergency, it is always best to call a professional licensed master plumber. If you follow this advice, you will avoid creating an even larger plumbing problem.
It is possible that your hot water in the sink is cold in the shower for several reasons. Having a trained professional inspect the plumbing system will help determine the cause of the issue.
Whenever you aren’t sure who to call, reach out to your local home inspection company.
Upon checking your system, they can recommend a reputable master plumber. By having a home inspection team perform the work, you may save time and money by identifying other areas that need to be repaired.
Other Recommended Maintenance
Now that you understand the issues with the shower’s water heater and mixer valve, you need to check some other areas as well.
In that case, you can still use the water if you notice that the water heater is leaking. If possible, you should drain the water from the water heater, turn it off, and call a professional to fix it. After that, you should replace your water heater before it fails.
When it is close to failure, there are signs such as rust on the anode rod, no hot water in the tank, pooling water around the tank, red or brown water coming from the tap, or a sound coming from the tank.
In addition, most of us have encountered minor clogs in the toilet at some point, but others can be more serious.
There is a possibility that the pipe could burst if additional items are added to the toilet, and it clogs. When you have clogged the toilet, you can use a plunger and plumbing drain snake to try to unclog it before it is too late.
Final Words
Call on your local home inspection team if you are looking to upgrade your plumbing system or repair it.
In this way, they can determine what needs to be repaired and how quickly it should be completed. The project should not be delayed if you need to replace your shower mixing valve or adjust your anti-scald unit.
