I have a small ranch styled home built in 1967. When taking a shower and water is used in another part of the house, the hot or cold water decreases in the shower. Can this problem be remedied?
Our Answer
The reason this happens is because there’s not enough incoming water pressure. As a result, pressure drops for either the hot or cold when water is used elsewhere.
As a result, you get less pressure in your shower. Plus, you’ll get big changes in water temperature in that shower causing a surprise cold or hot water blast that’s pretty uncomfortable!
The solution is to install a pressure balance valve. This won’t stop the pressure from fluctuating but it WILL keep the balance between hot and cold water steady and avoiding those unpleasant temperature changes.
Secondly, you should have your water company or plumber check the water pressure at the main. If it’s less that 50 lbs, there may be a number of ways to increase this and therefore reduce or eliminate the problem.
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