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Triple master contractor Ed Del Grande
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By Ed Del Grande
Q: Hi, Ed. Your column is full of important information, and I'm hoping you can help me with my guest room shower stall. My house is only about a year old, and I have three bathrooms. In the master bath and main house bathroom, everything works great. But, the other day I noticed that the hot water in the guest bathroom shower only comes out warm. Guessing that the problem was the electric water heater, I raised the temperature, only to learn that now my other showers are hotter and the guest shower is still only warm! What is going on that even after I raised the water-heater thermostat, my guest shower is still not hot? How can this be? Charlie (Mississippi)
A: Hi, Charlie. The first bit of important information I can give you is that you need to set your water heater thermostat back to the factory recommendations. Most water heaters have a warning and a recommended setting of 120 degrees F or lower. The reason is once the water temperature reaches 125 degrees F or higher, you run the risk of scalding. So, for safety's sake, make sure you always keep a water heater set to the manufactures recommended temperature. Only a licensed technician should ever work on a water heater thermostat.
The second bit of information I can tell you about is that your letter has all the clues to solve this problem. First clue is that it's only the guest bathroom shower that is giving you problems. This tells me that the water heater is doing its job or else all the showers would have no hot water. It also tells me that the problem is most likely in the guest bathroom shower valve itself. You can confirm this by turning on the hot-water faucet in the bathroom sink. You'll most likely find the water in the sink is hot, and now you'll know that the shower mixing valve is the main suspect.
Since it's a guest bathroom, chances are it's not used much. If a mixing valve sits dormant for a while, it can build up water deposits. Once a mixing valve piston gets stuck in a fixed position due to water deposits, it cannot mix the water properly. That can lead to your present problem.
Since your house is only a year old, I recommend calling the contractor that built your home and explain that you believe one of the shower mixing valves is stuck. A good plumber can clean and/or rebuild the mixing valve with a moderately priced service call. Your contractor may bill for this call since most water deposit problems are not considered a malfunction of any plumbing fixture. The bad news is you should not use the shower until you get the mixing valve repaired. The good news is you now have a great excuse to keep unwanted relatives from staying over!
Ed Del Grande was born and raised in a family-owned plumbing business. With more than 25 years of experience in every aspect of construction, he holds current Master licenses in pipefitting, fire protection and plumbing. If you have a question for Ed, send him an e-mail at eddelgrande@hgtvpro.com.
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