Suppose you are standing under a shower after a long day. The water temperature is comfortable. You are shampooing as some relaxing music plays in the background. All of a sudden, you feel the scalding hot water on your skin! Your skin is burning and your mood is certainly ruined. Sounds familiar? If yes, you must be wondering- why?
We have the answer as well as the solution to your “burning” question.
Someone in your household might have flushed the toilet. Now, what happens when someone flushes the toilet while showering? Keep reading to find out!
One Flushes, Another Gets Shocks – Here’s Why
Someone flushes the toilet while you are in the shower, and you suddenly get blasted with hot water. Such a painful shock, isn’t it?
When someone flushes a toilet, the toilet needs water to refill the tank. Toilets use cold water for their flushing mechanism. So, it draws cold water from the line. In most households, toilets, tubs, showers and other taps usually share the same cold water line. This is what creates the problem.
As a toilet draws cold water from the same line, your shower temporarily loses water pressure from the line.
Now, a shower usually uses both hot and cold water depending on your choice. Your preferred setting/adjusted temperature determines how much hot and cold water the shower will get from each line.
When you set the temperature right between the hot and cold settings, your shower draws an almost equal amount of hot and cold water.
As someone flushes a toilet somewhere in the same household, cold water is supplied to the toilet. At the same time, the shower loses water pressure from the cold water line.
As a result, more hot water is supplied to the shower in comparison to the cold water. So, the temperature of water increases with less cold water to temper the heat.
The shower water becomes uncomfortably hot.
What Happens When Someone Flushes the Toilet While Showering? How to Solve the Problem?
Here are a few solutions that can solve the problem. We have included both affordable and expensive/long-term solutions for you.
1. Fix the plumbing set-up:
The plumbing setup is responsible for the problem. How? A plumbing set-up in a household usually follows a trunk and branch system. Water is supplied from a tank through a large pipe. The main line has different small offshoot pipes, connected to different plumbing fixtures (toilet, sink, shower, tub, etc.)
When one fixture draws more water, it creates a lack of water pressure for the other fixtures. So, you can hire a professional to change the plumbing arrangement.
2. Install a load balancing manifold:
A load-balancing manifold device ensures the same water pressure for individual lines. It connects directly to the water heater. Then it supplies each fixture with individual water lines. So, when someone flushes the toilet, the toilet will draw water from its own line. The shower line will remain unaffected.
3. Install a thermostatic valve monitor:
A thermostatic mixing valve monitor automatically adjusts the amount of hot and cold water based on your preferred setting. You can install it to ensure a safe and comfortable water temperature for your shower.
4. Change the shower valve:
Newer or more advanced models of shower valves are more efficient. You can replace the old one with a new one or retrofit kits to ensure a balanced water pressure.
5. Adjust toilet tank valve:
If the option is available, adjust the water level of your toilet tank. Use the fill valve in the toilet tank to lower the amount of water in the tank.
6. Get a low-flow toilet:
If your toilet uses a lot of water for each flush, maybe it’s time to get a new one! Replace your old toilet with a new, low-flow toilet. It will not only save the shower issue, but it will also save your water consumption.
7. Hang a warning sign: (A no-brainer tip)
This is the cheapest and easiest way to solve the shower problem! Hang a sign warning the members of the household. When one is in the shower, others should prevent flushing the toilet. Cooperation among the household members can save you from an expensive fix.
Final Words of what happens when someone flushes the toilet while showering
If you have made it this far, you certainly know what happens when someone flushes the toilet while showering. Refrain yourself from doing so. Encourage other household members to follow you. If it still doesn’t help, just go for our solutions!