Showered in Disappointment: 7 Common Shower Problems and How Plumbing Work Can Fix Them

Did you know that the average adult will spend 416 days in the bathroom across their lifetime?

That’s a lot of ‘me-time’ which is why it’s so important to make sure that everything is working properly.

In particular, you want to make sure your shower is in proper working order, as most of us take a shower every day.

In order to make sure your shower is in proper working order, you need to keep your eye out for common shower problems.

Check out this guide to learn about the most common shower problems and how plumbing work can fix them.

1. Clogs

It’s pretty common to experience a clog in your shower drain.

Clogs are usually caused by hair, dirt, soap, or items that are accidentally dropped into the drain (which can happen a lot if you have small children).

If you’re dealing with a smaller clog, you can usually fix the issue by running some baking soda and vinegar down your drain. You can also try to remove the drain clog by hand.

If it’s a larger clog, then you can use a plumbing snake to deal with the problem.

However, you should be careful when using a plumbing snake or chemical drain cleaners. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you may end up causing more damage to your drains.

If the drain clog is difficult to remove, you should call your local plumber. Only plumbers will have the specialized tools and expertise it takes to remove deep clogs in drains.

Also, keep in mind that investing in a drain cover is one of the best ways to prevent drain clogs in the first place. Although drain covers can’t keep everything out of your drain, they can help prevent hair from getting in the p-trap.

2. Inadequate Pressure

There’s perhaps nothing more annoying than a shower that doesn’t have adequate pressure.

Typically, if your shower doesn’t have enough pressure, it means there’s an issue with the shower faucet.

Luckily, this is a simple fix. All you need to do is call your local plumber to install a new high-flow faucet.

However, there may be other issues at hand. It may be the case that silt and dirt have entered your water pipes through a break in the plumbing line.

A professional plumber can clean out the pipes, fix the break, and restore water flow to normal getting rid of your low water pressure problems.

Inadequate pressure can also be caused by a faulty showerhead. When replacing the showerhead, make sure to thoroughly clean the shower pipe’s threads. Dirt can build up in these threads, causing pressure drops.

3. Leaky Shower Faucet

If your shower faucet has a leak, it could be a sign that you need new gaskets, seals, or rings.

Unless you have experience taking apart a shower faucet and checking out all of these pieces, we suggest hiring a local plumber.

While replacement seals and gaskets are inexpensive, choosing the right match can be difficult. This is why it’s best to hire a plumber to help you out.

4. Noisy Shower

Besides the sounds of streaming water, the only thing you should be able to hear in the shower is the sound of your angelic voice.

If you’re hearing any other noises, then you have a problem that needs to be looked at by a plumber.

If your shower is making strange noises, it usually indicates that something isn’t properly secured to the wall, or that your pipes need to be better secured with brackets.

5. Rattling Pipes

Rattling pipes are a typical result of cold and hot water fighting for space in your pipes.

If you’re experiencing rattling pipes, the best thing to do is to adjust your mixing valve.

Extreme caution must be used when adjusting a mixing valve. This is because each year, thousands of people need to seek treatment due to thermal shock or scalding after over-correcting their mixing valve.

If you’re not sure how to properly adjust a mixing valve, call your local plumber to do it for you.

6. Bursts of Scalding Hot Water

You’re taking a nice shower when someone else in your home goes to the bathroom and flushes the toilet. Suddenly, the cold water that you were using to temper your shower rushes away to complete the toilet flush, leaving you with painful, scalding water.

Well, we’ve got good news for you: there’s a way to avoid this painful problem. One of the best things to do is to install a high-efficiency toilet.

These toilets work to reduce the amount of cold water that a toilet needs to properly flush. This means that your shower will have enough cold water to temper itself even when someone else is using the toilet.

7. Bad Smells

A bad smell in the shower could be caused by a number of different issues. Usually, bad smells indicate a clog or standing mold from water leaks.

If you encounter a bad smell, the best thing to do is to remove the issue and ventilate the space. However, if the smell still lingers after doing all of this, it may be that there’s sewer gas coming out of your drains.

If this is the case, then you need to call a local plumber to take care of the problem.

Plumbing Work: Are You Ready to Fix These Common Shower Problems?

Now that you know about the most common shower problems, it’s time to decide if you need any plumbing work done in your bathroom.

If the answer is yes, then get in touch with us today if you live in the Salt Lake area.

We can have a professional plumber over in no time to diagnose and fix the problem.