Shower issue

[Selfdestructo]

I've been having an issue with the shower in my apartment ever since I moved in. It's on the 2nd floor, and the water pressure is terrible. But it's easy to see why. Half of the water that should be going to the shower just drains out of the bath faucet while the shower is running.

What is this problem called? What part needs to be replaced? I can usually do these types of things myself if I can find a youtube video to show me how. But I'm a novice in terms of plumbing so I'd appreciate any help at all.

I realize this will probably require taking out the entire tub to look at the pipes behind it. It's one of those one piece tub/shower combos.

 

[frodo]

can you be a bit more informative. when you say just drains out of it

what? describe, what is going on. be descriptive. all i can see is my keyboard

and my cat playing with a bug

is water spraying out from around the handle? 3 handles? 1 handle?

tub spout? shower head?
only when the shower is on? or when tub is on?

if this is an apartment, why not tell the landlord/lady

 

[DFBonnett]

It sounds like a problem with the diverter. Can you post a pic of the spout for the tub?

 

[Matt30]

It's as simple as changing the tub spout diverter. Sounds like it's worn out. 10 minute fix

 

[Selfdestructo]

Thanks for the info people. Just knowing which part needs to be replaced should be enough for me to figure it out.

My landlord doesn't fix things quickly, ever, so I was hoping I could do it myself and get it done in a timely manner.

can you be a bit more informative. when you say just drains out of it

what? describe, what is going on. be descriptive. all i can see is my keyboard

and my cat playing with a bug

is water spraying out from around the handle? 3 handles? 1 handle?

tub spout? shower head?
only when the shower is on? or when tub is on?

if this is an apartment, why not tell the landlord/lady

It's a shower/tub combo. When the shower is on, half the water comes out of the shower head and the other half comes out on the lower faucet (the one you use for baths, not sure how else to describe it).

Water isn't spraying out from the handle. It's spraying out that lower faucet. It's a 1 handle design. Only has this issue when running the shower. Works fine when running the bath only.

 

[Mr_David]

Okay so here 's the ???
How do you switch from tub to shower???
Do you pull a small nob on the tub spout or turn something on the valve?
MOST tub/shower combinations have a TUB SPOUT that has the divert built into the SPOUT.
The SPOUT is the What-Cha-Ma-Call-It that the water come out of to fill the tub.
So if it's a one handle Valve ( The Thing-A-Ma-Gig that that turns the water on/off ),
then there must be some means to switch from the SHOWER HEAD to the SPOUT

Not all Valves and diverter spouts are the same.

Post a picture if you still need help

 

[Selfdestructo]

Okay so here 's the ???
How do you switch from tub to shower???
Do you pull a small nob on the tub spout or turn something on the valve?
MOST tub/shower combinations have a TUB SPOUT that has the divert built into the SPOUT.
The SPOUT is the What-Cha-Ma-Call-It that the water come out of to fill the tub.
So if it's a one handle Valve ( The Thing-A-Ma-Gig that that turns the water on/off ),
then there must be some means to switch from the SHOWER HEAD to the SPOUT

Not all Valves and diverter spouts are the same.

Post a picture if you still need help

You pull up on a tab to switch to the shower. This directly on the spout. It's also where the water is leaking.

Looks almost exactly like the one on this video:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbw1JCf8p0E[/ame]

 

[Matt30]

Thats a Moen 3931.

If you replace with the same, the new one used to come with the correct size allen wrench, but ive been noticing lately the wrench is no longer included. So just make sure you have an allen wrench set handy.

Also, be sure to silicone the hole in the wall the copper pipe sticks thru. Those tub spouts seal with an o-ring and when they wear, it will shoot water back towards the wall. You dont want water shooting thru the hole and inside the wall resulting in water damage.

 

[Mr_David]

If there is no allen set screw then the spout is screwed onto a threaded nipple.
Not always as simple as they make it look. I've seen them installed with made up nipple ( 2 threaded adapters and copper pipe). and when you try to unscrew it the pipe twists leaving one adapter in the wall OR they soldered the pipe into a wall fitting and now you have even a bigger problem.

 

[Selfdestructo]

Thanks for your help. This issue turned out to be as simple as replacing the faucet. Considering mine used a set screw and wasn't a threaded pipe or anything, the whole process took about 2 minutes.

The water pressure in the shower didn't improve at all (little disappointing) but at least there isn't a bunch of water pointlessly coming out of the faucet and going straight into the drain.

 

[frodo]

remove your shower head and soak it in vinegar to remove
old deposits and clean out the water holes
might help,

and that damn water saver....byby