It’s irritating when another household resident flushes the toilet while you’re using the shower. Being blasted by a surge of boiling water is an unpleasant surprise you undoubtedly don’t want to deal with. Not to mention, water hot enough to scald is dangerous.
If you’re wondering, “Why does my shower get hot after a toilet is flushed?” more often than you’d like, we’ll go over these common issues that can cause your water temperature to fluctuate, including:
You'll be happy to know there are ways to prevent this from happening, and we'll cover them in this article. In the meantime, it might be time to set a household rule and post signs to ban flushing toilets if somebody is in the shower.
Give our team at Red Cap Plumbing & Air a call, or submit an appointment form to schedule your service. We consider all customers to be members of our extended family. Because we know how busy you are, we’re even open on Saturdays at no extra charge for shower and toilet repairs.
A broken toilet refill valve will lead to your shower heating up when a toilet flushes.
The toilet’s refill valve is the component responsible for refilling the tank after the unit flushes. You can usually find this part near the bottom left side of the tank.
Over time, normal wear-and-tear on the valve’s components can result in various problems, such as:
As refill valves get clogged, too much water enters the toilet tank. This is particularly likely when water with a high mineral count is part of the picture.
Although toilets usually last between 15 and 30 years, some of their components need replacement every few years. Most of the time, homeowners choose to simply replace the affordable refill valve rather than attempt to repair it. However, when the valve is relatively new and in good shape, they opt to only replace its seal.
Here’s how to replace the refill valve:
You’ll only need a pair of channel-type pliers to loosen and tighten the mounting nuts. If you’d rather leave the job in the capable hands of our skilled plumbers at Red Cap Plumbing & Air, call us today to find out more.
Is your shower’s water pressure getting too low for your comfort?
If you’ve also noticed a reduction in water pressure in your shower when someone flushes the toilet, you’ve likely got one of four issues going on:
The fix is easy for the first problem. Open the water valve more to increase the water pressure. It may take a short trial-and-error session to figure out the just right amount of water pressure, but that’s about as hard as this solution gets.
On the other hand, if the problem is with your home’s plumbing system, you’ll need a professional to diagnose the specific issues and figure out a fix. Our Red Cap Plumbing & Air plumbers have years of experience with this situation.
With a dysfunctional pressure-balancing valve in the shower, your level of comfort and expertise with household plumbing projects and the severity of the problem determine your repair options. Homeowners usually find that this is something best left to the professionals.
Does your water heater’s temperature need to be adjusted?
Scalding hot water in the shower poses a safety risk, particularly in households with young children or senior citizens. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, setting the thermostat on your hot water heater at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower is the best way to circumvent this problem. So, even if the toilet disrupts the cold water supply, the sudden blast of hot water doesn’t cause physical harm.
You can limit or prevent scalding surprises by installing an anti-scald device on your showerhead. These basic attachments are designed to fit onto standard showerheads.
Another solution is to slow the water flow into the toilet tank by slightly closing the water supply valve on the toilet tank. Although this is only a temporary fix that will only postpone dealing with the problem directly, it’s a good strategy for when you have weekend guests.
Call Red Cap Plumbing & Air today, or visit us online to schedule an appointment or estimate. We're committed to delivering excellent shower and toilet repairs to our customers so that your home stays comfortable. When you hire our team of dependable plumbers, you can count on us to be on time—we’ll even credit you if we aren’t—and to provide accurate repair recommendations.
Schedule with us today to get a reliable repair the first time around.