Abrupt Changes In Shower Water Temperature

[Jason S Coffee]

I recently moved to an apartment building. The plumbing is such that ever the course of a 5-minute shower, the water temperature will change from extremly cold to extremly (and dangerously) hot several times. I assume this is caused by others using water in the building and, thereby constantly changing the hot and cold water pressure mix.The house I grew up in had this same problem, but was somehow remedied by our local plumber. Is there a fix for this problem for apartment dwellers such as myself?

[Fred Converse]

: I recently moved to an apartment building. The plumbing : is such that ever the course of a 5-minute shower, the : water temperature will change from extremly cold to extremly : (and dangerously) hot several times. I assume this is : caused by others using water in the building and, thereby : constantly changing the hot and cold water pressure mix.: The house I grew up in had this same problem, but was : somehow remedied by our local plumber. Is there a fix : for this problem for apartment dwellers such as myself?

[Fred Converse]

As a licensed plumber for 15 years, I have seen similar problems in apartment buildings.If the main water source is not fluctuating, it can sometimes be caused in individual units by replacing the shower mixer valve and adjusting it to compensate for an overpressure situation in either the hot or cold lines of the building.If that fails, then the problem is most likely a cross-over problem and your local health department would need to be contacted to correct any such situation.Cross-overs occur when persons in other apartments hook-up equipment to both the hot and cold water supplies but do not have proper check-valves installed or operational. This can happen if someone is using even a small portable washing machine, using photographic processing equipment especially since these have sensitive mixer valves that fluctuate easily, or even if someone is manufacturing something of an illicit nature, such as in methamphetamine production where they usually set up equipment to run all day or all night long, usually with just tubes and hoses connected to both hot and cold. When these crossovers happen, the hot and cold water push into the opposite line when pressures fluctuate, creating mixed water temperatures and unstable conditions.Only someone like your health department would have authority to enter and search for such activity, since it violates health codes for hot and cold to be intermixed like that. Also, if it is the result of any illegal business activities, you might consider contacting your local zoning authority, or in the case of narcotics manufacturing, your local narcotics enforcement agency.In my years of experience, once a cross-over is in place, it has to be found and removed before the apartment buildings water supplies will stabilize and temperatures can once again be adjusted to normal.Good luck.

[Fred Converse]

I remember a similar problem we had in a large building here in San Diego. It turned out there was a cross-over between the hot and cold in one apartment dwellers place where he was running a secret printing press business with lines attached one to his toilet inlet for a cold source and one attached to his bathroom faucet for the hot source. He ran the press at nights mostly, sometimes during the day. But just because the hot and the cold were mixing together through the machine, it threw off the water temperatures in the entire building.The manager in this case was reluctant to investigate and after someone called in the health department on a complaint, showing them how their cold water inlet to their toilet was heating up, especially when the press was running, they used a warrant to enter and found the press.Later, they found out that the tenant had been paying a bribe to the manager to be quiet about the whole affair.So just calling your manager and complaining might not always work.Take it from me.

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