We have to admit that we don’t often come across a situation where a client tells us that flushing his toilet causes his shower head to drip water. But – it’s not to say that it’s unheard of. It’s just not that common.
So, if you find yourself with a dripping shower head every time you flush the toilet in that same bathroom – let us help you figure out what the issue could be.
What Happens If You Flush The Toilet While Taking A Shower?
If your toilet is located close to your shower (which is true in most bathrooms these days) there will be some instances where one affects the other.
Usually, it’s the toilet flushing that affects the water coming from the shower head to turn very hot.
What’s happening is that the cold water line that is being used by the shower is the same line that is being used by the toilet. SO – when the toilet is flushed, it uses that cold water line which then decreases the amount of cold water in the shower which means that there is now more hot water!
The solution here is to either not flush the toilet while showering OR purchase one of the newer shower heads that has a pressure balancing feature.
Your Shower Head Has A Pressure Balancing Feature
If you’ve replaced your shower head or already have one with this pressure balancing feature you may now notice that when you flush your toilet, you see your shower head dripping.
The purpose of this feature in the newer shower heads is to reduce the water pressure in the cold water line which would allow more cold water to come through to the shower while the toilet is being flushed.
The problem is that the mechanism in this feature uses a spring loaded valve and after time (or if it’s defected) that spring will wear out and the result is that your shower head will leak when the cold water line is being used by the flushing toilet.
Another component of that shower head may be the cartridge that is also being used by this new feature and again, it may be defective or it may have just worn out.
A professional plumber (or if you are a very handy person) can replace these parts of the shower head to fix this problem.
The bottom line is that it’s not a very dangerous situation but after some time, it will end up costing you some dollars in your water bill – so our recommendation is always to get any plumbing problems fixed as soon as possible because they generally do not go away, they only get worse.
If you have any questions about toilets or shower heads or are having some problems with yours, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.