It is below freezing outside and our shower head in master bathroom is not spraying water. It is on an outside wall. We also have a hand held shower head in that same shower which is spraying a little water. What is possibly wrong!
Plumbing – Shower head not working
bathroomplumbingshower
Related Solutions
The problem is that the "back pressure" at the tub spout is too high. Remove the tub spout and check/remove any debris. If there is no debris in the pipe or spout, then there are a couple solutions for this.
Adding a water flow restrictor to the pipe that runs up to the shower head might work. This would require cutting into the wall, though.
But I believe that the better solution (in my humble opinion) is to raise the height of the pipe that goes to the shower head, because it involves no painting.
Plumbing is all about gravity and pressure. If the pipe going up to the shower head is high enough, the evil back pressure from the tub spout will not be able to push the water to the top of the pipe, to overflow to the shower head. Adding a couple feet of pipe (into the attic maybe) might not require cutting dry wall, provided that you can cut through the top plate of the wall and reach and remove the FIP adapter (or drop ear fitting). You will first need to unscrew/remove the shower arm and probabaly use a stubby screw driver and small pipe cutter to detach the adapter or fitting. You will then need (in a difficult to reach area) to use a "sharkbite" coupling to add and extend the pipe. Add as much vertical pipe as necessary; generally, a few feet should do the trick. If you want to be sure it is high enough, have a helper turn on the water (after you have connected the extension). It should not overflow. Connect two elbows with a 2.5 inch nipple, to form a "U" shape. Attach the FIP or drop ear to a length of pipe- the same length as the extension pipe that is now connected to the "sharkbite" (minus the added length from the "sharkbite"). Finish connecting the pipes so that you form a "loop", up then down to the hole for the shower arm. Reattach your shower arm. Use 2x4s to build a support bracket for the loop and be sure to support the missing chunk of top plate (top of the wall).
You need to install a shower arm.
One end will (should) thread into the pipe in the wall, and the shower head will thread on to the other end.
Don't forget to use pipe dope/tape on the threads.
- Apply tape/dope to the threads of the shower arm.
- Thread the shower arm into the pipe in the wall (Do not over tighten).
- If you have to use a wrench to tighten the arm. Wrap the arm with a towel/cloth, so the wrench does not mar the surface of the arm.
- Slide the flange over the shower arm, so it covers the hole in the wall.
- Apply tape/dope to the threads on the other end of the shower arm.
- Thread the shower head on to the shower arm.
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Best Answer
What is (very probably) wrong is that the shower is on an outside wall and poorly insulated, so it's frozen. Run straight hot water through the hand-held that is partly working before it can freeze solid, and that will bring some warmth to the affected pipe, hopefully helping it to thaw. Heating the room more (turn up thermostat) can also help. If you choose to use a space heater to help warm the room, be very, very careful (frozen waterline is much less trouble than burning the house down.)
You might also try using a hair dryer on the shower control and the pipe for the showerhead (idea being to warm those parts and help thaw parts frozen inside the wall) - don't let it get wet, of course.
Once you get it thawed, you should probably leave it "dripping" as if there was a slight leak until the weather warms to temperatures where you have not had this problem before. The flow of water will help prevent the formation of a complete ice blockage.