While most of us enjoy taking a nice, warm shower in the morning, few of us have likely taken the time to consider the impact that our shower diverter has on our plumbing. Unless you're a plumbing expert, you might not even know what a shower diverter actually is.
The shower diverter is the lever or button that switches between the water coming out from the faucet or the shower head. There are three typical types of shower diverters. The most common is a single-valve, or T diverter in a combination bathtub and shower. It’s the little plug on your tub faucet that looks like a golf tee, which you pull up or push down to divert the water.
A two-valve diverter is a small lever or handle attached to a single-handle faucet, and a three-valve diverter is typically a handle that accompanies a tub/shower that has separate hot and cold knobs. Whatever type of shower diverter you have in your home, knowing how it works, and how it can stop working, is important.
How does a shower diverter work? It looks fairly simple, but there’s potentially quite a bit of complex plumbing working behind the scenes. Your shower contains a valve, which you open or close when you move the lever. When it’s open, water flows into the tub. When it's closed, the water is sent up into the shower head instead.
Or if you have a shower with both a fixed shower head and a flexible shower head on a hose, the diverter controls where the water goes.
Like any other piece of plumbing in your home, sometimes things can go wrong. For example, you might have an issue where water is coming out of both the shower head and the faucet at the same time. Shower diverters can wear out or become clogged by sediment or dirt, causing the valve to not close completely.
What seems to be a fairly simple device from the outside of the wall can actually be a bit more complex behind the scenes. It’s definitely something the average homeowner doesn’t want to have to tackle themselves when it's not working properly.
Thankfully, you don't have to. If you’re having problems with your shower diverter, are looking to redo your shower, or have any other sort of plumbing issues, don’t hesitate to call on the expertise of our professional plumbing company in Springfield, Missouri.
United Plumbing is here to help you enjoy your showers and the rest of the plumbing in your home.