We had a leak, so we had the water line and sewage line from the house to the street replaced. Now we have no water in the shower. Some debris most have clogged up the line coming into the shower. All the other lines are fine. My Dad is somewhat of a handyman and wants to fix the problem himself. If he takes the knobs off the faucet, water shoots out those pipes. If he hooks a water hose up to the faucet, water comes out the shower head fine. What is the easiet way to locate this problem or flush the debris out?

Thanks

Melissa

speedball1

Good morning Melissa,
It would be a big help if I knew the brand name and type,(one handle or two knobs) of shower valve that you have. If you have a strong stream coming from the valve when it's apart then your father has successfully flushed out the supplies, valve body and shower raiser. That would put the blockage in the parts he removed. To be more specific I'll need the details of the shower valve. Regards, Tom

mh007

It is an American Standard Two handle shower faucet. I do not know the proper terms, but once he has the faucet and handles off, there are three pipes sticking out. It is the middle pipe (faucet pipe?) that water is not coming out of. Water will shoot out of the two pipes where the handles screw on. He thought he had it working last night because he had hot water coming out the middle pipe, but when he turned the cold water on, it immediately stopped and just like someone had cut the water off. Now we are back to no hot water or cold water at all. So I guess there is debris clogging up the middle pipe (faucet pipe?) somewhere. He has tried sticking various wires and straightened coat hangers into the middle pipe, but still nothing. As I said before, if he hooks a water hose up to the middle pipe in the tub, then water from the hose will come out of the top shower pipe. Please forgive my lack of plumbing terms. Thanks for your help.

Melissa

speedball1

Hi Melissa,
Just to keep you on track with terms a "faucet" is the valve on your lavatory or the kitchen sink. You mean a "spout".
Ok! He has the valve all apart. The supplies are clear along with the feed to the spout. With the valve opened up can he run a wire from one handle opening to the other so he can see it? If he can that means the supplies, the spout and the valve body's clear. Then he reassembles everything and, hey!, no water at all now coming out of the spout. That puts the blockage in the hot and cold cartridges. Check the inlet ports and if you can't find anything take them in and have them replaced. Now run your bath and rub-a-dub in style. Tom