This tub/shower is the only place in the house where pressure is an issue. When I turn on the water hot or cold the flow is very low. Even the sink in the same bathroom has good pressure. It was not like this when we first moved in.

About a week ago I checked into this a bit further. This is a single handle pull nob tub/shower. I pulled off the tub spout to see if there was any buildup or blockage there, nothing. I removed the nob assembly just to see what I was working with. I stopped at that point unsure if I should do anything with the valve/stem assembly.

I put everything back together and turned the water on just to test, and the pressure seemed better, not great but better. So I turned it off and back on again, and the pressure dropped again. One more time and the pressure was right back to where I started.

Some of the posts suggested removing the stem assembly and flushing it out. Is this the next step I should try? Any help would be much appreciated.

The one problem I see with single handle showers is that the control valve inside the handle assembly is always the culprit for pressure problems.now it does not matter how old the home is, I have seen houses that are two months and houses that are twenty years old and have the same problem. Now the best advice I can give you before you call a plumber who is going to charge you and arm and your thumb, (if you feel comfortable)is to shut off the water supply to your home disassemble your control valve, now depending on the make and style of your shower it will be a cartridge or ball type assemble they do come out with a little help from your pliers.now if you get it out check for build up around the holes and shake it. If you hear a rattle then this is not your problem it is in the head assembly. Turn on the water supply for a few seconds to blow clear any trash. Then reassemble( a little advice if you get the valve out replace it they don't cost that much and it may help with your problem) turn your water supply back on and test. If you have any questions you can email me.

I am having a similar problem in the bathroom only, but w/ both the sink and tub . Both are single handle as well. Both the hot and cold flow great in my kitchen, which has a separate hot and cold. Hope this advice helps. Paul, let us know if this resolves your problem. It takes over an hour to fill the tub now for me by the way.

Thanks.

Your valve is likely a cartridge and it can get ;plugged with debris, usually hot water side. Opening the escutcheon may had disturbed the debris a bit. I'd suggest opening and closing the valve about 10X very quickly and I'll bet the pressure will pick up a bit again. If you want to take it apart just say so and many of us can help but try the 10X first.

Thanks ballengerb1, I think you're right. For the tub, I feel something crunching. The one for the sink doesn't even effect the pressure. As you pointed out, it is probably those valves. Im kind of leery about taking care of it myself. Would a plumber charge a lot for replacing the valves? After trying what you asked, it didn't effect the pressure for the better in the tub. Im guessing there's either just too much debris in there, or the valves are shot.

Thanks again

A plumber would probably not need to replace the valve just clean out the debris. Probably around $120 for service call and time. You should give it a try, it isn't that difficult and we are always here if you get into a jam. Did the 10X do any good>> If you try to fix on your own shut off your main, the hot water heater and open a faucet somewhere else in the house to drain the ysytem. With the knob and escutcheon removed you should see two or three screws holding ring like clamp on the cartridge. Once the ring is removed just pull evenly on the cartridge and it shoul dslide out. The plugged ports are on the bottom, tooth p[ick may come in handy but flush with water too.

$120. Yikes! Thanks for the heads-up, ballengerb1! The 10X thing didn't work. It is turning easier though w/out the crunch. Odds are it's packed in there pretty good and needs to be pulled.

I spoke to my older brother, who is out of town for about a week. He told me he would give me a hand with it when he gets back. He just changed out 3 of them at one of his houses about a month ago.

He's been known to not follow-up on his commitments from time to time, so I am definitely going to bookmark this page and save the useful info you gave here. Ill give him a few days after he gets back before I try fixing it myself.

Thanks a lot, ballengerb1. I really appreciate it.

More than welcome, come back here any time, there are several who can help. Tell your brother you bought a 6 of Corona, he'll show up.

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Originally Posted by Paul77

This tub/shower is the only place in the house where pressure is an issue. When I turn on the water hot or cold the flow is very low. Even the sink in the same bathroom has good pressure. It was not like this when we first moved in.

About a week ago I checked into this a bit further. This is a single handle pull nob tub/shower. I pulled off the tub spout to see if there was any buildup or blockage there, nothing. I removed the nob assembly just to see what I was working with. I stopped at that point unsure if I should do anything with the valve/stem assembly.

I put everything back together and turned the water on just to test, and the pressure seemed better, not great but better. So I turned it off and back on again, and the pressure dropped again. One more time and the pressure was right back to where I started.

Some of the posts suggested removing the stem assembly and flushing it out. Is this the next step I should try? Any help would be much appreciated.

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I tried the 10x on/off also. This didn't affect the pressure in any way. I would really like to do this myself and pull the valve. There is one major problem, however. We live in a townhouse style setup with four other units in this particular building. The only water lines with a shutoff I can find are the ones in and out of the water heater. Is it possible the main line is tied to all the units? I don't what to do at this point.

Surely you each have your own water meter. There should be a shut off for each.

Hello guys. My brother fixed it. The water pressure is improved a lot. The problem in the bathroom sink was in debise packed in the pipe leading to the valve. My brother took the valve off then chisled out the junk, flushed the line then put the valve back on. Viola. Hot water pressure. As for the tub, it was a bit more tricky. He took the valve off , cleaned a bit of debrise from there and chisled the junk in the pipe leading to the valve, then flushed the line. He also had to take the fixture apart and clean the hot intake of the cartridge w/in it. See diagram below. I hope this helps you paul.

Thanks again Ballengerb1. You weren't far off the mark. Plus, you saved me the trouble of calling a plummer.

Here's the diagram. I drew a line pointing out the exact part that was clogged.
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/5930/moandeltaev9.jpg