Hello!

I purchased a home built in 1928 last year, and it has a clawfoot tub with shower ring in the bathroom. I've always found that the hot water knob provides hardly any water pressure, while the cold knob provides good pressure. I've been able to lower the cold water enough in the past that I could still take a shower at a comfortable temperature. However, in the last two weeks, the amount of hot water coming from the tub is so minimal that as soon as I turn on the cold water, the hot water disappears. If I can manage to use a small enough amount of cold water to get a comfortable temperature for the shower, then the shower head has no pressure and the water just dribbles out of the head instead of spraying like it used to.

Any suggestions of what might be going on here? I've been scouring the internet for answers for the last week, and I haven't been able to find anything helpful. Hoping you can help me!

Thank you.

Can you post a photo of the tub where the water is controlled? (click the button at top of screen on how to post photos)

Do you know what type of plumbing pipes you have? (galvanized (gray colored metal), copper, plastic, etc). There could be an obstruction in the hot water valve (under the hot control knob) or back further upstream. Does the hot water at the bathroom sink have plenty of pressure? From time to time do you sometimes see little metal rust-like debris come out of any of the faucets in the home?



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does it do the same when filling the tub ??

I have plastic plumbing pipes, and the hot water pressure works perfectly in the bathroom sink (and everywhere else in the house too). I've never noticed any debris coming from any of the faucets.

Yes, when filling the tub it does the same thing. There's no way to get a pressured flow of hot water from the knob in the tub/shower.

Since the hot water works everywhere else in the house except the tub and shower the blockage is hopefully in the hot water valve itself on the tub (connected to the hot water knob) and not somewhere in the hot water pipe running to the tub.
To check if this is the problem you'll need to shut off the water and take the hot water valve apart to see if something is clogging things. If your water heater has a shutoff valve you can turn it off and still have cold water to the house while doing this, but don't turn on the cold water valve on the tub while you have the hot water valve apart.

You can take a wrench and loosen, then remove the hot water valve stem. May want to remove the hot water handle/knob first. Once you have the stem out you can inspect inside the valve body for debris. Since this valve is inside/over your tub you can even turn the water pressure back on slowly to flush out the hot water pipe that runs to the tub. Get someone to help you with this so you can watch the water coming out and yell for them to shut the water off if needed.





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i'll bet the screw holding the washer has come out and the washer is stuck in the seat..

Hopefully it is something straightforward like that for them to fix. I thought you'd be watching for the Falcons to score first??

Packy's not sweating this one; it's in the bag.

you are probably right. I have a $2 bet with my wife, she likes Tom Brady enough she gave me 7 points if I'd take Atlanta/

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to have my dad come over tomorrow to help me check it out. I'll report back with the answer if I'm able to figure it out on my own. Hoping I can DIY this one!

Confidence is a big part of any job, just take your time and you can do this.

This isn't exactly what your hot water valve stem will look like but maybe it will give you an idea. Like packy said, make sure the round black rubber washer (called a compression washer) and its screw are on the end of the stem and in good condition. When you get the stem removed look into the valve body for a round hole back in there about the size of a dime more or less, make sure there isn't any debris in it. Then have someone turn on the water pressure slightly, wherever you shut it off, and wash out that hot water pipe coming to the tub. Be careful since this water may be hot. If not much water or no water comes out then they can turn the water on more to hopefully force out the clog. You can hold a bucket over where the valve stem was removed to keep water from splattering everywhere. If you can't get a normal flow of water then the problem is somewhere else upstream.




When you are taking the hot water valve apart put the stopper in the tub drain, that way if you drop any little parts they won't get lost. This looks maybe like your tub faucet (click below), but similar ones are made by different companies. If you need any parts for it maybe Home Depot will have them:

[www.homedepot.com]


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