Shower - Too hot or too cold, no inbetween

szam_ · 3 February 2016 at 11:56AM

Morning,

I moved in to a new rented property over the weekend, and we've been having issues with the shower. This is the second time in a few days I've reported it, and from researching, the only conclusion I can come too, and very similar reports everywhere I look with the same problem, is that the hot and cold water being fed in are the wrong way around.

This makes sense as you have to turn it up to max heat (according to the tap on the shower) to make it produce cold water, of which it is ice cold, any tap position other than that, it's scolding hot. Turn it down to cold, and it remains the same (or it feels it because I can barely keep my hand under for a second it's that hot).

I explained what I think the problem might be, and he just dismissed it and told me it's not that (without checking someone hasn't made a mistake). He came out last time and I don't know if he couldn't be bothered to fix it so just said "you have to wait a while and get used to adjusting it" and acted like he'd sorted it out. I know you have to wait for a shower to heat, but the problem is, at no point of turning the tap, even slightly does it seem to produce cold water.

I am very wary of pushing the LA given we were served notice at the end of our last tenancy from our LL for trying to get basic repairs done to things you would expect to work, such as an electric shower not working, or having a working oven.

I'm no plumber but given what I've checked and the way the shower is behaving, I am inclined to think my theory is a possiblity, but he's talking about adjusting the tap, otherwise he will take it back and replace the shower. As someone who worked on an IT helpdesk before my previous job, you would check every avenue and possibility before you declared hardware faulty, not just a couple you think it is before coming to the conclusion it's faulty.

Is there any way I can push them to check that the water feed in to the shower is the correct way round without him just dismissing my theory? Or is he right, and this isn't the problem?

dominoman · 3 February 2016 at 12:14PM

If I were you I would leave it to them. He's already agreed to fix it, and said he'd replace the shower if he can't, so leave it at that.

When the plumber comes he may check the cold and hot water feeds first, but again, do you really care, so long as it is fixed?

szam_ · 3 February 2016 at 12:32PM

dominoman wrote: »

If I were you I would leave it to them. He's already agreed to fix it, and said he'd replace the shower if he can't, so leave it at that.

When the plumber comes he may check the cold and hot water feeds first, but again, do you really care, so long as it is fixed?

I don't care as long as it is fixed, correct. But it's the way he's being dismissive about it that's my problem, he was dismissive on Monday and I probably shouldn't have taken his word for it that it was me at fault and I didn't know how to use it (it's a shower, it's not difficult).

There is a clear problem with it and I think if there has been a mistake in installing it, he doesn't want to admit it (he or someone he works with installed it in the first place I believe, it was recently rennovated prior to us moving in and they were contracted to do rennovations).