Taking a nice hot bubble bath is one of the most relaxing things that you could possibly do. With that being said, something that is definitely not relaxing is wasting water and even worse, wasting money. So when you go to fill your bathtub, does water come out of your shower head for some reason too?
If water comes out of the shower head when filling the bathtub, then there are a couple of problems that your bathroom setup may be experiencing. Let’s figure out exactly what these are as well as what you can do to remedy the situation.
Water Coming Out of the Shower When Filling the Tub: Problems & Solutions
The issue with this problem is that it can be very tricky to diagnose what the exact cause of water coming out of the shower head when filling up the tub is. What we need to say here is that you do need to use a good bit of common sense to figure out what is going on here, and to be quite honest with you, chances are pretty big that you will end up needing a plumber.
Even if you can’t fix the issue yourself, which depending on the cause is likely, you might just not be able to figure out what the cause of the issue is in the first place. That being said, let’s talk about all of the issues that your tub and shower may be experiencing that lead to this problem.
#1: A Bad Diverter Valve
Perhaps the most common cause of water coming out of the shower head when you go to fill up the tub is that the diverter valve is no longer good or never was good.
The diverter valve, which you will recognize as that little knob on the tub faucet that you pull upwards to make water come out of the shower (as well as the interior components), needs to create a solid seal to keep water from flowing through one of the pipes, and only through the other.
If your diverter valve is old or broken, when you have it in the down position (to allow water to come out of the tub faucet), it may not actually be completely in the down position, thus allowing water to flow to the showerhead.
If this is the issue, then you will need to replace the diverter valve, which is actually fairly easy to do, even without turning off the water supply. That said, if you are not handy with plumbing at all, then this is a task best left to the professionals.
#2: Too Much Water Pressure and Too Small of Pipes
Something else that could cause water to drip out of the shower head when you go to fill the tub is if your system has too much water pressure. Simply put, if the water pressure in your plumbing system is higher than the plumbing in the tub can handle, then the water will have no choice but to divert itself through the shower head.
Now, too much water pressure by itself is usually not the cause of the problem, but when this is combined with the fact that the pipes leading to the tub faucet are too small, then water will start to come out of the shower. Simply put, there is too much water for that small pipe leading to the tub faucet can handle, thus forcing the water out of the showerhead.
So, the first solution to this issue is to simply turn down the water pressure of the plumbing system in your house. This is generally something that you will need a plumber to do, although if you know what you are doing you are welcome to try it yourself.
The second solution here is to replace the pipe that leads to the tub faucet with wider pipes that can handle more water. Unless you are intimately familiar with plumbing and taking apart walls, then this is definitely something that you will need a plumber to do.
#3. The Tub Faucet and Shower Head are Mounted Improperly
When a tub faucet and showerhead are split from each other using a diverter, the system relies on gravity to force water through one party or the other.
If you have mounted the showerhead far too close to the tub faucet, or in other words, they are not spaced far enough apart, then gravity may force water through the showerhead even when it is supposed to go through the tub faucet.
The only real solution that you have here is to either move the tub faucet down further or to move the showerhead up further. Of course, this means cutting into your tub or into the wall, and yes, this probably means that you will need a plumber.
Summary
As you can see, there are indeed quite a few different reasons why water may come out of the shower when it is supposed to be coming out of the tub faucet. With that being said, although you may technically be able to remedy this situation on your own, chances are pretty big that you will require the assistance of a professional.