Basilisk
New Member
Howdy folks,
Obligatory "long time lurker, first time poster" - have been reading this forum for a while and it helped me a lot, so I was hoping to tap into the collective wisdom.
One of the showers (posi-temp) is having low flow issues - 1.1 gpm, as measured with the shower head removed, and 1.1 gpm, as y'all can imagine, doesn't exactly translate into great shower experience.
Replacing the cartridge with a brand new one did not help at all. 4 years ago replacing the cartridge did help to get from ~1.1gpm to ~1.5gpm, but not this time.
Flushing the valve using a specially designed flush plug (Moen PN 101975) also resulted in exactly the same 1.1 gpm flow, which leads me to the conclusion that the flow is getting restricted somewhere in the valve body as it travels from the capped diverter outlet to the shower arm. This is a shower only, so no tub spout, unfortunately.
So the questions are, 1) is my diagnosis correct, and 2) anything can be done here besides replacing the valve? I was thinking about pouring some weak acid solution (vinegar, phosphoric acid or some commercially available descaler that is approved for potable water) into the shower arm and let it sit for a few minutes to work its magic. Any issues with this approach?
The fact that it's been getting worse over time gives me hope that it's mineral deposits and not something like a glob of solder. Our city water is not hard (< 150 ppm), but I've seen a lot of build-up in supply hoses and angle stops of the most frequently used faucets.
Looking for other ideas as well. Many thanks in advance!
-B
Obligatory "long time lurker, first time poster" - have been reading this forum for a while and it helped me a lot, so I was hoping to tap into the collective wisdom.
One of the showers (posi-temp) is having low flow issues - 1.1 gpm, as measured with the shower head removed, and 1.1 gpm, as y'all can imagine, doesn't exactly translate into great shower experience.
Replacing the cartridge with a brand new one did not help at all. 4 years ago replacing the cartridge did help to get from ~1.1gpm to ~1.5gpm, but not this time.
Flushing the valve using a specially designed flush plug (Moen PN 101975) also resulted in exactly the same 1.1 gpm flow, which leads me to the conclusion that the flow is getting restricted somewhere in the valve body as it travels from the capped diverter outlet to the shower arm. This is a shower only, so no tub spout, unfortunately.
So the questions are, 1) is my diagnosis correct, and 2) anything can be done here besides replacing the valve? I was thinking about pouring some weak acid solution (vinegar, phosphoric acid or some commercially available descaler that is approved for potable water) into the shower arm and let it sit for a few minutes to work its magic. Any issues with this approach?
The fact that it's been getting worse over time gives me hope that it's mineral deposits and not something like a glob of solder. Our city water is not hard (< 150 ppm), but I've seen a lot of build-up in supply hoses and angle stops of the most frequently used faucets.
Looking for other ideas as well. Many thanks in advance!
-B