How to maintain your shower and have real hot water

The tiring day is finally over and what you want most when you get home is to relax in a warm bath. When you turn on the tap, you notice that the long-awaited bath is not at the perfect temperature, which can be quite frustrating. There are several factors that can influence why your shower is not working perfectly. It is often difficult to identify what is the reason for disturbing the special singing in the shower. But don't throw in the towel yet! Today we are going to show you how to maintain the bathroom shower so that you know well what to do to have real hot water. Check out!

Shower resistance: The source of all heat

When the shower stops working properly, the first thing that comes to mind is to change the resistance. It is a fact that this is the problem in most cases and interestingly not everyone knows how this mechanism works.

The resistance of the shower is the part that turns electricity into thermal energy, heating the water inside the appliance.

Over time, this part will wear out, just like any electronic component. The life of this piece varies according to the use of the shower: shorter baths with moderate temperature tend to help the piece last longer, while longer baths and with high temperatures tend to force more resistance.

It also happens that only part of the piece burns. This is often due to lack of use in some resistances, when using only one temperature for example.

Changing resistance

Changing the resistance is one of the simplest tasks in maintaining a shower. Before you start it is very important that you turn off the shower circuit breaker, so as not to get a strong shock and turn a simple task into a big problem. If you have any doubts about which switch to turn off, turn off the house's general circuit breaker.

Once you do this, it is time to change the resistance, usually located in the shower water chamber. The type and position of the part varies according to the model and manufacturer of the device. Always make sure that the model and the voltage of the resistance correspond to the requirements of the shower. It is a much easier task than it seems, since it does not require any tools other than the hands.

After the exchange, with the circuit breaker switch off, turn on the tap and let the water run for a few seconds, only then to turn on the power again. This must be done because if the heater is turned on out of the water, it will burn immediately and all the work will have been in vain.

Under water pressure

There are cases where the resistance is perfect, or it is a brand new shower and even then the water does not heat up properly. This may be the fault of the water pressure.

You may have noticed that in some households, water drops more strongly when you turn on a tap or shower. This is because the pressure in the pipeline is higher. The higher the water tank is in relation to the room, the greater the pressure with which this water will come. This also happens in cases where the supply comes directly from the street.

But what does this have to do with the temperature of the shower?

Every shower has a chamber designed to hold water so the heater can do its job of heating it. If the water runs too fast through this reservoir, the shower will not be able to transfer heat to it in time, making the water at most warm.

How to calculate the pressure in my house?

The pressure uses in these cases the unit of measurement mca (meters per column of water). It is important to know this to determine which shower model you are going to buy, as each shower has a mca capacity for each demand.

To calculate this, just know how high the water tank is at your home - if for example it is 5 meters from the room, the pressure will be 5 mca. Check if this number matches the capacity of your shower, as it is usually inscribed on the back of the appliance.

If the pressure is much higher than the capacity of the shower, you can install a flow reducer in the water outlet of the wall. This piece is easy to install and can be found in any home of construction materials and DIY.

Power? Voltage? Understand each one of them

If you have not followed the career of the exact sciences, it is possible that the concepts of power and voltage may be somewhat cloudy at this point in the championship. Rest assured: we will explain what each one is and what it influences in your bath time.

Wattage

If you don't remember what you learned at school, power is an electrical quantity, measured in watts (w). This means that, among other functions, it influences heat generation: the higher this number, the greater the heating capacity (and the consumption of electricity).

Most of the devices in the country are between 5500w and 7500w. This average varies according to the region, since in colder climates, the demand for more powerful showers is greater, for example. Each power also requires specific wiring, which must be consulted when purchasing the shower.

In other words, it is not for nothing that showers have options such as “winter and summer”. In the option for warmer seasons, only part of the power is used, so that you do not “cook” inside the box.

Voltage: 127 or 220?

The word voltage actually represents the electrical voltage of an equipment or connection. Basically, it is the force responsible for “pushing” the electric current to the appliance - which in this case is the shower. This means that the electrical connection and the shower must be the same to function correctly.

It is no use buying a device of a different voltage thinking about making the shower more or less hot. If the power source is of a lower voltage than the shower, the current will not have enough power to power the device and, with that, it will not have the energy to work perfectly - resulting in the shower not heating up properly. If not, the chain will come with a lot of force, more than the shower can handle, causing the appliance to be damaged.

You may be wondering which of the two options will heat up the most. It turns out that, working with the correct power, the difference between 127v and 220v connections is almost irrelevant.

See how easy it is? Paying attention to each of these tips before making decisions can save you from the loss of buying wrong or unnecessary components.

If you want more practicality and greater security for repairs, installations and maintenance of the shower count on the services of Porto Seguro Faz!

Now that you have learned how to maintain the shower, how about checking out this article on how to save energy on a daily basis?