HELP!!!! Can anyone tell me why a shower would just stop working. I turn off the water the after about a minute it would come back on. But now it has just stopped. My shower has separate hot and cold faucets. It was just doing it a couple of times a week , but now it is everyday. Please help.

 

It sounds like the shower body. How old is it?

 

Yes, problem likely inside the unit, if no other fixture in house does this.

Please tell us if this is a two handle or single handle faucet control. And what brand if so labeled on handles or trim plate.

Have you ever worked on plumbing before? The reason I ask is that it would almost be a natural instinct (at least it is for me) to unscrew whatever you can, to get inside and remove any cartridge, and then flush the lines with the cartridge out, to find out if the problem is with the cartridge or if something is inside the mixer holes and is moving around when the water is on.


If you happen to have a 2 handle mixer valve, then the problem surely would be something hung up in the mixer body itself, as it be unlikely that both hot and cold valves would have same identical problem at once. Something like a rubber washer broke and is lodged in a water port hole and perhaps a washer screw as well.

Does this problem occur the same with the tub faucet as well as the shower head?

If ever you take plumbing apart, be sure to turn off the water first.

And only turn it back on, like for testing purposes, when you are certain that water spraying out can be properly contained (it can fly to a back wall of the shower if pressure high enough, and that it will not seep down into the wall cavity. You have to improvise under different situations and usually need assistance with having someone turn off the water in the basement, while another person (you - so you can both channel water away from the wall cavity and observe water pressure) and perhaps a 3rd relay person to yell to person in basement to turn off the water. You can also test with water heater water valve shut off to see if the water pressure greatly changes when testing, to see if you have a cold or hot water problem.

 

I see from your post that the faucet is a two handle valve. I would recommend removing the faucet stems and look for a loose washer.

 

The other guys are rite. but you aloso might check and see if there is any thing loose in the shower head that might be moveing and possibly closeing over the hole blocking the water

 

OOoohhh, OOoohh OOhh !

I just thought of something, no really, I did...

It is possible you have an anti scald device installed on the shower arm before the shower head which is designed to shut down at a certain temperature, and is made for older 2 and 3 handle valves.. That COULD be why the water comes back on after a minute. Have you noticed the hot water temperature in your house to be a little higher lately? How long have you owned this home?

 

That's a good thought. Run cold water by itself for a few minutes, then run hot by itself. That will give you the answer.

 

Op was a first ever post and probably hoped for immediate solution and moved on, right away.