LESLIE: Harold in Lake North Hills, Illinois, what’s going on at your money pit?
HAROLD: Oh, that valve you guys were talking about, about the shower; you know, where it keeps the shower normal when you flush the toilet it turns cold.
TOM: Yes.
LESLIE: Right.
HAROLD: I need to know where you could get that or whatever.
TOM: Oh, you can get it anywhere. And it’s called a pressure balance valve. Now what a pressure balance valve does is it maintains the flow mix between hot and cold in your shower even when the pressure goes down. Now, the force of the water – the pressure – will reduce but the mix won’t change.
LESLIE: So you’re not going to get a temperature difference. But if somebody turns on a sink or flushes a toilet – whatever causes the water to react in your shower – it’s just going to lose pressure. So you’re not going to burn yourself or freeze. It’s the end of practical jokes. But you’ll still get a good mix but it’s just going to be less intense.
TOM: Yeah, and all the manufacturers make one. In fact, we saw one recently that Moen makes …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … that was cool because it has a memory function that, if you happen to like your …
LESLIE: Which was so interesting.
TOM: Yeah, happen to like your shower mix at just a certain place, like a certain type temperature, once you set it you just kind of hit a button and it sort of goes right back to where it was. So, but it’s called a pressure balance valve. All the manufacturers have them and that will be the solution to your situation with the cold and hot showers.
HAROLD: OK, thank you very much. And you guys stay really warm wherever you’re at.
LESLIE: And you, too.
TOM: Alright, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
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