eli5: Why do so many indoor water faucets (showers and sinks) seem to go from extreme hot to extreme cold and have a rather small area for desired levels of warmth?
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A desired level of warmth is subjective thing. What you consider too cold, maybe just right for someone else.
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It’s the way the valve works. It slowly lets more hot or cold water in with the main stream of water to adjust the temp of the water coming out of the faucet.
Pressure in hot/cold pipes differs from home to home.
It is not possible to create a mechanical solution that will work smoothly everywhere.
The only solution is those electric ones measuring output temperature and automatically adjusting hot/cold water.
Hot water is typically set between 120 and 140F. 120 is “safe”, but most heaters default to 140. Makes appliance work better, and hot water lasts longer.
Cold water varies by climate and season but runs 45-55 degrees.
Your pleasant temperature for “warm” are somewhere between 90-100. On the spectrum of temperatures between 55 and 140, that’s only about 10-15% in the middle that satisfies you.
Mostly because your desired water temperature falls into a super narrow range. And it’s different for everyone. That’s just how humans work.
Try turning down the temp on your water heater. It will make less of a difference between the hot and cold.
Not sure if you found a satisfactory answer yet, so I’ll venture:
A few things going on (I’ll go ahead and skip temp range preference discussion since that was covered)
First, your cold water is usually largely governed by the ground temp where you are, which can change through the year and could vary widely on location (but I assume you’re referring to a singular location, such as your home)
Next, your hot water heater likely has a way to adjust the temp it heats the water to; if you are experiencing ‘extreme hot’ to the point that it scalds your skin, consider lowering the setting – you’ll reduce the overall temp range of your water, which might artist give you exactly what you’re looking for
Lastly, one final consideration is the length of pipe between the faucet and the water heater – you generally will have to clear the line of what’s in it to get the specified temperature… So if you’re trying to adjust a shower for example, you might be making the adjustments too frequently (like ‘it’s too hot’ *turns down a little* ‘still too hot *turns a little more* ‘still…’ *tiny turn* ‘FREEZING!!’) <- what likely happened there is that the temp began to change, but there’s still pipes full of the old temp water thats still flowing out, and then the person got impatient and kept adjusting before getting a true feel for the new temp.
For what it’s worth, aside from other simultaneous water users messing it up, taking the time to set the temp at the beginning of a shower is crucial! I’ve even gotten to the point that I can hear the pressure change when the different temp water comes into the showerhead (live in an oooold apt building with super touchy water temps that ‘migrate’ throughout the building and vary wildly all day long)
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