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?
In: 16
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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