Comments on: I promise I'm clever...

Question: I promise I'm clever...

c'mon sea legs — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:03:03 -0800

I somehow cannot figure out how to make the water switch from bath to shower in the place I'm housesitting. Please help me determine what incredibly obvious thing I'm missing.

I... don't know what I'm missing. Photos here: drain, faucet, lever; shower head. I can turn the water on (moving the lever thing counterclockwise, pretty straightforward), but it only has a 90 degree range of motion: left turns water on, right turns water off. The shower head itself has multiple options for changing the spray, but none of them make it turn on and off.

Things I've tried:
toggling the switch below the faucet
prodding around the faucet itself
various settings on the shower head
twirling, pulling, pushing all that can be twirled, pulled or pushed
standing back and wondering why I'm such an idiot (the answer is that I haven't showered in a while and that is essential to my mental functioning.)

So, any suggestions? I think I've pushed all the things that can be pushed, and pulled all the pullable things. What is the obvious thing I'm missing?

By: apricot

apricot — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:05:34 -0800

This may sound weird, but is there a ring around the faucet where the water comes out? Try pulling it down. I had a shower like that once and it looks like that may be similar.

By: bricoleur

bricoleur — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:06:02 -0800

Reach down where the water comes out and pull down.

By: Tandem Affinity

Tandem Affinity — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:06:04 -0800

I feel for you. I was wondering if there is anything on the wall between the faucet picture and the showerhead. Our faucet looks very similar, and to get the shower to go, there is a button on the wall (not obviously connected to the faucet) that you push.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:07:02 -0800

Is there a brand stamped on any of these components? Maybe you can find a manual online?

By: c'mon sea legs

c'mon sea legs — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:07:31 -0800

AH! Apricot (and bricoleur) got it in one. Thank you!

By: carsonb

carsonb — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:08:19 -0800

A clearer shot of the round metal plate mounted inside the tub (the switch below the faucet) would be awesome.

But basically what's behind there is a long metal rod that's probably linked loosely to another long metal rod which, in turn, moves the plug in and out of place that redirects the water to the shower head.

Unscrew the metal plate and gently remove the guts. They will likely be jangly, and furthermore it's likely that the coupling between the two long metal rods has come uncoupled. You should be able to fish both of them out, re-link them, and then (gently) feed them back down into the hole. Then the switch should work.

By: saveyoursanity

saveyoursanity — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:24:16 -0800

Lever at the bottom is probably for the drain stopper. That's exactly how my bathroom is set up.

By: greta simone

greta simone — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:34:42 -0800

Yep, I had one just like this at my last place. Never was anyone able to figure it out unless they were instructed beforehand.

By: dawkins_7

dawkins_7 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:43:07 -0800

We had one like this in a hotel once and had to call down to the front desk to get them to tell us what to do! Glad you figured it out!

By: Mr. Justice

Mr. Justice — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:54:58 -0800

I laughed when I read this, given that I could not figure out how to solve precisely the same problem in a hotel a few years ago. I had to call the front desk as well, and was supplied with precisely the same solution.

By: Kalatraz

Kalatraz — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:21:53 -0800

Had this _exact_ same dilemma when we moved into our house a few years back. I won't admit how long it took us to figure it out. Nor that I hadn't heard of Mefi back then. Hope you had a great shower.

By: j.edwards

j.edwards — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:40:40 -0800

I was once checking into a hotel and the clerk had an unattached faucet behind the desk upon which he demonstrated the method, pretty obviously to every incoming customer. Great design...

By: charmcityblues

charmcityblues — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:57:37 -0800

My in-laws have this faucet. Boy did I feel like an idiot when I had to ask how to take a shower the first time I met them...

By: jrobin276

jrobin276 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:19:59 -0800

Yup, same faucet. My husband and I suffered for several Weeks until my dad came over and showed us. We're thirty, overeducated, etc. classic, no? ;-)

By: c'mon sea legs

c'mon sea legs — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:41:53 -0800

Thanks, y'all! I'm grateful for both the advice and the stories of not being able to figure it out (because, seriously, I don't think I would have without AskMe).

By: desuetude

desuetude — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:58:21 -0800

LOL. My friends have this type of fixture in their house. It turns out that the first time I stayed with them I had to be somewhere at an unreasonably early hour. I was terribly embarrassed to have to put my clothes back on and wake someone up to say how the hell do you work your shower?!!?!?!

By: Lame_username

Lame_username — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:16:24 -0800

Our guest bath has that kind of shower. When we have new houseguests, I try to remember to explain it to them because otherwise either they flounder for ages before they figure it out or they end up stomping out annoyed to get a lesson. It catches people all the time. I'd estimate that 80% of people get stumped by it.

By: workerant

workerant — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 05:24:24 -0800

There's a section in The Design of Everyday Things about the user interface of bath fittings. You are not the first or last person to be flummoxed by a shower. Before I read this book I got embarrassed that I couldn't work a shower. After reading it, I'm righteously indignant that the designer couldn't make a shower that was intuitive enough to use without a manual.