If you've ever had the experience of being scalded in a shower when someone in another bathroom flushed the toilet, you'll understand why many shower faucets now come with pressure balancing valves. These valves automatically adjust when there is a sudden deficiency of hot water to keep the temperature constant. Faucets with these types of valves also have a built-in temperature limiter that you may have to adjust as the season changes. The procedure you need to follow to do this depends on your faucet model; you may or may not have to remove the handle.
Inspect the handle. It may have a cover on the front that allows direct access to the temperature limiter, or the limiter may be on the side of the handle. Either way, the handle controls volume while the limiter controls temperature.
Pry off the cover, if there is one, with a flat-head screwdriver. Rotate the limiter clockwise to increase the temperature and counterclockwise to decrease it.
Remove the handle to change the maximum temperature on a faucet with a handle that controls both temperature and volume. The limiter is either inside the valve casing or attached to the valve stem.
Locate the handle screw. If the handle has a lever, it's probably under the lever, and you can unscrew it with a hex wrench. If you have a ball-shaped or faceted handle, pry off the cap on the front with a flat-head screwdriver to find the handle screw. Unscrew it with a Phillips screwdriver.
Pull off the plastic limit disk. You can do this by hand. On some faucet models, you can adjust the maximum temperature by rotating this disk and putting it back on. Rotate it counterclockwise to increase the maximum temperature and clockwise to decrease it. Reattach the handle.
Pull off the metal sleeve around the outside of the valve if the temperature adjustment is part of the valve cartridge. If it is, you'll see the words "hot" and "cold" printed on the front of the cartridge. You can remove the metal sleeve by hand.
Grip the front of the cartridge and pull it out. Rotate it toward the hot side, which is usually counterclockwise, to increase the maximum temperature. Rotate it the other way to decrease the temperature. It should snap into place when you let it go.
Push the sleeve back in, replace the plastic disk, then reattach the handle.
Things You Will Need
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Hex wrench
- Phillips screwdriver
- Test the water temperature before and after adjusting the limit. Turn the valve all the way to hot, let the shower run for about a minute, then collect some water in a cup and measure the temperature with a thermometer. It should be between 100 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Adjusting the limit too high to ensure that you'll always have water that is hot enough is a dangerous practice. Someone could inadvertently use the maximum setting and be scalded.
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