Haha, plumbing sabotage is real—I swear houses have personalities sometimes. Reminds me of this rental property I had a few years back. Tenants kept complaining about weak showers, so I swapped out showerheads like three times before realizing the issue was deeper. Turns out the main water line had a sneaky partial blockage from old sediment buildup. Once we flushed that out, it was like Niagara Falls in there. Lesson learned: always suspect the pipes first, they're craftier than they look.
Speaking of plumbing mysteries, anyone ever had weird temperature swings in their showers? Had one place where flushing the toilet downstairs turned the upstairs shower into an ice bath for a solid 10 seconds. Never did fully solve that one...
Yeah, those temperature swings are usually due to pressure imbalances in older plumbing setups. Had a similar issue at one of my properties—every time someone ran the dishwasher, the shower upstairs went from cozy to freezing in seconds. Ended up installing pressure-balancing valves in the showers, and it pretty much solved the problem. Might be worth checking out if you're still dealing with that... plumbing quirks never really end, do they?
Pressure-balancing valves definitely help, but have you considered thermostatic mixing valves instead? They're a bit pricier, sure, but they regulate temperature directly rather than just balancing pressure. Had a client who installed pressure-balancing valves, and while it mostly worked, they still noticed slight temp fluctuations when multiple fixtures ran simultaneously. Switched to thermostatic valves, and it completely stabilized. Might be worth exploring if you're picky about consistent shower temps... plumbing upgrades never really end, right?
Thermostatic valves are nice, no doubt, but honestly... for most folks, pressure-balancing valves do the trick just fine. I installed one in our main bath about 5 years back, and yeah, there's a tiny temp shift if someone's running laundry or dishes at the same time—but nothing major enough to justify the extra cost (at least for me). If budget wasn't a concern I'd probably upgrade too, but for now I'm good with what I've got. Plumbing upgrades really never end though, you're right about that...
Yeah, pressure-balancing valves usually do the job just fine. I've installed a bunch of them for clients, and most people are perfectly happy with the results. Honestly, the slight temp fluctuation when someone's running water elsewhere is pretty minor—more of a quick annoyance than anything else. Thermostatic valves are definitely nice to have, but unless you've got a household with multiple showers running at once or someone who's really sensitive to temperature shifts (like elderly family members or little kids), it's probably not worth the extra cash.
Funny thing is, I did a reno for a family last year who insisted on thermostatic valves everywhere. They loved it at first, but after a while admitted they probably could've saved some money because they rarely noticed the difference. Plumbing upgrades really can snowball fast if you're not careful...always one more thing you can add or tweak, right?
