Plumbing advice?

Submitted by Sufficient-Lab-5769 t3_yh1z46 in pittsburgh

Hi, I’m in a desperate situation and thought I’d post here in case there’s even a tiny chance someone could help. I took a shower tonight, but couldn’t turn the water off afterwards. Finally was able to just completely shut the water off to my home. Which isn’t good but at least the shower won’t be going all night. My problem is that I rent this townhouse and I DON’T want my landlord to know, because he’ll want to fix it himself or at least look at it before having a plumber come over. Because, my place is a MESS, like worse than what you’re probably thinking, and I’m terrified of him seeing it. But I can’t find a plumber who will fix it without talking to landlord first, for insurance/legal reasons, which makes sense. But I’m screwed, and it’s entirely my own fault, but I’m making a desperate plea…do you know of anyone who could fix this shower for me without talking to landlord, at least so I can turn my water back on while I try to clean this place up over the next few days? Thank you for reading, this is so humiliating but I felt like I had to ask 😞

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you_pee_emm_cee t1_iubq2g0 wrote

Sounds like the cartridge in the shower’s valve went bad. If thats the case its not that difficult of a fix and doesn’t necessarily require any plumbing knowledge. Just buy a new cartridge and replace it (there’s probably a youtube tutorial for the specific brand). If you fuck it up though you’ll be out of a shower lol

Or maybe its a sign to clean up the place?

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Sufficient-Lab-5769 OP t1_iubq9am wrote

Yeah, it’s absolutely way past time to clean up the place. Honestly I’m so ashamed and depressed.

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uglybushes t1_iubqgfm wrote

Maybe you can clean up and fix the shower. It will help w depression

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Sufficient-Lab-5769 OP t1_iubqm6e wrote

This is all I can do, really, and I’m gonna do my best. But in the meantime, no water.

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noslickname t1_iuddt25 wrote

My advice? Pay someone to clean your place well enough that you feel comfortable having the landlord over.

And you’ll avoid future fallout in the event a fix you pay for our of pocket ends up causing damage.

And it might help make everything feel more manageable/ less overwhelming. It’s amazing what a difference cleaning up your living space can have on your outlook.

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alwaysboopthesnoot t1_iue08vq wrote

Use dry shampoo and waterless cleansing towelettes or no-rinse liquid cleanser (sometimes called waterless bath) that you don’t need to rinse off, to feel clean. They’ll usually have those in personal hygiene sections of major pharmacies or in some larger groceries. We used those for my bedridden, blind grandmother for awhile before she agreed to get in-home care, then go to the nursing home.

In the meantime, does the townhome community have a gym/rec area that has a shower you can use? What about a nearby JCC, township rec ctr, or indoor pool that serves a community nearby? Sometimes you can pay a visitor/guest fee to use those. And if there are showers at work or your nearby church-run community center, use those.

If what is cluttering up your home is mostly garbage, maybe start there. Save the stuff you know you need to keep or use later, to sort later. It’s too much to deal with all at once. So don’t.

Even if you can’t make it spotless, make it useable and safe. Keep walkways and stairs open. Bag things. Box them. Open windows to get fresh air in to make it smell better. Throw out any garbage in the bin. Wash dirty dishes, pitch pizza boxes, take out containers, plastic wrappers. Wipe or dust things off. One thing at a time and first things first. Pick one thing per hour. Two things in the morning, two things in the afternoon. Whatever you can do.

And good luck.

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rippletroopers t1_iubrfff wrote

Check for an access panel on the other side of the wall from where the water comes out, could be a shutoff there and you can just keep the water off there instead of your whole house. If there is, it’s not so bad to just turn that dial every time you need to shower, I’ve lived like that for weeks.

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cha_man_ t1_iubr2cm wrote

Remove the cover plate of the knob that controls the shower and turn of the stop valves. That’ll allow you to turn the water main back on.

Like others have said, it’s probably a bad cartridge and can be an easy diy job. Check out Nextdoor listings - most handymen won’t ask for landlord things and can actually repair this

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Sufficient-Lab-5769 OP t1_iubrt2b wrote

After looking for online instructions earlier tonight, I was trying to unscrew the 2 screws that would allow me to remove the cover plate. I was able to unscrew one, but the other one wouldn’t budge. Thank you for the Nextdoor suggestion. I’m not on there but I’m gonna sign up now.

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