Shower Spitting Water

Sorry I don't have an answer, I can only say that the same question has often baffled me: my shower can often suddenly emit a large stream of water 2 to 3 hours after it was turned off.

Maybe it's caused by gasses coming out of solution: in the open leg (shower head side) they just come out of the holes, but, in the closed (tap side) they gradually build up to the point where they force some water out.

(Where on earth do you live: where the government insists on you drying the shower after use, and, how do they police it? )

I think "government" = "Her", the misses, betterhalf, the one you must listen to.

This is correct!

My first wife was anal like that. Wipe it down every time and WAX IT ONCE A MONTH.

And don't you DARE hang that towel up so that the label shows!!!

We're not together any more.

Gas!? I will think about it. Hot water is coming from a solar hot water system. Will check if there is something happening there that could cause this.

As for the "government" - see below!

Yes, it is the water in the shower head. Theoretically, if you aim the shower head straight down after your shower, there won't be enough head to suck air into the higher holes, allowing the water to drain out the lower holes. But then, evaporation might take over around 3 am -

I vote for the vacuum-break theory. I recently installed a new "hand-held" shower head (the ones that have a hose), and the installation instructions specifically note that water will run out in the seconds or minutes after shut-off, because of this feature. Designed to prevent the municipal water from being contaminated should water pressure fall to zero, and you've also left the shower head in a tub full of nasty water. A bit of overkill, but you can't argue with the gov-ment, common sense isn't so common in those circles.

Tom D.

Two thoughts:

There is water in the riser hose, air entrained in that water precipitates and forms a bubble and rises, pushing water ahead, like a bubble riser in an aquarium.

or

If you turn off the hot tap first, cold water enters the warm hose, gets warmed and expands, pushing some over the tipping point.

Now this is something to consider. I will watch myself which tap I close first.

This and air might be the culprit.

Thanks!

After closing the taps, empty tthe shower hose by putting it at lowest point and shaking to expell the water left in the head etc.

See if the spitting will not happen again. This will prove the vaccum issue.

My shower does that too. I soon figured out it was the air getting into the head that caused i.

Ozzb is partially correct, except the culprit is vacuum. Think of it this way, if you take an empty tall Coke bottle (like the ones from Mexico), add some water (1/4 full or so), put your thumb on the top and turn it over. When you take your thumb off, the water will release, but very slowly. This is due to a vacuum which occurs when the water tries to flow out of the neck. The water going out must be replaced by air coming in, however the narrow neck will not allow the water to flow.

In the case of your shower, the holes in the shower head act as the neck of the bottle. The water in the hose is like the water in the wider part of the bottle. The force of gravity pushing the water down will reach the point where it exceeds the force of the vacuum and air will enter the shower head and hose causing water to spurt out.

If my theory is correct, you should be able to reduce the flow of water to where it is only a very narrow stream. Then shut the water valves off. If there is no water left in the hose and shower head, you won't get the spurting. A second method is after turning the water off (normally), to shake the shower head to release the vacuum.

Let us know if this works. Hopefully you'll be able to wipe down the walls without having more water come out.

The flex pipe contracts as it cools, (once the warm water is turned off).

I think this may just be a case of "Government" conspiracy!

I have a shower with separate cold and hot valves and a center valve to direct the water up to the shower head. I noticed a similar phenomena. Now, instead of leaving the center valve fully directing the water to the tub outlet, I leave it about half way to allow air in from the shower head to drain the pipe going up to the shower head.

Take a drinking straw and put one end in a glass of water. Hold your finger tightly over the other end and extract the straw from the glass. When you release the finger from the end the water will run out and the answer to your question will come to you.

To cure the problem, take the same drinking straw, and after the shower blow into the shower holes on the top side.

Alternatively, tap the bottom of the shower head sideways / upward.

My oldest son told his two younger siblings that the house is haunted. Worked for them!

really, we'd better make sure the shower work well. cause it is too hard to leave your self naked in the cold.