Exploring Top 5 Shower Diverter Valves for Your Bathroom
Finding the best shower diverter valve for your bathroom is a challenge for homeowners. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t know the exact function of the shower diverter valve and unaware of its basic types.
Choosing the suitable shower diverter valve that can control the water pressure and temperature can allow you to enjoy hot showers. Basically, the shower diverter valve is a simple plain device that can reroute the water back and forth between the tub faucet and showerhead. The diverter acts as a switch that allows you to open and close the water flow to the shower or bathtub.
The shower diverter valve is one of the most modern bathroom luxuries that lets you install a shower over the tub while eliminating the need to install a separate shower enclosure. It is an excellent choice for small bathrooms with limited floor space. There is no need to install too many pipes, tiles, and faucets.
But the question is how to find the best shower diverter valve that can fulfill your shower needs. It is important to know different types of shower diverter valves to end up with the right choice for your bathroom.
Shower diverter valves are available in a variety of types; here, I have listed the top 5 types of shower diverter valves that every homeowner should be aware of.
Tee Diverter or One-Valve Diverter
It is one of the most common types of shower diverter valves used by almost everyone in their bathrooms. A tee diverter or one-valve diverter is located inside of the tub faucet and redirects a single stream of water from the tub faucet to the showerhead. Its primary function is to open and close water flow which is controlled by the metal pull on the front of the faucet. By pulling it up, water flow is redirected away from the tub faucet and up to the showerhead.
Two-Valve Diverter
As the name suggests, two-valve diverter has two valves that create an L shape. It is fixed into the wall and controlled by a handle that you can use to redirect the water flow to either the tub faucet or the showerhead. It can be found in the middle of a two-tap faucet and control the temperature with a single control handle or hot and cold knobs.
Three Valve Diverter
Three-valve diverter is one of the most useful types of shower diverter valve that is installed in between the taps of two-tap faucets. The function of this diverter is to divert the water flow between three different outputs. The three-valve diverter allows you to switch between a tub faucet, handheld, and showerhead.
This diverter valve includes different stopping positions, making it easier to divert the flow in various ways. You can send water flow to a single output, like a showerhead. Furthermore, a three-valve diverter allows you to redirect the flow to two different places simultaneously, handheld and showerhead both.
Four-way Diverter Valve
If you have a shower with a tub, regular showerhead, handheld, and a rain showerhead, then you should choose a four-way diverter valve for your bathroom. The four-way diverter valve allows you to use a rain showerhead and handheld at the same time. Furthermore, a four-way diverter valve will enable you to divert the water flow to a single output to enjoy the regular shower experience.
Thermostatic Valve
A thermostatic valve is a type of shower valve diverter that is exclusively designed by keeping the latest shower technology and safety in mind. One of the best qualities of the thermostatic valve is that it automatically detects the temperature rise and reduces hot water flow. It will ultimately lower your chances of getting burned and improving your overall shower experience. If you want to automatically adjust water for temperature fluctuations, you should install the thermostatic valve in your bathroom.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the shower diverter valve is one of the most important accessories for your bathroom. Without it, you will not be able to reroute the water flow. You need to install a shower diverter valve to redirect the flow between a tube faucet and a showerhead. It controls the temperature by perfectly mixing hot and cold water and maintaining the overall flow of the water.
Installing the suitable shower diverter valve is a challenge and pretty confusing. Knowing the types of shower diverter valves will help you make the right decision for your bathroom. If you want to incorporate more outputs into your shower, you need to fix more valves on your diverter.
The above-listed ones are a few common types of shower diverter valves – a single, two-way, three-way, four-way, and thermostatic valve, every homeowner must know. If you don’t know how to properly set up the right shower diverter valve, call a professional plumbing manufacturer for help.
