Expert: speedball1 - 8/10/2004

Question
The hot water in my tub barely has any pressure.
The cold water runs fast,but not the hot water.
The sink works fine both cold and hot water.
I have a jet tub w/a seperate shower.

Answer
Good morning Cindy, Sounds like you have mineral buildup in your water heater and some of it broke loose and is now lodged in the hot side of your tub faucet and is blocking the flow. To give you instructions on clearing your tub valve I would need to know the name of the valve.  One handle or two knobs?  How old?  Get back to me with the information I need and I can instruct you on opening up the valve and flushing it out.
If you don't flush,(not drain) your heater on a regular basis mineral builds up in the tank. Let me show you how to stop that from happening.
Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run untill the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) and some white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). The whole thing shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. You might want to consider cleaning the screens on your areators if you have a high mineral buildup. If thev problem still persists after you have flushed, you will have to drain the heater, remove the boiler drain and go up in the bottom of the tank with a wood or plastic rod, (not metal) and try to break up the mineral and flush it out.  Good luck, and thank you for rating my reply. TOM