Water Comes Out of the Wrong Outlet or Will Not Switch Back: Diverter Valves, a Stuck 2-Piece Button and Replacements

When water comes out of the wrong outlet, keeps coming from the hand shower after you switch the diverter back, or the diverter button on a 2-piece faucet stays pressed down, the fix is usually a reset rather than a repair: turn the water off and back on with the handle, or relieve the air lock in the hand-shower hose. When a diverter valve really has failed, Ella's Bubbles supplies the complete valve, matched to your faucet from a photo. This article covers the quick fixes first, then how the diverters are identified and replaced. The hand-shower hose and the faucet cartridges are covered in their own articles.

Quick Fix: Cycle the Water with the Handle

If you pushed the diverter and the water did not revert to the spout, turn the water off completely with the faucet handle, wait a moment, and turn it back on. On most tubs the flow returns to the spout. Installers who report this on behalf of a customer are asked to have the customer try this before a valve is sent, because it clears many of the "will not switch back" reports.

2-Piece Faucet: The Diverter Button Is Stuck Down

The video explains that when the Ella 2-piece faucet is used with the hand shower, in rare instances the diverter button may become stuck in the closed position after the water is turned off. It is an air lock in the hose, not a broken valve. The steps shown: Watch: Ellas Bubbles: Two Piece Faucet Airlock Issue with a full transcript.

1. Unscrew the hose from the handset (the hand shower head).
2. Remove the small plastic restrictor from the end of the hose. This relieves the air lock and the button snaps back up on its own.
3. Screw the hose back onto the handset.

Nothing needs to be taken apart on the faucet itself, and no part is required.

Older 2-Piece Faucet: A Button That Sticks Repeatedly

On an older 2-piece fast-fill faucet, a diverter button that sticks or moves stiffly is usually mineral build-up inside the valve rather than a failure. The team's suggestion is to remove the escutcheon, take out the entire diverter valve, and soak it in rubbing alcohol or a descaler such as CLR to dissolve the residue, then reinstall it. If it still sticks after a soak, send a photo of the valve and the team will match a replacement. Hard water is behind most of these, and protecting the tub in hard water explains the inline filter that slows it down.

5-Piece Faucet: The Middle Lever

On the 5-piece fast-fill faucet the diverter is the middle lever between the red hot and blue cold handles: toward the spout for the tub fill, the other way for the hand shower. If water flows from both the spout and the hand shower at once, or the lever will not hold its position, the diverter is no longer sealing and the complete valve is replaced. The 2-piece versus 5-piece faucet article shows the layout of each set.

Thermostatic Faucet: Spout Diverter and Sprayer Diverter

Tubs with the thermostatic control valve (TCV) faucet on a chrome deck plate have two diverter valves, one for the spout and one for the hand sprayer. The two valves are identical except for the diagram on the cap, so when you ask for one the team will ask whether you need the valve with the spout diagram or the sprayer diagram. The spout diverter is the middle valve on the plate, and it also covers the hidden center screw that holds the deck plate down, which matters if the TCV itself is ever replaced; see replacing an older TCV.

What a Replacement Diverter Includes

A replacement diverter is supplied as the whole valve: the valve body, the cartridge, the escutcheon ring, the cap and the handle. On this style of valve the cartridge is not removable, so a cartridge cannot be supplied on its own. If only the handle has been lost or broken, tell the team; a handle can be matched separately, and the team will ask which finish you have. An extended ADA lever handle is also available for the diverter on tubs where a longer handle is easier to reach.

Which Photo Helps Match the Diverter

The most useful picture is the top of the valve with the handle removed, which lets the team match the valve body directly. If you cannot get that photo, measure the hole in the deck of the tub where the diverter sits: it is either 1 1/4 inch or 1 3/4 inch, and that measurement identifies the right valve. Add a wider shot of the deck so the team can see which faucet set you have, and include your serial number from the label behind the magnetic access panel (where to find it). The replacement parts article lists everything a parts ticket should include.

Water Reaching a Shower Column

If your tub has a shower column, note that with the tub diverter set to the spout, no new water should reach the column; a short drip afterward is water already in the column pipe releasing under its own pressure. The shower column article covers that in detail, including leaving the column diverter in the hand-sprayer position when the tub is not in use.

Related Guides

• How to Adjust the Throw of the Diverter Handle
• Buying a Fast-Fill Faucet Set or Valve Body on Its Own: Specs, Finishes and Deck Hole Size
• Hand Sprayer Runs Hot but the Tub Spout Is Only Lukewarm: What to Check
• How do I remove mineral build-up inside a 2-piece faucet diverter?

Common Questions

For anything specific to your model, serial number or faucet set, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 and the Ella's Bubbles team will confirm the exact part.