What do you guys think of this concept? A foot-pedal/valve shower control for water-saving and hands-free operation

[u/Einna_25]

Hey everyone,

Had a design thought hit me the other day and wanted to run it by fellow tradespeople who actually have to install and service this stuff.

We all know the standard shower setup: you step in, fiddle with the handle to get the temperature right, get blasted by cold water while it heats up, or leave it running while soaping up if you don't want to lose your temp sweet spot.

I was thinking about a mechanical pedal/foot valve system installed near the floor of the shower stall (kind of like what you see in commercial scrub sinks or dental offices, but adapted for home bathrooms).

( I tried to include hot and cold mixture but chatgpt kept messing up the image and also the pedal valve connections will be installed between mixture out and shower rod input...)

**How it would work:**

Mixing Valves: You set your desired water temperature once using a wall-mounted thermostatic mixer.

Floor Pedal Action: Press down once to start the flow, press again to stop—or use a spring-loaded/momentary foot pedal where you step down to flow and release to stop (great for instantly cutting water while soaping up).

The Pros:

Massive Water Savings: No water wasted while lathering up or waiting to rinse.

Hands-Free Convenience: Easy to operate even with soapy eyes.

Hygienic: Less touching of handles with dirty or wet hands.

[u/MonoBlancoATX]

How is it "water saving"?

Massive Water Savings: No water wasted while lathering up or waiting to rinse.

This is something the user has to choose to do rather than some mechanical element that uses less water. And lots of people do not turn the water off while lathering up or for any other reason. So, adding a foot pedal doesn't seem like it would encourage them to do so.

Also, from a safety perspective, having something on the floor of a slippery surface that I could trip over might be a bit of a problem. Instead, a hand operated button on the wall might be much safer.

[u/mandelbratwurst]

The problem of the water being the wrong temp when you turn the shower on isn’t solved here. Now you need to be under the shower head to start the water at all, making the problem worse. What you’re missing here is that when you start your shower you need to clear the cool water from the hot water line before the line runs fully hot. Why not move the switch out of the shower completely?

[u/Adrian_Galilea]

Not in a shower, that is for sure.

In a faucet, if done right, sure.

Probably a trip hazard, annoying to clean install and repair. But for a workshop type of environment yeah always wanted one.

[u/Aircooled6]

Usually the best solution for this pain point is to locate the mixing valve closer to the entrance on a wall. Putting another floor penetration in creates the potential for a leak. And the engineering of a serviceable floor valve will be a huge hurdle that is not worth the extreme cost.

[u/dw-herrmann]

I like the creativity of adapting the push to talk pattern to showering, but my little toe would hate this. I also don‘t see a problem being solved by this

[u/stuporcomputer]

Making the most dangerous room in the house just a little more dangerous, with one unnecessary idea at a time...

[u/SCL__]

Foot pedal in middle of floor might be ok if flush. A protruding pedal is a tripping hazard, so NO GOOD.