My DH with dementia doesn't remember to control the water temperature when washing his hands. What to do?

Old time faucets had one for hot and one for cold. I'm wondering if there still available and you can just not attach the handle to the hot water, you would only have cold then

Just an idea, anyways

You don't need a special touchless faucet to set the temp under the sink.

Simply turn off the hot water handle (or turn it down low) under the bathroom sink where he washes his hands, so he can't burn himself.

I wouldn't worry so much about finding the precise temperature for hand washing. He can wash his hands in cold water.

Your husband has dementia. There are many things you are not going to be able to control, and you are going to learn to compromise your usual standards.

Without changing the water heater setting that affects the entire house, you can adjust the hot water "handle limit stop" on the bathroom faucet or via the "mixing valve" under the sink.

Google those two terms in quotes and there should be a number of instructions on how to do it. Might only take just a few minutes of time to solve the problem.

Google tells me that hot water for handwashing is ‘generally within 104 and 131 degrees F’. Does 120 degrees feel too hot to you? Clearly it’s not extreme.

You can turn the temp back. On gas hot water heaters its at the bottom of the hot water heater. Electric, behind a panel you need to unscrew.

Dh needs more supervision, imo.

120 degrees Fahrenheit is the safety recommendation against scalding. So if your husband isn't burning his hands, what's the problem? If he is, the easiest solution is for you to accompany him into the bathroom to set the water temperature accordingly.

I have a question. In your profile, you say, "He generally goes in the bathroom to prepare for bed about 9PM and stays there until anytime between 2AM and 7AM. I get him up by noon to have breakfast and then he sometimes falls asleep in the afternoon or watches TV or reads until 9PM. Then back to the bathroom."

I've read this several times. Are you saying DH stays in the bathroom from 9pm until between 2am and 7am??

Sometimes simpler is better. If he’s used to turning on the faucet, maybe best to leave it. You can still adjust the water heater to a max temperature so it won’t be too hot. My elderly mother does not understand movement activated faucet. Simpler was better for us.

This doesn’t address your problem but I wondered if it is possible your husband has neuropathy in his hands? I remember someone who had to use his shoulder or upper arm to tell the temp when he took a shower because he had neuropathy.

There are "anti scald" devices you can put on the faucet.
But a quick and easy fix...
Get some bright red nail polish and paint a stripe on the faucet handle and line it up where it should be when the water temperature is where it should be. That should give him a visual cue as to where the faucet should be. I say red because red is often associated with STOP or DANGER so this m ight work.


To your thought about the infrared faucets. My Husband with dementia could not figure out how to get the faucet to turn on. All he had to do what put his hands under the faucet but he kept looking and grasping for a faucet handle.
So it depends on how your husband will catch on to the touchless one. I would hate to spend a lot for the faucet and the installation to find he did not know how to use it.
The touchless are like any other faucet the water will come out the temp you set. It might take a few minutes to get the warm water just like it takes a while to get the water that is in the pipes out and the water from the water heater to the open faucet. The touchless ones do not heat at the point of the control the water comes from your water heater in the basement or where ever it is.

Is it bothering your husband that he's washing his hands in "too hot water in his bathroom" or is it just you that it's bothering?
From what I gather after reading your profile, your husband is pretty good natured and so far easy to get along with in his disease, so not sure I'm understanding why this is an issue. I mean at least he's washing his hands right?
As far as the touchless faucet that you can set the temperature under the sink, I haven't a clue about that, but what I do have a clue about is that when dealing with someone with dementia, it is best to pick your battles wisely, as all are not worth fighting.
Wishing you the very best as you travel this difficult journey with your husband.