Pablo Luna
It’s a well-known fact that water is a significant component of our everyday lives. You may only realize that when facing problems with the water supply. Even when the water supply is not completely cut off, you might run into issues with water pressure. You know the pressure is low when water trickles out weakly from your faucets instead of having a steady flow. It can cause all water-dependent tasks, from chores like laundry and dishwashing to baths and showers, to become frustratingly long and costly. Simply put, water pressure in your homes is usually there due to gravity and/or booster stations. From its origin (mostly surface water bodies like lakes or rivers), water goes to treatment facilities, elevated distribution tanks, and then into pipes that feed our homes. If the pressure is below 40 psi (pounds per square inch), it is considered low. There are many reasons why water pressure can decrease, but we can boil most down to the following three.
1. High Water Demand
Picture this scenario: as you shower every morning, the pressure and flow feel great. But when you turn the dishwasher or the washing machine on before starting your shower, the water pressure drops awfully low. If you find that this applies to you, you’re not alone. Just as the global water supply is subject to immense water stress, many houses simply have a limited supply of water, which isn’t enough to optimally fulfill multiple household needs. So you’ll always experience low water pressure whenever the water supply is stretched too thin. The good news is that you can easily manage water usage around the house to get ideal pressure; for starters, don’t shower if the dishwasher is running or vice versa.
2. Faults in Plumbing Fittings and Fixtures
Your water pressure can also easily fall if there is a fault in a pipe, valve, or any other fitting along the line. The first thing to do is check the two shutoff valves. The water meter valve and the main home valve. In any industry involving liquids, valves are essential. They come in many forms to serve multiple functions, like oil and refinery valves produced in Winnellie, Australia, but they are generally used to regulate the flow of any liquid flowing through pipes. A partially closed shutoff valve could result in low water pressure everywhere in the house. Check to see if these are fully open, especially if you notice low water pressure after you’ve had some plumbing work done. A malfunctioning pressure regulator can be another cause of this problem. The other thing to check is leaks, whether in the main pipe bringing water into your home or the in-house pipes. One of the first signs of a leak is low water pressure. If left unchecked, leaks can cause significant damage to the house’s structure, which can cost an arm and a leg to fix. In case you suspect a leak, turn off your main water supply immediately and call for professional help. If you see low water pressure for just hot water, the problem can be the diameter of the pipes used in the water heater. The easy solution for this is to replace the pipes with wider ones.
3. Maintenance Problems
Sometimes, build-up in pipes and fixtures like showerheads clog them over time and, hence, water pressure decreases. Build-up primarily consists of mineral deposits like calcium or even accumulated rust. The easiest way to spot a clog is a rapid decrease from an initial normal pressure just as a faucet is turned on. If you notice this pattern in your showerhead, simply unscrew the fixture and clean it to open up any tiny holes. However, cleaning clogged pipes is not a job for amateurs as doing an improper job has risks like contaminating your drinking water. If you suspect that one or more of your pipes are blocked, call for a professional to inspect them for you. They will be able to verify if that’s the case, and you can either get the pipes cleaned or replaced.
In some cases, especially if your house has galvanized pipes, you could face the problem of corroded pipes. Corroded pipes generally lead to the water being contaminated by elements like lead, copper, or rust, depending on the type of the pipe. Corrosion can be identified either visually or by the taste or odor of the water. Another way of identification is by testing the water chemically. So, if you feel that the water tastes, looks, or smells strange, it is probably best to get the pipes inspected.
Low water pressure in your house might leave you disgruntled but the cost could be a lot heavier than you think. It can indicate a severe problem with your plumbing that needs to be addressed quickly lest the issue exacerbates. The rule of thumb for investigating low pressure is to check all faucets and fixtures, internal and external, one by one, and isolate the ones that have the problem.
