How to Fix Low Water Pressure

If you are unable to take a shower when somebody is watering the lawn or if the water from the faucet over your kitchen sink merely trickles, then you may be experiencing the inconvenience of low water pressure problems. First of all, if your neighbors are having the same problems as you, then the problem is probably not specific to your home or plumbing and you will need to call your city or town’s public works department and ask them to investigate. For example, just a few days ago, my wife came home from my daughters’ school and saw a large bulldozer and about 3 trucks with a half dozen men on the parkway in our front lawn.  It turns out that there was a main water leak in the street line and thus was causing low water pressure for the neighborhood as well as structural problems for the street and concrete curbing.

If the problem doesn’t appear to be widespread in your area, than the circumstantial evidence shifts back to you in thatif you are the only one with the problem, then there is likely something wrong with the pipes and valves that bring water to your home. If you have been living in your home for some time now and you are suddenly experiencing water pressure problems, there are a number of possibilities. There could be a leak in one of the water pipes leading to your home or something has clogged some of your valves or pipes. In older homes with galvanized steel piping, a copper repiping is a very common upgrade that many homeowners face.  Over time, the steel piping rusts, and builds calcium deposits thus shrinking the flow rate of the pipe.  I’ve gone through 3 of these  repipe projects myself and you can check out the posts linked below for more information.

Faulty Hardware Could Be Causing Your Low Water Pressure

Another possibility is that  a supply valve has also been rusted shut or perhaps is even only partially open. You may ask your utility service or a local plumber to check the supply valves in your home or you can try to check them yourself. You will first need to check the  main valve controlling the water supply from your utility and going to the water meter. You will also have to verify that the valve right after the water meter is completely open. Some older models of valves may even indicate that they are open but the reality is that they are partially closed. There is also a possibility that there is an obstruction within the valves or even possibly the meter, but the only way to get this checked is to request the water utility company to do it.

Low water pressure problems may be easier to solve if they are localized, which means that only a part of the home is affected. For example, only the shower head might be affected or only the faucet over the kitchen sink has low water pressure. If this is the case, then a part of the pipeline for this particular area is more than likely clogged or there could be a leak. You may want to dismantle the faucet or showerhead to see if a washer or rubber gasket is restricting the flow of water. I’ve also found that if you have hard water or have the utiltiy company shut off the water in your area (like we did just a few days ago) when you go back to turn on faucets and such, there is a lot of “gunk” that gets passed through the lines.  In faucets or shower heads, this stuff gets trapped in the screens and gaskets and needs to be cleaned out properly to restore water flow.   If the problem is not so obvious, you may need to enlist the services of a plumber to check the pipelines.

Troubleshooting Your Own Home For Low Water Pressure

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-HBDM9Zqx4

Low Water Pressure By Expert Village