One common and very frustrating problem that most homeowners will have to deal with at some point is low water pressure. We rely on water for so many tasks, from simply rinsing our hair to making coffee and it should not be a source of frustration. Luckily there are many ways to fix low water pressure as long as you can find the cause.
Below our Emergency Plumbing team has listed a few common causes of low water pressure.
- Debris: If your home has old pipes it’s possible that they have rusted and plastic particles from the broken pipes are causing a clog. It’s common for algae and debris to clog up valves and aerators.
- Mineral Deposits: Minerals can build up inside shower heads over time and cause faucets to clog up and prevent the flow of water.
- Poor municipal supply: In some cases the city’s supply of water can be poor due to leaks and pressure.
- Water leaks: If you have damaged water pipes the can leak and cause lower water pressure. This happens because some of the water is leaking out of cracks and into the soil instead of to your home.
- Water valves: Lots of water pressure combined with wear and tear as well as other issues can cause damage to your water valves.
If you are able to figure out if one of these problems is causing lower water pressure in your home you can fix it!
Below we’ve written a few tips on how to handle these issues:
- Clogged Aerators: You can check if your problem is caused by a clogged aerator by unscrewing it and checking if the water flow improves. If it does simply clean the aerator from any debris or mineral deposits and screw it back on.
- Poor municipal supply: In order to test the city’s supply of water you can purchase a test gauge with a hose connection. Screw it on the hose faucet and test your fixtures. Ideally the pressure should be around 55-75. If it is lower you can fix it by installing a pressure boost system.
- Poor municipal supply: In some cases the city’s supply of water can be poor due to leaks and pressure.
- Water leaks.
If after checking for all these problems you are still unable to find why you have low water pressure and it persists for a few weeks we highly recommend you call a professional plumber who has experience dealing with these issues and might be able to find something that you are missing. A majority of the time low water pressure problems will only worsen over time and the more you wait the harder it will become to solve. Low water pressure is also an annoyance that you should not have to deal with.
InteriorEra has professional plumbers on standby 24/7 ready to help you at any time. Our plumbers are experienced in dealing with low water pressure and are prepared to help you. Call us at 1-416-897-1676 to get help today!