If you've got low water pressure, the first place you may notice it is in the shower. While many people don't turn their sinks on full blast to wash their hands, almost everyone turns their shower up as high as it will go. When the water pressure in the shower goes down, it means a much less comfortable shower.
Once you notice that the water pressure is low, the first thing to do is to check your other fixtures and see whether the pressure has been reduced in them as well. Try the sink in your bathroom – does it seem like the pressure is low? If so, go on and check the rest of your faucets. Is your kitchen sink also having trouble?
Shower Only
The most common cause of low water pressure is a clogged showerhead, so take a look at your showerhead and see if you can spot any mineral buildup. If you have hard water, it's likely that limescale has been building up in your showerhead over time. Luckily, this is easily fixed: you need to soak your showerhead in vinegar to remove the minerals.
If this doesn't help, it's likely that you have a clog somewhere in the line leading to your showerhead. Hard water is still a likely culprit, but the buildup may be too far back for you to remove yourself. Calling in a plumber, such as a Plumbing Now plumber, is your best bet at this point.
Bathroom Only
If the problem is affecting the whole bathroom but not the rest of your house, there's a blockage or leak somewhere within the plumbing of your home. It's likely that you'll have to call a plumber, but there's one thing to try before you do. Sometimes, air in the pipes is the problem; try opening all the faucets in your house, and while they're running, flush all the toilets at once. This can flush air out of the system if that's what's causing your problem.
Whole House
This is most likely a leak in the main water line. If the line runs through your garage or basement, you can check and see whether there are any obvious leaks; if you spot something small, you may be able to patch it yourself. You'll need to turn off the main water supply and then use a material-appropriate fix. For copper piping, this means soldering some flux over the leak; for PVC, you can buy epoxy plumbing sealant and follow its directions.
If the leak is large or isn't visible, this is again a good time to call a plumber. And of course, if you don't want the hassle of soldering or epoxying the pipes yourself, you can be assured of a professional job.
Share31 August 2015
My homes have always had either copper or PVC plumbing pipes. But when my plumbing system needed an overhaul last spring, I wanted a piping system for my home that I could work on myself when needed. There were a lot of good reasons to choose PEX piping, but my favorite thing about the PEX piping is that it's easy to work with, even if you're a beginner like me. Now I can make small repairs myself instead of calling the plumber every time I have a minor leak or other small problem. I still call the plumber for the big stuff, but it's more affordable now that I can take care of small issues myself. I started this blog to help others learn how they, too, can do DIY plumbing repairs at home.